Do I Need a Resident Return Visa After 5 Years on Subclass 115 in 2026?

Plain-language guide · general information, not immigration advice

Yes. Once the five-year travel facility on your Remaining Relative visa (Subclass 115) ends, you need to apply for and be granted a Resident Return (RRV) to come back to Australia as a permanent resident — unless you have become an Australian citizen and hold an Australian passport, in which case you do not need a visa to enter. The five years run from the date the visa was granted, and you can check the exact end date in VEVO. This reflects what the Australian Department of Home Affairs publishes on its official Remaining Relative visa (Subclass 115) page, as of the July 2026 official page.

What actually expires after five years?

Your permanent status and your permission to travel are two different things, and only one of them runs out.

The Subclass 115 visa is a permanent visa: it lets you stay in Australia indefinitely. What has a five-year limit is the travel facility — the ability to leave and re-enter Australia as many times as you want. That facility lasts for five years from the date the visa was granted and ends when the travel validity expires.

	Permanent residence	Travel to and from Australia
What it allows	Stay in Australia indefinitely, work, study, enrol in Medicare, sponsor relatives	Leave and re-enter Australia as a permanent resident
Duration	No expiry	5 years from the date of visa grant
At the end	Nothing to renew	Need a granted Resident Return visa, or an Australian passport as a citizen

So if you never leave Australia, the five-year date passing does not change your right to remain. It matters only when you are outside the country and want to come back.

How do I find out when my travel validity ends?

Use VEVO. The Department of Home Affairs directs visa holders to VEVO to see when travel validity ends, and also to check visa conditions and work and study entitlements.

This matters because the five-year clock starts on the grant date, not on the date you first arrived. Someone who was granted the visa in early 2021 but made their first entry six months later will reach the end of the travel facility in early 2026, regardless of when they started living in Australia. Checking VEVO before you book an overseas trip is the practical way to avoid discovering the problem at a departure gate.

What if I am already overseas when the five years run out?

Under the published rules, travelling after the initial five-year travel validity requires you to apply for and be granted a Resident Return visa so that you can re-enter Australia as a permanent resident. Being outside Australia at that point does not cancel your permanent status, but it does mean the travel facility that would let you board a flight back is no longer in place.

One related point from the official page: your visa is digitally linked to your passport, and you do not get a visa label in your passport. There is nothing physical in your passport that will warn you the travel facility has lapsed, which is another reason to rely on VEVO rather than on old paperwork.

Is citizenship the better answer instead of an RRV?

For some people, yes — but they are different kinds of solutions. If you become an Australian citizen, you do not need a visa to enter Australia; you apply for an Australian passport and use it to leave and re-enter. That removes the recurring problem rather than solving it once.

The trade-off is that citizenship is a separate application with its own eligibility requirements and processing times, which the Department publishes on its citizenship pages. An RRV is the option tied directly to the travel question; citizenship is the option that ends the question altogether. Which one fits depends on how often you expect to travel and whether you meet the citizenship criteria — details that should be confirmed against the official citizenship pages, since requirements and processing times change.

Does this affect my permanent residency for citizenship purposes?

No. For citizenship purposes, you become a permanent resident either when you enter Australia on this visa, or — if you were previously in Australia and held a permanent visa immediately before you last left — when the visa is granted. That date is separate from the five-year travel facility and is not reset or extended by travel.

The other date worth noting is the first entry deadline. You must enter Australia before the date specified in your grant letter, and that date is generally set at 12 months from the date of visa grant. If you do not travel before it, you can still travel with an expired first entry arrival date if the visa is still valid, though the visa may remain subject to cancellation before arrival or at the border.

What should you check before planning a trip?

Confirm your travel validity end date in VEVO, not from memory or from an old grant letter.
Make sure your passport or other travel document is valid; you need one both to leave and to enter.
Decide early whether an RRV or citizenship is the right route, since both are separate applications.
All arriving passengers must complete an Incoming Passenger Card; ePassport holders may be able to use SmartGate on arrival and departure.

This article is general information about how the published rules fit together and is not personalised advice; your own travel and status decisions should be checked against the official Department of Home Affairs pages or with a qualified professional, since criteria, fees and processing arrangements can change.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does my Subclass 115 visa expire after five years?

No — the visa is permanent and lets you stay in Australia indefinitely. What ends after five years is the travel facility, which is what allows you to leave and re-enter Australia as a permanent resident.

Do I need an RRV if I have no plans to leave Australia?

No. If you stay in Australia, the end of the five-year travel period does not affect your right to remain, work, study or access Medicare. You only need a granted Resident Return visa when you want to travel after that period and return.

When does the five-year travel period start?

It starts on the date the visa was granted, not on the date you first entered Australia. This is why two people who began living in Australia at the same time can have different travel validity end dates.

If I become an Australian citizen, do I still need an RRV?

No. Australian citizens do not need a visa to enter Australia; instead you apply for an Australian passport and use it to leave and re-enter. Citizenship is a separate application with its own eligibility requirements and processing times.

How can I check whether my travel validity has already ended?

Use VEVO, which shows when your travel validity ends along with your visa conditions and work and study entitlements. Your visa is digitally linked to your passport and no visa label is issued, so VEVO is the reliable record.

Is there anything I must do before my first trip to Australia?

Yes — you must enter Australia before the first entry date stated in your grant letter, which is generally set at 12 months from the date of visa grant. If that date passes while your visa is still valid, you may still be able to travel, but the visa can be subject to cancellation before arrival or at the border.