Do I Need a Resident Return Visa After My 116 Travel Facility Ends in 2026?
Yes. If the five-year travel facility on your Carer visa (subclass 116) has ended and you want to come back to Australia as a permanent resident, you need to apply for and be granted a Resident Return visa (RRV) — subclass 155 or subclass 157. The Carer visa (subclass 116) is permanent in the sense that it lets you stay in Australia indefinitely, but the permission to travel in and out is a separate facility that runs for five years from the date the visa was granted. This is set out on the Australian Government Department of Home Affairs' official page for the Carer visa (subclass 116), as of the July 2026 official page; the summary below is general information rather than advice on an individual case, so your own record and the Department's current published requirements are what govern your travel.
Does my permanent visa actually expire after five years?
No. The visa itself does not expire. The Department's page describes subclass 116 as a permanent visa that lets you stay in Australia indefinitely, and separately describes a travel facility that lets you travel to and from Australia as many times as you want for five years from the date the visa was granted, for as long as that facility remains valid.
What runs out is the travel permission, not your permanent status. That distinction is the reason two holders in very different situations can read the same rule and reach opposite conclusions: one never leaves Australia and never needs a further visa, while another lives abroad for years and cannot simply board a flight home as a permanent resident.
| What subclass 116 gives you without time limit | What stops after five years |
|---|---|
| Stay in Australia indefinitely | The travel facility allowing re-entry as a permanent resident |
| Work and study rights attached to permanent status | The ability to make repeated trips in and out on the same visa grant |
| Sponsorship and enrolment pathways open to permanent residents | — |
Put simply: permanent status answers "may I remain?", while the travel facility answers "may I come back?". Only the second question has a five-year clock attached.
When exactly does my travel facility end?
It ends five years from the date the Department granted the visa, not from the date you first arrived. To see the exact end date for your own grant, the official page directs holders to check VEVO, the Department's online visa entitlement verification service.
This timing detail catches people out in two ways. First, the clock starts at grant, so time spent organising the move, waiting for the first entry date, or settling in still counts. Second, a different date matters for a different purpose: the page states that for citizenship purposes your permanent residence starts on the day you entered Australia on this visa, even though the visa was granted earlier.
Suppose a subclass 116 holder was granted the visa in mid-2021, entered Australia late that year, and now wants to travel overseas. Their travel facility would already have ended, even though fewer than five years have passed since arrival.
What do I need in order to re-enter Australia after that?
You need either a granted Resident Return visa or Australian citizenship. The official page puts it directly: after the initial five-year travel facility, you must apply for and be granted an RRV so that you can re-enter Australia as a permanent resident.
Citizenship works differently. If you become an Australian citizen you do not require a visa to enter Australia, but you must apply for an Australian passport and use it to leave and re-enter. In other words, citizenship replaces the visa question with a passport question rather than simply extending the travel facility.
Which is better for me: an RRV or citizenship?
The choice usually turns on how often you expect to travel and whether you already meet the requirements for citizenship, rather than on which one is "stronger". An RRV restores your ability to travel back as a permanent resident; citizenship removes the need for any Australian visa and shifts your travel document to an Australian passport.
The subclass 116 page does not publish RRV eligibility criteria, documentation requirements or processing times, so those details have to be confirmed on the Department's official Resident Return visa page and may change. The page does note that citizenship has its own eligibility requirements and current processing times, and that for citizenship purposes your permanent residence clock started on the day you entered Australia on this visa.
What if my first entry date has already passed?
Check VEVO before you book anything. Holders must enter Australia before the date specified in their grant letter, and that first entry date is generally set at 12 months from the date of visa grant.
If you did not travel before that date, the page says you can still travel to Australia with an expired first entry arrival date if your visa is still valid — but it also warns that the visa may still be subject to cancellation before arrival or at the border. VEVO is the tool the Department points to for checking whether your visa, its conditions and its travel facility are still in force.
Two smaller points on the border itself are worth knowing. The visa is digitally linked to your passport and no visa label is issued, so VEVO is also how you prove your status and conditions. And if you hold a New Zealand passport, the Department recommends telling the immigration officer at the border that you hold a Carer visa (subclass 116) and do not want a Special Category visa (subclass 444), because being granted subclass 444 might affect your eligibility for Australian citizenship.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a Resident Return visa if I never leave Australia?
No. Subclass 116 is a permanent visa that lets you stay in Australia indefinitely, and nothing on the official page requires a further visa for a holder who remains in the country. The RRV only becomes relevant when the travel facility has ended and you want to re-enter as a permanent resident.
How long is the travel facility on a 116 visa?
Five years from the date the visa was granted, during which you can travel to and from Australia as many times as you want. The exact end date for your own grant is shown in VEVO.
Does travelling during the five years extend the travel facility?
No. The page frames the facility as five years from the date of grant, so trips taken inside that window do not add time to it. The window closes on the same date whether you travelled once, twenty times, or not at all.
Should I apply for subclass 155 or subclass 157?
The subclass 116 page refers to the Resident Return visa as subclass 155 or subclass 157 without setting out how the two differ, so the eligibility criteria for each should be confirmed on the Department's official Resident Return visa page. What the page does make clear is that you must be granted one of them before you can re-enter Australia as a permanent resident after the facility ends.
If I become an Australian citizen, do I still need an RRV?
No. Australian citizens do not require a visa to enter Australia; you would need to apply for an Australian passport and use it to leave and re-enter. That is why some holders treat citizenship as the alternative path rather than renewing a travel facility indefinitely.
What is VEVO used for?
VEVO is the Department's online service for checking your visa details and conditions, including when your travel facility ends and whether your visa is still valid. It is also the way to prove your visa and its conditions to someone who asks.