Campaigning for the fair treatment of New Zealanders living in Australia

Must Not Arrive After date

PR overseas travel facility, what to be aware of.
PR overseas travel facility, what to be aware of.

15 October 2015

Have you been granted a Resident Return Visa or NZ 189 Visa?

Congratulations, you are now a Permanent Resident!

Important

Print a copy of your Visa Grant Notice and keep it with your passport.

Must Not Arrive After date

The single most important piece of information on your Visa Grant Notice is the Must Not Arrive After date.

This is the date your travel facility expires. If you travel overseas after this date, without renewing your travel facility, you will become a Special Category Visa-holder again.

You will then have to apply for an RRV and wait an additional 12 months before being eligible to apply for citizenship.

After being lawfully present in Australia as permanent resident for two of the last five years you will be granted a five-year travel facility when renewing your RRV. Note: time spent overseas will not count towards the two years.

Check your visa status

Check your visa status (VEVO)

Going overseas?

Check the Must Not Arrive After Date on your Visa Grant Notice.

Apply for RRV online if the Must Not Arrive After date has passed. RRV applications can take up to three months to be processed if you have not been lawfully present in Australia, as a permanent resident, for at least two of the last five years. Note: time spent overseas will not count towards the two years, and the SCV is a temporary visa.

Related

Find out more about the status of New Zealanders in Australia.

Eligibility for a Resident Return Visa

Refer to Resident Return Visa information on the Department of Home Affairs website

Have a question?

Click the Ask a Question box at the bottom of the Home Affairs website to use the digital assistant. It may not work with Mozilla Firefox in private browsing mode.

Alternatively, phone the Department of Home Affairs on 13 18 81.

RRV overseas travel

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