From permanent to citizenship - can I live OS for a few years?

[Guest Emu]

I know it seems there's always one more visa and one more step ... Now that I'm permanent I see myself settling down and living in Oz forever but would like to go overseas for a few years if the opportunity came up.How long till you can get citizenship? If I live before getting it, is there a period that your status changes? As in, I think the checks that they do are different and more strict if you leave the country ... Could be wrong?!Just wondering if someone knows before I commit myself to queue at immigration for an hour ;o)Thanks in advance

[Guest kfoley0681]

hi you need to be living in australia as a prmanant resident for 4 years i believe. andthere are restrictions on how long you can holiday to qualify check there website for full details!!!

[Guest tinkham_lee]

Quoted from immi website

 

To satisfy the residence requirements you must have:

• 4 years lawful residence in Australia. This period must include 12 months as a permanent resident immediately before making an application for Australian citizenship
  

and

• absences from Australia of no more than 12 months in total in the 4 years prior to application, including not more than 90 days in the 12 months immediately prior to application
  

If you were granted a permanent residence visa onshore your permanent residence date is the date that visa was issued.

If you were granted a migrant visa offshore your permanent residence date is your date of first arrival in Australia on this visa.

[coolerking]

Hi,

check this link http://www.immi.gov.au/media/fact-sheets/95documents.htm

 

You can get an RRV which I think is valid for five years but you have to have lived here for 2 years out of five.

 

Cooler

[Guest Emu]

Thank you all for your input. I think in my case if I was to leave it would have to be the RRV, as I just got the permanent residency and if I left it would be in the next year or so. So I cant apply for citizenship then ... so it would have to be RRV and then make sure that i come back in less then 5 years?!?

but have to live here for 2 years out of the 5?

is this correct?

what is a substantial tie? if i was working for an Australian company overseas is that a substancial tie?

Confused ...

 

--- For a five-year RRV, applicants must have spent two years out of the past five years in Australia as a permanent resident, or have substantial and beneficial ties to Australia. ---

[Guest Emu]

So you only apply for RRV if you know you going to be away for at least a year or something like that?

[Guest tinkham_lee]

what is a substantial tie? if i was working for an Australian company overseas is that a substancial tie?

Confused ...

 

--- For a five-year RRV, applicants must have spent two years out of the past five years in Australia as a permanent resident, or have substantial and beneficial ties to Australia. ---

 

The RRV is so you can leave and return to Australia once your residency visa has expired, E.G a holiday. A substantial tie would be like owning a house, having a job or immediate family in Australia. It looks like you need to live here for 2 years to be able to apply for the RRV

[Guest Emu]

I thought that the permanent residency is valid forever but obviously not, specially if you leave the country for more then a year ... is that what you mean by expiry?

it just feels like we always somehow on a visa ... never ends ...

i think i need to do some more reading and go to immigration dep

[Guest tinkham_lee]

PR allows you to live and work in Australia indefinitely however you must arrive in the country before the PR visa expires 5 years after it was issued (including holidays abroad). Once the visa expires you are still allowed to live and work, you just can't return to Australia if you should leave. To overcome this if you are eligible you can either apply for a RRV which allows you to leave and return to Australia for another 5 years, or apply for citizenship allowing you to get an aussie passport and leave and return as you please.

 

Best thing is to speak to immigration find out exactly where you stand. If it were me, just to be safe, I would wait until I had citizenship.