What is Australian Permanent Residency and How Can You Get Permanent Residency (PR) ?
What Is a Permanent Resident (PR) ?
- A PR visa is a visa (or status) that allows the holder of the visa to remain in Australia indefinitely
- You can become a PR of Australia by applying for and being granted a PR visa
Australian Visas that Allow you to become a PR (or potentially allow you to become a PR) include:
Australian Permanent Residence status v. Being an Australian Citizen
An Australian permanent resident and an Australian citizen are not the same.
As a permanent resident of Australia, you generally can:
- remain in Australia indefinitely on your visa
- work and study in Australia
- enrol in Australia’s national health scheme, Medicare
- apply for bank loans to buy property, and buy any property without FIRB restrictions
- sponsor eligible relatives for permanent residence under certain streams eg. Partner Visas, Parent visas, and 489 visas (if you reside in an approved designated area)
- apply for Australian citizenship, if eligible
- travel to and from Australia for as long as your travel facility permits (please have a look at the Resident Return Visa / RRV visa requirement)
- You may also qualify for other government benefits and services. If you hold a permanent visa, but you are not residing in Australia, your eligibility for the above may be impacted.
Australian PR’s compared to Australian citizens:
a PR can not
- apply for or hold an Australian passport
- access student loans
- join the Australian Defence Force
- vote in Australian Government elections unless you enrolled (as a British subject) before 26 January 1984
- obtain ongoing work in the Australian Government
- return to Australia from overseas without a valid travel facility (please have a look at the Resident Return Visa / RRV visa requirement)
When you are granted a permanent visa, you are usually permitted a 5-year travel facility.
This means you can leave and re-enter Australia as many times as you like in the 5 years from the date your permanent visa was granted, as long as your visa remains valid.
After 5 years, your travel facility expires and you will need to apply for, and be granted:
- a Resident Return visa – if you wish to re-enter Australia as a permanent resident or
- Australian citizenship – if you wish to travel as an Australian citizen.
How do you prove that you are an Australian Permanent Resident ?
Examples of when you may need to prove your permanent resident status include:
- interacting with other Australian government agencies regarding entitlements and benefits such as Centrelink and Medicare, or
- traveling to Australia, or
- obtaining certain documentation from other Australian agencies or authorities such as:
- Driver’s licence
- Maritime Security Identification Card (MSIC)
- interacting with foreign embassies, consulates and high commissions in Australia or for the purposes of obtaining a foreign travel document
Your PR status (visa) is linked to your passport, and your visa status is shown on VEVO
What is VEVO ? Visa Entitlement Verification Online (VEVO) allows visa holders, employers, education providers and other organisations to check visa details and conditions.
To prove permanent resident status you can use VEVO to:
- email or print out your status or
- give permission for an organisation or a government agency to perform a VEVO check.
You can do this, as long as your visa is linked with your passport or ImmiCard.
VEVO tells you:
- which visa you hold
- the expiry date of that visa
- the must not arrive after date
- the period of stay (how long you can stay)
- conditions (what you can and can’t do)
Check you visa status here on VEVO
