Okavango

Hi. Myself, wife and 5yr old daughter have PRV's for Australia. Since being granted we've been blessed with twins though we're unlikely to make the move before the PRV 5yr threshold. However, we will be ready in the next year. Aware that it will be difficult to get a RRV issued outside Australia, is the best course of action for me to go over and apply for an RRV in country? Subsequent to that, can the rest of the family be added to my visa? Would it also be straightforward without any permanent address in country and would it automatically be 12 month?
Assuming the above is difficult and after a bit more research since - is the best course of action for myself to go on a job hunt in country and on being offered a job (and therefore having substantial ties) apply for a RRV which I'll subsequently then be able to add the family to? I'd probably prefer this anyway as it would be a bit more stable than dragging the family with me until employment/location was certain. This being the case, is there a timeframe where you are not allowed to apply for a RRV after your PRV has expired? Surely the PRV doesn't have dormant rights valid for life?
The DIBP states "You might be able to be granted this visa if you are a former Australian permanent resident whose last permanent visa was not cancelled". What does "cancelled" mean in this context?

louie

I take it you've never lived in Australia? AFAIK it makes no difference to your likelihood of being granted a RRV whether you are in Australia or not when you apply. Without any ties you are unlikely to be granted one either way. A job (preferably) or a job offer would make a big difference though. Any RRV would be for a year and you can apply at any time.

If you did get a RRV, your family would also be eligible for RRVs too, but each individual's application is separate; you don't add them to your visa.

Have you already arranged for child visas for your twins? You can't apply for RRVs for them without them already having been granted child visas.

Cancelled means having done something naughty and been sent packing; it doesn't mean simply that the travel permit element has expired.

garyp

I managed to successfully apply for a 1 year RRV from the UK online by myself which was granted today. I did spend 8 months there in 2010 though and that is what I focused on, time spent working there in the past as a tie. I also threw in compassionate reasons such as my son was homesick to return to the UK and how my daughters schooling has delayed a return. You would have to show some good reasons for both I guess.

Okavango

Thanks for the replies, will try for the RRV though we only went out for 1 month to validate so I doubt it will work. That said we're both still on the SOL and only 41 so maybe that will be enough.
Assuming not, is my thinking correct that if I don't enter on a holiday visa my PRV remains valid but dormant. If so, my thinking is that if I can get a job offer from outside the country then I may be then able to get the RRV relatively straightforward (ie without all the hassle of the full PRV application). We'll get the twins added to the visa as a matter of course before it runs out - thanks for the reminder there.

garyp

My PR visa ended December 2014 and I applied for an eVisitor visa which was granted after that. There is conflicting information on doing this but it did not affect my RRV application being granted from the UK which cancelled the visitor visa. I never had a job offer but if you get a firm offer of a job, where loads do from the UK, there is a good chance you will get the RRV.

slackbloke

I would think the most important thing is getting visas for your twins first. If there are any medical issues everything else becomes irrelevant.

Pollyana

Be careful if following this route though - getting a tourist visa/evisitor has caused many people in the past to have their PRs cancelled out by the tourist visa grant. Some - like you - have been lucky but its not always the case as you can only technically hold one visa at a time.

Glad it worked out for you

Okavango

Thanks all. How much will it be to add the twins to our PRV? Is it £1000pp plus medical? I had thought it was simply a matter of adding them to the application though I think that was just pre-grant?

Pollyana

You can't add them to your visa, you will need a child visa for each of them.
https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa-1/101-

Okavango

Many thanks for the info. So am I ok to try for a RRV for myself and then if/when we move, add my wife/daughter to that and apply for separate child visa's for the twins?

slackbloke

No, you cannot add your wife/daughter. They will need their own separate RRV applications.

Okavango

Understood and thanks. As above, I'm assuming (perhaps incorrectly) that if I can land a job and get an RRV then my wife and eldest child would then be able to similarly get RRV's. Once they were in place then apply for child visas for twins.

In practice it's probably very difficult and even if possible I guess we'd need to plan for a few months apart which wouldn't be ideal.

As a final point - am I kind of locked out and looking for work outside of the country after the visa travel facility expires and is there no way to enter the country and look for work before applying for an RRV in country? Again this would mean some time with the family apart though the only practical way I can see of resurrecting the visa.

Dorothy

No...You, your wife and your eldest child all apply for RRVs at the same time. You then apply for your twins' child visas. When/if they're granted you move to Australia. You don't need to spend any time apart unless you want to.

I think you're missing the part where your wife and child are no longer dependents on your visa. They each have their own visas completely separate from yours.

Okavango

I'm not missing that part. That's why I'm suggesting they make separate later applications with the tie being that their husband/father is resident in the country with a job. If they have to make a RRV now based on the existing visa facility then it's a done deal as they have no ties whatsoever to the country.

Sounds like a case of bureacracy ruling over common sense though such is life and worse things happen at sea.

slackbloke

When does the travel part of your visa actually expire?