khanyawar

Dear friends, I have recently applied for GSM 175 I have noted the following from the thread below

- The visa is valid for 5 years from the date of grant (NOT the date the visa is stamped or validated)

- You are expected to be in Australia for a total of 2 years (730 days) in this 5 year period.


source: http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Visa_Validation-Australia

My question is; Is this still valid in my case or there has been some updates? I also heard that its now 3 yrs out of 4 to get citizenship....

please update me...

mrsgreenstar76

If you'd carried on reading that section, it says:

It wasn't talking about citizenship requirements. For citizenship, you must have been resident in Australia for four years, with twelve months as a PR. You must have had no more than twelve months absence in the preceding four years, and no more than ninety days in the twelve months before applying.

newjersey

The 175 visa is no more, but its replacement, the 189 has the same concept - the residency component is permanent, the travel component is good for 5 years from the visa grant. Meaning you can stay in Australia past its expiration, and will only need a new visa or a passport if you want to travel outside of the initial 5 year window. The travel component can be further extended by Returning Resident visa, given you are eligible to get one.

The citizenship rules exist in parallel. If you have just applied for the visa, I would not worry about that too much, things change and it may be some other story if and when it comes to that.

khanyawar

Thank you mrsgreenstar and newjersey.

I actually did read the whole thing and had some confusion because somebody told me that now the 2 out 5 year rule has been changed.

So as it is, I understand that you spend 2 out of 5 years in order to get a RRV so that you can re-enter Australia after 5 yrs are up but that doesn't qualify you for citizenship. I think I got it right now?

and then you when you re-enter you need to spend 2 more years for citizenship? combining the 2 yrs before you left and 2 further years after you come back. (provided you leave for less than 12 months in between)

How long is an RRV visa for ?

Pollyana

You need to see the two issues separately. Qualifying for a RRV on one hand, and qualifying for citizenship on the other.

For a RRV read - http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Reside...Visa-Australia and the section on the DIAC site that it links to. RRV can be issued for 3 months, 12 months or 5 years. To get one you need to prove that you have ties to Australia. Forget the 2 out of 5 years thing. That is a rough guide, and if you have enough ties it is irrelevant.

For citizenship read www.citizenship.gov.au As a general rule of thumb you require 4 years re3sidence in Aus, at least one as PR.

khanyawar

Thank you Pollyana....