louie

You are not reading that right. First question is:

"To be eligible for a five year Resident Return visa you must be one of the following:

an Australian permanent resident
a former Australian permanent resident whose last permanent visa was not cancelled
a former Australian Citizen who lost or renounced their citizenship."

If you (ie the RRV applicant, not their family member) pass that one, the second question is:

"You must also meet one of the following eligibility requirements" .... <snip>.Your children (and partner) fall at the first hurdle if they have never been permanent residents.

Edited to say: Cez makes a good point about citizenship for the children if they were born in Australia though.

Cez

I think you will still need to apply for a spouse visa for your other half, but I would really recommend getting a MARA agent to look at your case - even for a brief consultation - as it seems pretty complicated and no-one wants to be handing more money to the Aussie Government on purpose :-)

Pollyana

If they can be granted RRVs without ever gaving held a PR visa then:
a) the OP on this thread would be doing the same, and
b) a lot other people would be doing it too, as it means DIAC havd decided to allow families of PR holders to move to Aus without any medicals, character checks, or proof of relationship, where spouses are concerned.
Sounds crazy to me but maybe the RRV rules changed recently and yoy are the first on here to discover it
I shall watch with interest and see if a partner really can get residency that way as I have friends who would be able to follow the same path

Pollyana

Thats how I have always interpreted it

emylou78

This is the issue i have had for the past 5 years or so, I have held PR since 1995, i have made many trips to OZ all my family are here, staying for various amounts of time, sometimes on tourist visa's as advised by DIAC . After my PR expired i was not told i could apply for an RRV, my parents gained citizenship after 2 years in OZ so they did not know anything about them.
I moved out in 2007 on a student visa and then a 457 every time i have been into immigration to add kids or change details etc they told me i have PR why are you holding a temp visa as well !
Well last year my medicare card expired when i tried to renew it showing my temp visa the girl refused to issue me with a temp card as my old one was for PR 's. Many phone calls later she announces that she has it from the Australian government that i am a permanent resident !!!!!! I call immigration who confirm that i'm a pr holder and need to apply for an RRV. i did and it was turned down.
This week 6 different immigration staff confirmed i hold PR but not the travel side anymore. I asked a few questions they could not answer next thing i know they are telling me to go into immigration asap they grant me an RRV!!! and dont look at any of the documentation i take with me
I'm really not sure about my children, as immigration have told me i held a valid PR visa when they were born and if i had applied for baby bonus's using my PR visa and not the temp one they would have confirmed that i was a PR holder !!!! it's all a bit complicated

emylou78

for the 3 month RRV you only need to meet one criteria including being the immediate family member of an RRV holder

emylou78

by the way immediate family is described as brother, sister, mother, father so i will still need to sponsor my partner !!

Cez

Do you need to travel immediately? I would seriously consider applying for citizenship given you've been here since 2007 if I'm reading this right?

If your children are citizens then they will not be eligible for any visas - you will need to sort out their citizenship

Your partner will need an 820/801 onshore visa, as you've been together for ages and have kids she can submit a request to be granted a permanent visa straight off

Seriously, this is one of the weirdest threads I've happened across. Maybe give up the solicitor trying to sue the Aussie govt and pay a MARA immigration agent instead

Cez

BTW the info you have about RRVs sounds like utter tosh. If it's true then I'll be sponsoring every member of my immediate family, does this not seem odd to you?

Pollyana

Exactly my point

Pollyana

So you went to DIAC and they confirmed you are PR but its more than 5 years old so the travel part has expired.
They granted you a RRV.
If you were PR when your children were born, and they were born in Aus, they are almost certainly Australian. They do not need, and cannot hold Aussie visas.
Your partner needs to be sponsored for a Spouse Visa. He/she cannot move to Aus on a RRV because he/she needs PR FIRST.

Cez

Also when you say you're going to "ring an immigration officer" about the RRV thingo, if you mean you're going to ring the DIAC hotline you may as well ring a brick wall. These guys are call centre workers, they don't necessarily know much about immigration - the two times I called I was given completely incorrect information seemingly picked out of nowhere.

You wouldn't call the NHS hotline and ask the person who answered to operate on your gall bladder now, would you.

emylou78

The information is on immigration website with regards the 3 month RRV http://www.immi.gov.au/migrants/resi...ligibility.htm. If you read it, it clearly states must meet one of the criteria. IT does seem odd/to easy to me but it's there.
I am not trying to sue anybody but get to the bottom of this crazy situation, and i did use mara agents when arranging my student visa and then my 457, neither said i should apply for an RRV but took my $$$$$.
with regards my children #1 was born in UK, #2 born in OZ we added him to our 457 visa, #3 born in OZ and i have not added her to any visa.
I know i need to sponsor my partner we are starting the paperwork now but i'm confused with regards our children, and i'm applying for citizenship asap !!

Cez

Yes, but you HAVE to be a permanent resident to get an RRV, look at the top three criteria! My mum's never stepped foot in Oz and I can't give her an RRV because she was never a PR to start with. Stop selectively reading the criteria.

Your younger two kids should be ok for citizenship, not sure about the oldest one but if all else fails they can be included on your other half's partner visa as a migrating dependent.

JAJ

All somewhat confusing but based on the details presented, it seems:

1. You have not been a PR all along. You were a former permanent resident who lost/abandoned status and returned to Australia as a temporary resident (student visa/457).

2. As a former PR you were still eligible to apply for an RRV on concessional grounds, however you should consider yourself extremely lucky to have obtained one.

3. Since you were a temporary resident when your children were born (in Australia) then they are not Australian citizens. They automatically got the visa you had when they were born.

4. Your spouse and children cannot get RRVs as they are not permanent residents, former permanent residents, or former Australian citizens.

5. It sounds like they need the permanent spouse visa, 801. Needs to be applied for immediately.

6. I recommend an immediate consultation with a good MARA registered agent to review the case and see if there is anything additional that needs to be taken into account. Try George Lombard in Sydney. Search forum for contact details, and be prepared to pay.

7. I doubt you will get anything back from DIAC.

8. You may be eligible for citizenship after 1 year as a permanent resident, if you have at least 4 years legal residence.