Stay

Permanently

With this visa, you can

• stay in Australia permanently
• work and study in Australia
• enroll in Australia’s public health care scheme, Medicare
• sponsor your relatives to come to Australia
• travel to and from Australia for 5 years
• if eligible, become an Australian citizen

You must

• have an occupation on the relevant skilled list
• have a suitable skills assessment for the occupation
• be invited to apply for this visa
• satisfy the points test

How long you can stay

This is a permanent visa. It lets you stay in Australia indefinitely. The visa has a travel component that expires 5 years after the date of visa grant.

You become a permanent resident on the day we grant the visa.

For citizenship purposes, your permanent residency starts on the day:

• we grant the visa, if you are in Australia
• you enter Australia on this visa, if you are outside Australia

Include family

You can include members of the family unit in your application. You can:

• include them when you lodge your visa application
• add them after you lodge your application but before we decide on your visa. 

Family members who apply for the visa must meet our health and character requirements. Family members not accompanying you to Australia might also need to meet our health and character requirements.

If your partner or dependent children are not included in this application, to assist us in processing your visa please tell us the reason why.

Apply from

You can be in or outside Australia when you apply for the visa and when we decide your application but not in immigration clearance.

If you apply in Australia, you must hold a substantive visa or a Subclass 010 Bridging A visa, a Subclass 020 Bridging B visa or a Subclass 030 Bridging C visa, otherwise your application will not be valid.

Travel

You can travel in and out of Australia as many times as you want for 5 years from the date, we grant the visa. After 5 years you will need a Resident Return (RRV) visa (subclass 155 or 157) to re-enter Australia as a permanent resident.

Process