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Fact Sheet 95 - Documents Needed to Enter Australia

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Everyone travelling to Australia needs an approved travel document, visa or authority to enter Australia.

Australian citizens, who have automatic right of entry to Australia, need only present a current Australian passport on arrival.

Australian citizens who hold dual or multiple nationalities must hold an Australian passport and use it to enter or leave Australia, even if they use a foreign passport overseas. The only exception is where they have been issued an Australian Declaratory Visa.

Permanent residents (migrants) cannot travel on their migrant visas once they have been granted Australian citizenship. This is because the migrant visa ceases to be in effect when Australian citizenship is acquired, even though it may not yet have reached its expiry date or been physically cancelled.

New Zealand citizens travelling on New Zealand passports receive electronic visas entitling them to stay in Australia.

All other non-citizens, including people who migrated and now live in Australia permanently, must hold valid visas or authorities for re-entry to Australia.

Anyone who arrives without a visa, authority for re-entry or an Australian or New Zealand passport may be refused entry to Australia or delayed until their identities and claims to enter Australia have been checked.

In addition to the above requirements, all persons entering Australia must also fill out an incoming passenger card (IPC). All non-citizens are required to make a health and character declaration on the IPC.

Valid entry documents

Passports: A current Australian passport ensures the holder can enter Australia. A current New Zealand passport ensures the holder can enter Australia, subject to health and character concerns.

Migrant visas: New migrants are issued with a multiple re-entry visa when their immigration to Australia is approved. These visas allow holders to travel to and from Australia as permanent residents for up to 5 years from the date of grant.

After the initial visa has expired, if the holder wishes to continue to travel to and from Australia as a permanent resident, they must obtain a Resident Return Visa (RRV).

Resident Return visas: RRVs allow permanent residents of Australia to re-enter Australia as often as they wish during the validity of the visa. RRVs may be issued with five years' or three months' validity.

Permanent residents should obtain their RRVs before leaving Australia to avoid travel delays and the need to obtain an RRV through an overseas office of the Department of Immigration and Citizenship.

Permanent residents can also travel with an old-style RRV - an Authority to Return or a Return Endorsement.

Authority to Return (ATR) and Return Endorsement (RE)

ATRs and REs were issued to people who migrated to Australia before 1987 and remain valid as long as the holder has returned to Australia within three years of each departure and has not become an Australian citizen.

As these 'old style RRVs' were issued manually by way of a 'wet stamp', they are not compatible with the department's electronic systems and holders may experience delays on entry while manual checks are made.

Holders may have the wet stamp replaced at any department office with a new, electronically verifiable label (referred to as a BF111) which does not alter the conditions of the original visa in any way. There is no charge for the first label. However, there is a charge if holders wish to have the new label re-evidenced in another passport.

NOTE: Holders will lose their ATR or RE if they are granted another substantive visa (other than a Border visa or an Electronic Travel Authority). Due to recent amendments to the Migration Act 1958, it will not be possible to reinstate ATRs or REs ceased by the grant of another visa.

Resident Return Visas (RRVs)

The purpose of RRVs is to facilitate the re-entry into Australia of non-citizen permanent residents; and to ensure that only those people who have a genuine commitment to residing in Australia, or who are contributing to Australia's well-being, retain the right to return to Australia and remain permanently.

The applicant must be:

For a five- year RRV, applicants must have spent two years out of the past five years in Australia as a permanent resident or have substantial and beneficial ties to Australia. Applicants who have been absent from Australia for more than five years must also have compelling reasons for their absence of more than five years.

A three-month RRV may be granted to persons who don't yet qualify for a five-year RRV but have strong reasons to go overseas, such as the severe illness of a family member. Applicants must have spent at least one day in Australia in the past five years as a permanent resident, and have compelling and compassionate reasons for departing Australia.

Spouses and family members of an RRV holder who are or have been permanent residents may be granted RRVs on the basis that their family head holds an RRV. An RRV granted on this basis will have the same validity period as the family head's, whether the family member applies for an RRV at the same time as the family head or later.

If the family member meets one of the other criteria for an RRV in their own right, they will be granted an RRV with the full five-year validity.

Emergencies overseas

A permanent resident overseas who is unable to prove their status, eg if his or her passport has been stolen and they have obtained a new one, may apply for a temporary RRV if they have an urgent and compelling reason to return.

People who return to Australia on temporary RRVs must apply at a departmental office to regain their permanent status within three months of their arrival. People who do not will become unlawful non-citizens, subject to detention and removal from Australia.

Business Skills visa holders prevented

Some business skills visa holders are prevented from applying for an RRV. Those who last permanent visa was a Business Skills visa subclass127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 840, 841, 842, 843, or 844 can not lodge a valid application for an RRV if:

Applying for RRVs

Any departmental office will accept an application for an RRV. In Australia, RRV applicants do not need to fill in a form if they:

Applicants in Australia who meet the residence requirements for a five year RRV can apply electronically via the department's website.
See: www.immi.gov.au/migrants/residents/155/apply-online.htm

Such applications are usually decided within 24 hours, and applicants then make a brief visit to a department office to have the visa label placed in their passports.

Overseas applicants can apply at any Australian office overseas by completing form 1085 and lodging it with their passport and payment of the application charge (Form 990i refers).

If more than one person is travelling on the same passport, only one application and one charge is needed. Family members with separate passports must apply and pay separately.

Former Australian Citizens

Former Australian citizens who have lost or renounced their citizenship can apply for an RRV if they wish to return to Australia as permanent residents. Alternatively, former citizens may be eligible for resumption of citizenship.

Re-evidence of return visa labels/authorities

If a passport containing a valid RRV, ATR or RE has expired, or been lost, stolen or damaged, the visa can be re-evidenced with another label in the holder's new passport. An application charge applies for this service.

If a valid visa is in an expired passport, it is possible to continue to use the visa until it expires, provided both the old and new passports are carried together when travelling to Australia

NOTE: For those people who do not wish to carry both their old and new passports, it is recommended that you have your valid visa re-evidenced to avoid possible delays/inconvenience when travelling. An application charge applies to the re-evidencing of RRVs, ATRs and REs.

Australian Declaratory Visa (ADV)

ADVs are issued in limited circumstances to Australian citizens who hold dual nationality. They are administrative documents that resemble a visa.

ADVs are issued only if the applicant is a dual national under the age of 18 or in an emergency or other situation preventing travel on an Australian passport.

An ADV is valid for five years from the date of issue, unless the holder ceases to be an Australian citizen, whereupon the holder will need a visa to travel to Australia.

Charges apply for this service.

Application Charges

Where payment of an application charge is required, you can check the amount of the charge with your nearest departmental office or Australian overseas mission. Such charges are also listed in Form 990i Charges which is available in the form section of the department's website.
See: www.immi.gov.au/allforms/990i/visa-charges.htm

On-line

Further information available on-line.
See: www.immi.gov.au/migrants/residents/155/index.htm

 

Further information is available on the department's web site.
See: www.immi.gov.au

The department also operates a national telephone service inquiry line.
Telephone: 131 881
Hours of operation: Monday to Friday from 9am to 4pm (recorded information available outside these hours) for the cost of a local call anywhere in Australia.

Fact Sheet 95. Produced by the National Communications Branch, Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Canberra.
Revised 30 January 2007.

© Commonwealth of Australia 2007.