Resident Return Visa

Substantial cultural ties

• A person who is accepted as a member of a cultural community within Australia who is actively involved in traditional activities.
• A person involved in the Arts at a professional level.
• Members of religious communities in Australia.
• Sports persons or professional support staff who are members of Australian sporting associations.

Evidence to support a claim of cultural ties of benefit to Australia may include:

• publications
• contracts
• evidence of membership of cultural associations
• newspaper articles
• programs from concerts, etc.

Substantial employment ties

In assessing whether an employment tie is substantial and of benefit to Australia, a relevant consideration is whether the applicant is employed in a permanent, temporary or contract capacity, and an agreed wage or salary is paid to undertake the work

An applicant’s substantial employment tie may be of benefit to Australia if the applicant is currently employed in Australia.

If the applicant has not commenced work but has accepted an employment offer, consideration should be given to whether the employment offer is consistent with their qualifications and experience. In such cases, the immediacy of the commencement of employment would be an important factor. Other indicators of an intention to reside in Australia should also be considered – for example:

• tenancy agreements or home ownership documentation
• enrolment of children in school.

Employment outside Australia may be considered to have employment ties with Australia if employed by:

• an Australian organisation (for example, a company, university, college, religious organisation)
• a Commonwealth, state, territory or local government organisation (including a government business enterprise or a statutory authority/agency)
• the Australian office of an international charity organisation or

Four examples of evidence to support a claim of employment ties are:

• recent official documents such as group certificates
• letters from the employer
• employment contracts
• employee identification.

Substantial employment ties

Substantial personal ties may be of benefit to Australia in the sense that the applicant is, or has been, a participating member of the Australian community and economy, and that their ties enrich the lives of individual Australian residents and citizens.

Under policy, enabling a family unit to remain together can be considered of benefit to Australia particularly if there is evidence of an imminent intention for the family unit to domicile themselves in Australia.

Seven examples of personal ties that may be considered substantial are situations where the applicant:

• has a history of long term residence in Australia prior to the last 5 years, particularly, if the applicant has spent their formative years in Australia or has spent a significant amount of time in Australia since first being granted a permanent visa. Under policy, the greater the proportion of their life in Australia since first being granted a permanent visa, the more weight this should be given
• has been living outside Australia with an Australian citizen partner or, in the case of a minor child, Australian citizen parent, who has previously lived in Australia. Such situations should be given considerable weight as their Australian citizen partner or parent has an automatic right of entry to Australia
• has been living in Australia for more than 12 months in the last 5 years, including as a temporary resident
• has one or more Australian citizen minor children living in Australia (including at boarding school) where no legal impediment to access exists
• has been living overseas with their family unit, including Australian citizen minor children, and the applicant provides evidence of imminent plans to return to Australia with their family to live (this tie should be given considerable weight)
• has personal assets in Australia, for example family home or single investment property – although ownership of a family home or investment property in Australia may help substantiate a personal tie, whether there was a benefit to Australia will depend on whether it is occupied, for example, by a close family member or actively being rented
• has close family members (that is, of a type for which family reunion might be available under the Family Stream of the Migration Program) who have substantial residence in Australia and are Australian permanent residents or Australian citizens.

Another relevant consideration in assessing whether an applicant’s personal tie(s) is/are substantial is the person’s history and intention of residing in Australia. Do they:

• regard Australia as home and
• intend to reside permanently.