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My 124 travel facility ends after 5 years in 2026: how do I keep returning to Australia?

What ends when a Subclass 124 travel facility expires, and how a Resident Return visa (155 or 157) keeps you coming back.

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Your permanent residency does not end when the five-year travel facility on your Distinguished Talent visa (Subclass 124) runs out — only your automatic right to board a plane and re-enter Australia does. According to the Australian Department of Home Affairs on its Distinguished Talent visa (subclass 124) page (as at August 2026), you can travel to and from Australia for 5 years from the date the visa was granted, and after those 5 years you need a Resident Return (RRV) visa (subclass 155 or 157) to re-enter Australia as a permanent resident. The same page points to VEVO as the place to see when your five years ends.

This article is general information about how the published rules fit together and is not personalised advice about your circumstances, so check your own record and the official pages before you act on it.

Does your permanent residency expire with the travel facility?

No. Subclass 124 is described on the Department's page as a permanent visa that lets you stay in Australia permanently, and you become a permanent resident on the day the visa is granted. What carries a time limit is the travel facility, which the Department expresses as the ability to travel to and from Australia for 5 years.

That distinction matters most when you are already inside Australia. If the five years lapses while you are in the country, your status as a permanent resident continues; what you have lost is the ability to leave and come back. Depart without an RRV and you are, in practical terms, stranded outside the country as far as re-entry is concerned.

When does the five years actually start?

From the date the visa was granted, not from the date you first entered Australia, and not from the date your passport was issued. The Department states the travel period runs "from the date we grant the visa," and the Subclass 124 material in the Migration Regulations 1994 describes the visa's validity in the same way — five years from grant, allowing the holder to travel to and enter Australia during that period.

Because the grant date is fixed, the clock can expire earlier than people expect. A holder who was granted the visa in 2021 but did not move to Australia until later may find the travel window has closed while their Australian residence is still recent.

How do you check where you stand?

Use VEVO. The Department's Subclass 124 pages repeatedly direct holders to VEVO to check visa details and conditions, to check the travel validity of the visa before leaving Australia, and to prove to someone else that you hold the visa. VEVO is also the tool the Department names for finding the date your five years ends.

Two practical points follow from the way the visa is issued. There is no visa label: the Department digitally links your visa to your passport. And any conditions attached to your grant are recorded against the visa, so VEVO is where you confirm both the travel end date and whether anything else applies to you.

What do you need in order to come back afterwards?

A Resident Return visa, subclass 155 or 157. The Department's Subclass 124 page names these two subclasses as what you need "to re-enter Australia as a permanent resident" after the five years. Which of the two applies to you, and what you have to show, is set out on the Department's Resident Return visa (subclass 155 or 157) page — the details turn on your circumstances, so read that page against your own record rather than assuming the two are interchangeable.

Assume a holder whose travel facility ended in 2026 and who now works overseas. They remain a permanent resident on paper, but booking a flight to Australia without an RRV would be a wasted trip: the airline check and the border check are both about whether you hold a valid travel authority, not about your underlying status.

What if the facility has already lapsed, or lapses while you are away?

The Department maintains specific guidance on what you can and must do if your visa has expired or is about to expire, and that page is the natural starting point for someone offshore whose travel facility has run out. For a permanent resident in this position, the RRV is the route back; the travel facility itself cannot be extended.

If you are offshore when it expires, nothing happens to your status automatically — but you should resolve the travel authority before you plan any return, rather than at the airport.

Does applying for citizenship change the picture?

It changes the travel question, because Australian citizens travel on an Australian passport rather than on a permanent visa. The Department's Subclass 124 page says you might be eligible for Australian citizenship after a certain time, and directs holders to its citizenship material.

Note how the start date is counted for that purpose. The Department states that for citizenship purposes your permanent residence starts on the day the visa is granted if you are in Australia, or on the day you enter Australia on this visa if you are outside Australia. Subclass 124 must be granted while you are outside Australia, so for most holders the relevant date is the day of first entry on the visa — which is later than the grant date that drives the travel facility. The two clocks are not the same clock.

What else should you keep in order?

Travel records. The Department notes you can request your international movement records to get proof of your travel in and out of Australia. That history is the kind of material that becomes relevant later, whether you are evidencing residence for an RRV application or for citizenship.

Border formalities still apply as they do for any arrival: all people arriving in Australia must complete an Incoming Passenger Card, which is provided on board.

One trap is specific to New Zealand passport holders. The Department recommends that, if an immigration officer processes your clearance at the border, you tell the officer that you hold a Distinguished Talent visa (subclass 124) and that you do not want a Special Category visa (subclass 444). If you do not, you might be granted a subclass 444 visa, which is not a permanent visa, and the Department warns that grant of a subclass 444 visa might affect your eligibility for Australian citizenship.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does my permanent residency end when the five-year travel facility expires?

No. Subclass 124 is a permanent visa, and you became a permanent resident on the day it was granted. What expires is the travel facility — the ability to leave and re-enter Australia — which the Department of Home Affairs sets at 5 years from the grant date.

Do I need a Resident Return visa if I never leave Australia?

No, not for staying. The travel facility only matters when you want to re-enter the country. If you remain in Australia continuously, your permanent residence continues; the RRV becomes relevant the moment you travel and want to come back after the five years have passed.

How do I find out the exact date my travel facility ends?

Check VEVO. The Department's Subclass 124 pages direct holders to VEVO to see when the 5 years ends, to check travel validity before leaving Australia, and to view visa conditions. The date runs from the grant of the visa, not from your first entry.

Which RRV should I apply for, subclass 155 or 157?

The Department's Subclass 124 page names subclass 155 or 157 as what you need to re-enter Australia as a permanent resident after five years, without tying every holder to one of them. Which one fits depends on your situation, and the eligibility criteria are set out on the Department's Resident Return visa (subclass 155 or 157) page.

Is Subclass 124 still open to new applications?

Check the Department's Distinguished Talent visa (subclass 124) page to confirm whether the subclass remains open to new applications.

I am a New Zealand passport holder — is there anything different at the border?

Yes. The Department recommends telling the immigration officer that you hold a Subclass 124 visa and that you do not want a Special Category visa (subclass 444). Otherwise you might be granted a subclass 444, which is not permanent and might affect your eligibility for Australian citizenship.

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