Waded through the Oz Immigration website and came out more confused than before.

The facts:- Wife has Permanent Residency in Oz,lived there for 12yrs.'95>>'07.

Since '07 been living in Thai with me(Retirement Visa)

Both wishing to return to Oz to visit family,grandkids we've never seen maybe 6mths>1yr.??

But I get the impression there's some problem because she has been out of Oz for more than 5yrs.

Any clarification or assistance greatly appreciated.

Regards Kim.

Permanent residency visa is valid for five years and can easily be renewed in Australia. However if departing Australia and expected to be away beyond the expiry of the 5 year period your wife should have applied for a return resident visa prior to departure

http://www.immi.gov..../residents/155/

Looks like your wife will need to apply for another visa to visit Australia, but best bet would be to contact the Embassy to ascertain the best approach

Edited September 28, 201213 yr by simple1