Bridging Visas Explained – Complete Guide to Your Legal Status

What is a bridging visa?

A bridging visa is a temporary visa that generally lets you stay in Australia lawfully after your current substantive visa ceases, while your new substantive visa application is being processed.

Nearly all bridging visas are applied for automatically as part of applying for a substantive visa, and Home Affairs tells you if this happens. You can check whether you hold one, and its conditions, in VEVO (Visa Entitlement Verification Online).

A bridging visa is not a substantive visa. It has no fixed length. It lasts until your application is finally determined, and its conditions decide whether you can work and whether you can travel.

You can't use a bridging visa while you wait for a citizenship application to be decided.

The main bridging visas: A, B, C and E

Home Affairs lists four bridging visas that people usually meet. Each has different rules.

Bridging visa A (BVA), subclass 010

A BVA generally lets you stay in Australia after your current substantive visa ceases and while your new substantive visa application is processed. You must be in Australia when you apply. Whether you can work depends on the conditions in your grant letter. A BVA does not support return travel: if you leave Australia while it is in effect, it ceases, and you can't return on it.

Bridging visa B (BVB), subclass 020

A BVB lets you leave and return to Australia during a specified travel period while your substantive visa application is processed. You must already hold a BVA or a BVB, and you must show substantial reasons for needing to travel. Home Affairs says to apply no more than 3 months, and not less than 2 weeks, before the date you want to travel. It must be granted before you leave Australia. Work rights follow the visa you held and the visa you applied for.

Bridging visa C (BVC), subclass 030

A BVC may be granted if you have made a valid application in Australia for a substantive visa but do not already hold a substantive visa. A BVC does not support return travel.

Bridging visa E (BVE), subclass 050

A BVE lets you stay lawfully in Australia while you make arrangements to leave, finalise your immigration matter or wait for an immigration decision.

Work rights on a bridging visa

Your grant letter lists your work conditions, and VEVO shows any work restrictions.

• BVA: you might be allowed to work, depending on the conditions that apply. If your BVA does not let you work or restricts work, you can apply for another BVA that lets you work. Home Affairs says you will usually have to show financial hardship.
• BVB: you might be able to work if the substantive visa you held, or the one you applied for, lets you work. If the BVB does not permit work, a BVB's conditions can't be changed; you apply for a BVA instead, and again must show financial hardship.
• BVC: the first BVC does not let you work unless the substantive visa you applied for is one of a listed group. That group includes subclasses 186, 187, 188, 189, 190, 489, 491, 494, 132 and 888. Otherwise you can apply for another BVC that lets you work, and you have to show financial hardship.

If you hold a substantive visa when a bridging visa is granted, you must keep complying with that visa's conditions until it ceases.

Travel on a bridging visa

If you leave Australia while a BVA or BVC is in effect, it ceases and you can't return on it. To travel and come back while your substantive visa application is processed, Home Affairs says you need to have been granted a BVB before you leave.

A BVB has a specified travel period. If the period has ended, you must apply for and be granted another BVB before leaving again. If you are outside Australia when the travel period ends, the BVB ceases and you can't return with it.

The BVB application asks for your reasons and any supporting documents. It is assessed against a requirement that you have substantial reasons for needing to travel.

When a bridging visa ends

A bridging visa has no fixed expiry date. It ends when something happens. VEVO shows exactly how long you can stay once you've been notified of an outcome.

A BVA ends immediately if you leave Australia while it is in effect, if you are granted the substantive visa you applied for, if you are granted another bridging visa for the same application, or if Home Affairs cancels the BVA or the substantive visa you held when it was granted.

Otherwise, for bridging visas granted on or after 19 November 2016, a BVA, BVB or BVC ceases 35 calendar days after a refusal decision, a Tribunal decision on the associated application, an invalid-application determination, or a withdrawal of the application or the review application. It ceases 28 calendar days after a judicial review body upholds the refusal, or after you withdraw a related judicial review application.

The review body is the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART), which started on 14 October 2024. Home Affairs's bridging visa pages still use older tribunal names in places.

If your visa is refused

If a merits review tribunal upholds the refusal of your substantive visa and you apply for judicial review, you need to apply for a new bridging visa to stay lawful during the judicial review proceedings. Home Affairs says anyone who has applied for judicial review can only apply for a bridging visa by webform.

The review application itself has a deadline. Under section 347 of the Migration Act, the general deadline is 28 days, and it is 14 days if the applicant is in immigration detention when notified. Missing it can end review rights, so the dates in your refusal notice matter.

What bridging visa conditions look like

Conditions are listed in your grant letter and in VEVO. Home Affairs says visa holders must adhere to the conditions on their visa, and that the grant letter will tell you what applies. Typical conditions deal with work, with travel and with keeping Home Affairs informed. If you are unsure whether something would breach a condition, check the grant letter and VEVO first. A registered migration agent can also explain how the conditions apply to a case.

What to check this week

1. Find your grant letter and check which bridging visa you hold.
2. Look up your conditions and work rights in VEVO.
3. Check whether your bridging visa is in effect or still waiting to start.
4. Check the travel rules before booking any trip. A BVA and a BVC don't support return travel.
5. Keep a note of any decision dates, because a refusal starts the 35 days and review deadlines.
6. If you use help with your visa, Home Affairs says only a registered migration agent, a legal practitioner or an exempt person can give immigration assistance. You can check an agent's status on the OMARA register, where a current agent shows as Registered.

Next steps

Bridging visa rules depend on the visa you held, the visa you applied for and the conditions on your grant. Home Affairs publishes the rules for each bridging visa, and VEVO shows your own. A MARA-registered migration agent can look at how they apply to your case. Migratio is not a migration agent, and this is general information, not migration advice. Migratio lists registered agents to compare. Consultations typically cost $150 to $300, and nothing is charged until you book.

Can I work on a bridging visa?

It depends on the conditions on your grant letter, which you can also check in VEVO. For a BVA, Home Affairs says you might be allowed to work. If you can't, you can apply for another BVA that lets you work and you will usually have to show financial hardship.

Can I travel on a bridging visa?

A BVA or BVC does not support return travel, and it ceases if you leave Australia while it is in effect. To leave and return, Home Affairs says you need a BVB granted before you go, with substantial reasons for travel.

Does a bridging visa have an expiry date?

No fixed date. It ends when something happens, such as the substantive visa being granted, you leaving Australia, or a refusal. After a refusal, a BVA, BVB or BVC granted on or after 19 November 2016 ceases 35 calendar days later.

Can I extend a bridging visa?

Home Affairs says you can't stay longer by extending a bridging visa. If you need to change its conditions or apply for a further one, check the rules for that bridging visa on the Home Affairs site.

Can I apply for citizenship on a bridging visa?

No. Home Affairs says you can't use a bridging visa while you wait for a citizenship application to be decided.