From a Bridging Visa to a Substantive Visa: What You Can Actually Apply For

Start with why you're on a bridging visa

A Bridging Visa A generally arises because you lodged a valid substantive visa application while holding another substantive visa that was still current or had just ended — the most common, least restrictive scenario. A Bridging Visa C generally arises in a similar situation but where you didn't hold a substantive visa at the time you applied, or your application was made in more limited circumstances. A Bridging Visa B is generally granted to let someone travel and return while a substantive application or a review is pending. A Bridging Visa E is different in kind — it's generally granted to people who are unlawful, in immigration detention, or awaiting removal, and it does not carry the same access to onward applications as A, B or C.

Which of these you hold determines the starting point for what you can do next — but the bigger factor for most people is whether a visa refusal or cancellation sits in your recent history at all, because that's what activates section 48.

Section 48: the bar that actually matters

Section 48 of the Migration Act generally prevents a non-citizen from validly applying for most visas while in Australia if their last substantive visa was refused or cancelled and they have not held a substantive visa since. It is one of the most consequential and most misunderstood provisions in onshore migration, because the bar looks total but genuinely is not.

Regulation 2.12 of the Migration Regulations sets out a specific list of visas exempt from the section 48 bar — meaning a person barred from applying for most visas can still validly apply for these. That exempt list includes the Skilled Nominated (190), Skilled Work Regional Provisional (491) and Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) (494) visas, among others, following an amendment made by the Home Affairs Legislation Amendment (2021 Measures No. 2) Regulations 2021, in force from 13 November 2021. A general explainer that lists only the older, narrower exemptions — or that says a barred applicant cannot apply for state-nominated skilled visas at all — is describing the law as it stood before that 2021 change, not as it currently operates.

A refused bridging visa is not the same as a refused substantive visa

One distinction people frequently get wrong: section 48 is triggered by the refusal or cancellation of a substantive visa, not a bridging visa. Under section 48(1)(b)(i), a bridging visa refusal does not, by itself, activate the bar. This matters in practice because someone whose bridging visa application was refused — as distinct from their underlying substantive application — may be in a materially better position to apply for a new visa than someone whose actual substantive visa (a student visa, a visitor visa, a partner visa) was the one refused.

Working out which of your visas was actually refused, and whether section 48 applies to you at all, is a factual question that depends on your specific case history — not something to assume from how a decision letter was worded.

If you hold a BVA or BVC and section 48 doesn't bar you

If section 48 doesn't apply — for example, your bridging visa arose from a pending application rather than a recent refusal — you're generally in the ordinary position of anyone applying onshore: you can lodge a further substantive visa application if you meet that visa's own criteria, and a new bridging visa is generally granted covering the period while it's decided. This is the position most partner visa, skilled visa and student visa applicants in the middle of processing are actually in, and it's a different — and less restrictive — situation from someone barred under section 48.

If section 48 does bar you

If your last substantive visa was refused or cancelled and you haven't held a substantive visa since, your onshore options are narrowed to the regulation 2.12 exempt list (which includes 190, 491 and 494, among others, as set out above), a protection visa application if that genuinely applies to your circumstances, or leaving Australia and applying from outside the country, where section 48 has no application at all. Some people also explore whether a waiver or review of the earlier refusal changes their position — the Administrative Review Tribunal's own review pathway (with the current 28-day general deadline, or 14 days if the applicant is in immigration detention) is a separate question from what section 48 permits in the meantime, and both are worth discussing with an agent together rather than in isolation.

Leaving Australia resets the position

Section 48 only operates while you remain in Australia. Departing and applying for a visa from outside the country is not affected by the bar at all — which is why "leave and apply offshore" is a genuine, if often disruptive, option for people the exempt list doesn't help. What departing does affect is your bridging visa itself: a Bridging Visa A generally ceases if you leave Australia without first obtaining a Bridging Visa B, and re-entering afterwards would need a new, valid visa. Anyone considering this route should confirm their bridging visa's actual travel conditions on their grant notice and VEVO before booking anything, and should understand that departing while any application is unresolved can have its own consequences depending on the visa type involved.

A practical way to work out where you stand

If you're trying to work this out for yourself before speaking to an agent, three checks are more useful than reading general explainers further. First, find your most recent decision letter — was the visa that was refused or cancelled a substantive visa, or was it a bridging visa application, since only the former engages section 48. Second, check whether you've held any substantive visa since that refusal or cancellation, even briefly — holding one resets the position. Third, if section 48 does apply to you, check regulation 2.12's current exempt list against the visa you actually want to apply for, since the list is specific and has changed over time (it did not always include 190, 491 and 494). Bring the answers to these three questions to a MARA-registered agent rather than starting from scratch — it will save real time in working out your actual options.

Can I apply for a state-nominated skilled visa while barred under section 48?

Generally yes. Regulation 2.12 exempts a specific list of visas from the section 48 bar, and the 190, 491 and 494 visas are on that list following a 2021 regulation change. This is a genuine exception, not a myth — but confirm your occupation and other criteria for the specific visa separately.

Does a refused bridging visa trigger the section 48 bar?

No. Section 48 is triggered by the refusal or cancellation of a substantive visa, not a bridging visa. A bridging visa refusal alone doesn't activate the bar under section 48(1)(b)(i).

What's the difference between a BVA and a BVC for onward applications?

Both generally arise from a pending substantive application, but a BVC typically arises when the holder did not hold a substantive visa at the time they applied. Neither type itself decides whether section 48 bars you — that depends on your visa refusal or cancellation history, not the bridging visa type.

Can a BVE holder apply for another visa onshore?

BVE holders are generally in a different, more restricted position — often unlawful, in detention, or awaiting removal — and should get urgent advice from a migration agent or immigration lawyer rather than relying on general guidance about BVA/BVB/BVC options.

If I'm barred by section 48, can I still apply for review at the ART?

Review of an earlier refusal is a separate process from what section 48 permits you to apply for onshore in the meantime. The Administrative Review Tribunal's general deadline is 28 days (14 days if you're in immigration detention) — this is worth discussing alongside your onshore options, not instead of them.

Does leaving Australia fix a section 48 problem?

Section 48 only applies while you're in Australia, so applying from outside the country isn't affected by it. But leaving generally ends a Bridging Visa A unless you first obtain a Bridging Visa B, and re-entry needs a valid visa — check your specific conditions before departing.

How do I know which of my visas was actually refused for section 48 purposes?

This depends on your specific decision history — whether it was a substantive visa (like a student or visitor visa) or a bridging visa that was refused. Your grant and refusal notices, and VEVO, are the authoritative record; a migration agent can review these and tell you where you stand.