Form 1005: Application for a Bridging Visa

What Form 1005 is for

Form 1005, "Application for a Bridging Visa", is used to apply for a Bridging Visa A, B or C outside the normal automatic process. It's a single form covering all three subclasses — which one you're eligible for depends on your circumstances and immigration status at the time you lodge it.

The form asks for your personal and passport details, your current visa status, the substantive visa application or other matter the bridging visa relates to, and the specific conditions you're requesting (including whether you're seeking work rights). It needs to be completed in English, and Home Affairs generally recommends lodging through ImmiAccount where that option is available rather than by paper.

Do you actually need it? The automatic-grant rule

In most cases, no separate application is required. If you validly lodge an eligible substantive visa application online through ImmiAccount while you're in Australia and your current visa is still valid (or has recently ceased), a Bridging Visa A is generated automatically as part of that lodgement — you don't fill in Form 1005 at all.

Form 1005's own instructions set out four situations where you do need it: you applied for your substantive visa online while you were outside Australia and have since arrived in Australia, and your application is for a substantive visa of a kind that can be granted onshore; your previous bridging visa ceased — for example because you departed Australia and returned while your substantive application is still undecided, or because a decision to cancel your substantive visa was successfully reviewed; you already hold a Bridging Visa A, B or C and want different or nil conditions, most commonly work rights; or you're awaiting the outcome of a judicial review and need to provide evidence of that application (Department of Home Affairs, Form 1005).

If you're not sure whether you already hold an automatically-granted bridging visa, check your visa status through VEVO (Visa Entitlement Verification Online) before assuming you need to lodge Form 1005.

Bridging Visa A, B or C — which applies

Form 1005 can be used to apply for any of the three subclasses. A Bridging Visa A (BVA) is the standard bridging visa granted while a substantive visa application is being decided. A Bridging Visa B (BVB) allows a BVA holder to travel outside Australia and return without their bridging visa ceasing. A Bridging Visa C (BVC) applies in more limited circumstances, generally for people who don't hold a substantive visa but have applied for one, or in specific unlawful non-citizen situations.

There's one specific exception carved out in Form 1005's own instructions: if you already hold a Bridging Visa A or B and need to travel overseas for a substantial reason while your substantive visa application or judicial review is still on foot, you use the separate Form 1006 instead — covered in our BVB guide. Outside that travel scenario, a BVB (like a BVA or BVC) is applied for on Form 1005.

Which one you're eligible for depends on your immigration history and current status — this isn't something to guess at from a form's name alone.

Fee

Form 1005's own instructions don't set out a visa application charge for the bridging visas it covers. The one bridging visa fee that is published applies specifically to a Bridging Visa B applied for to travel overseas on the separate Form 1006 — a base charge of AUD 575, reduced to AUD 195 for eligible Pacific Island and Timor-Leste citizens from 1 July 2026 — and is covered separately in our BVB guide. Always confirm the current position on the Home Affairs form-listing page before you lodge, since fee settings can change.

How to lodge

Where the option is available, lodge through ImmiAccount — this is Home Affairs' recommended method and generally the fastest way to have the application tracked against your existing file. If ImmiAccount isn't available for your situation, the form is downloaded free from the Home Affairs form-listing page and lodged by the method specified in the form's own instructions.

Always use the current version of the form. Home Affairs updates its forms periodically, and an outdated PDF saved from an earlier application can cause processing delays.

Common mistakes

The most common issue is lodging Form 1005 when it wasn't actually needed — because the applicant didn't realise their bridging visa had already been granted automatically as part of their substantive application. Check VEVO first.

Other recurring problems: requesting work rights without addressing the specific criteria Home Affairs assesses for that condition, letting a current substantive visa or bridging visa lapse before the new application is properly lodged (which can affect lawful status), and using an outdated form version. If your situation involves a ceased bridging visa or a pending judicial review, get the timing right — gaps in lawful status can have consequences well beyond the bridging visa itself.

Do I need to apply for a bridging visa separately using Form 1005?

Usually not. If you lodge an eligible substantive visa application online through ImmiAccount while in Australia, a Bridging Visa A is generated automatically. Form 1005 is for narrower situations — you applied for your substantive visa online while offshore and have since arrived onshore, a ceased bridging visa, wanting different or nil conditions on a bridging visa you already hold, or providing evidence that a judicial review is on foot.

Is there a fee for Form 1005?

Form 1005's own instructions don't set out a fee for the bridging visas it covers. The published fee applies specifically to a Bridging Visa B applied for to travel overseas via the separate Form 1006 — AUD 575, or AUD 195 for eligible Pacific Island and Timor-Leste citizens from 1 July 2026.

What's the difference between Form 1005 and Form 1006?

Form 1005 — 'Application for a Bridging Visa A, B or C' — is the general form for applying for or varying any of the three bridging visa subclasses. Form 1006 is used specifically when you already hold a Bridging Visa A or B and need to travel overseas for a substantial reason while your substantive application or judicial review is still on foot; that use carries its own fee.

How do I check if I already have a bridging visa?

Check your visa status through VEVO (Visa Entitlement Verification Online) before lodging Form 1005. If your substantive visa application was made online through ImmiAccount, you may already hold a bridging visa granted automatically.

Can Form 1005 give me work rights on a bridging visa?

It can be used to request different bridging visa conditions, including work rights, but this is assessed against specific criteria — it isn't granted automatically just because you ask. See our bridging visa work rights guide for how that assessment works.