Bridging Visas A, B, C, E
Bridging visas are temporary in nature and bridge the gap between your current status and your next substantive outcome.
Your Legal Bridge to the Future
Bridging visas are the technical safeguards that ensure you remain lawful while your immigration status is resolved. Whether you are awaiting a decision, appealing a refusal, or arranging departure, Immilex can assess of your visa conditions and travel rights to protect your long-term goals in Australia.
Key Factors:
- Substantive Application: You must have made a valid application for a substantive visa that can be granted in Australia.
- Physical Presence: Most bridging visas require you to be in Australia at the time of application and grant.
- Status Continuity: A BVA only activates once your previous substantive visa expires. If you still have time on your current visa, your bridging visa remains in the background.
- The 35-Day Rule: After a visa refusal or withdrawal, your bridging visa generally ceases after 35 days, unless you lodge a timely review application (e.g., with the ART)
Bridging Visa A (BVA - Subclass 010)
What it is for: Maintaining lawful status after lodging a valid substantive visa while still holding a previous substantive visa.
What it allows: Lawful stay in Australia during processing.
Key Requirements:
- Must hold (or have recently held) a substantive visa and lodged a new one onshore.
Work Rights: Usually mirrors your previous visa conditions.
Length: Until the substantive visa is decided or 35 days after a refusal
Bridging Visa B (BVB - Subclass 020)
What it is for: Permission to leave and re-enter Australia while your substantive application is pending.
What it allows: Travel during a specified period (usually up to 12 months) and return to Australia.
Key Requirements:
- Must hold a BVA or BVB and show a substantial reason for travel (e.g., family, business, or tourism).
Work Rights: Same as the BVA it replaced.
Length: Travel facility is limited to the dates on the grant notice.
Bridging Visa C (BVC - Subclass 030)
What it is for: Applicants who lodge a substantive visa application while they do not hold a substantive visa (e.g., their previous visa already expired).
What it allows: Lawful stay during processing; no travel rights.
Work Rights: No work rights by default. You must apply for a variation based on "Compelling Need to Work" (Financial Hardship).
Length: Until the substantive visa is decided.
Bridging Visa E (BVE - Subclass 050/051)
What it is for: Unlawful non-citizens or those arranging departure/appealing cancellations.
What it allows: Short-term stay to resolve status; no travel rights.
Key Requirements:
- Must be an unlawful non-citizen, hold a BVE or BVD.
- Applicant must be making arrangements to depart Australia, have made or intend to make a valid application for a substantive visa, and either have applied for judicial review, merit review, revocation of the cancellation of the visa or ministerial intervention, or can make a valid application for a protection visa.
- Must meet the character requirements and must not have been refused a BVE for failing to do so.
Work Rights: Generally "No Work" unless you apply for a variation showing financial hardship.
Length: Often linked to a specific departure date or review outcome.
Maintaining compliance
- Condition 8101 (No Work): If your BVC or BVE has this condition, you must not work until you have successfully applied for a work rights variation.
- Condition 8501 (Health Insurance): If your future visa pathway (e.g., 485 or 190) requires health insurance, you must maintain adequate cover while on your bridging visa.
- Travel Restriction: Leaving Australia on a BVA, BVC, or BVE will cancel the visa immediately, and you will not be permitted to re-enter.
For Bridging Visa Applicants
The Bridging Visa system requires strict adherence to activation and cessation triggers. At Immilex, we assess your status to ensure your BVA has actually been activated before you assume your work conditions have changed. Many applicants mistakenly work full-time while still technically on a Student Visa with restricted hours, which can lead to visa cancellation.
You cannot apply for a BVB from outside Australia; if you depart on a BVA, you lose your right to return until your substantive visa is granted, which may take months or years.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. A BVB travel facility is typically granted for a specific duration (often up to 12 months in 2026). During this "travel period," you may leave and re-enter Australia multiple times. Once the travel period expires, the BVB remains valid as your authority to stay in Australia, but you can no longer use it to re-enter if you depart again.
Yes. Under the Australian Citizenship Act 2007, time spent on any valid visa, including a bridging visa, counts toward the 4-year lawful residence requirement, provided you were not an unlawful non-citizen at any point and you eventually transition to a permanent visa.
To remove Condition 8101 (No Work), you must provide verifiable evidence of a"compelling need to work." The Department audits your financial standing, including bank statements, evidence of essential living costs (rent, utilities, medical bills), and proof that you cannot meet these expenses through existing savings or family support.
If your substantive visa application is refused, your bridging visa will generally cease 35 days after the date of the refusal notice. However, if you lodge a valid application for merits review within the prescribed timeframe, your bridging visa will continue to cover you throughout the review process.
No. An applicant for a BVB must be physically present in Australia at the time of application and at the time the visa is granted. If you depart Australia on a BVA without obtaining a BVB first, you cannot apply for a BVB from offshore to return; you must wait for your substantive visa grant or apply for a different offshore visa.
A BVA is granted when you lodge a valid substantive application, butit only "activates" (comes into effect) once your current substantive visa expires. If you hold a Student Visa valid until July, and your BVA is granted in April, you remain subject to Student Visa conditions (e.g., restricted work hours) until July.
Manage Your Bridging Status with Care
A bridging visa error can jeopardise your entire migration future. Contact us at Immilex for an assessment of your current conditions and travel entitlements.