A Bridging Visa is a temporary visa that allows you to stay in Australia after your “current” substantive visa ceases and while your “new substantive” visa application is processed.
It “bridges” your stay in Australia from the cease date of your current visa usually until 35 days after a final decision is made on your application.
Most of the time you don’t need to make a formal application for a bridging visa. This is because it is granted to you by operation of law.
A formal bridging visa application is usually not needed if you apply for a further visa while you are in Australia and you already hold a substantive visa at the time of making your further visa application.
The reason why a formal visa application for a bridging visa might not be required is that by operation of law, the valid application for a further visa in Australia is typically (but not always) deemed to be an application for a bridging visa as well. The Department usually always grants that application, either manually or automatically.
The purpose of a bridging visa is to bridge the gap, if any, between the time at which your current substantive visa expires and the point in time when the Department grants your new substantive visa.
The bridging visa is a mechanism for keeping you lawfully present in Australia.
If a bridging visa was not to be granted, then it would mean that you would be an unlawful non-citizen, present in Australia for that period between when your substantive visa expires and your further visa is decided.
The three most common types of bridging visas are a, b, and e.
The most important thing to check is that you always have a visa whilst you are in Australia (if you’re not the holder of an Australian passport).
You can check the visa that you hold at any time by completing a VEVO check. It’s online and free.
Be careful with a bridging visa b (BVB). Its purpose is to allow you to leave and return to Australia whilst you wait for the grant of a further substantive; you may exit Australia for a very finite travel period and must re-enter Australia by a specified date.
The biggest risk with a BVB is that you forget the period of your BVB grant, and you then fail to re-enter Australia before the date specified. Take very careful note to start returning to Australia several days before your BVB expires, so that you have ample time to re-enter Australia when you return.
When you re-enter Australia your bridging visa b does not change back to a BVA but will show as a BVB, allowing you to continue to stay in Australia but importantly does not then have any exit and return facility.
You will need to take care to lodge a further BVB if you wish to again exit Australia during the period in which you are waiting for the grant of your further substantive visa.
If you hold a BVA or a BVB you can apply for a further BVB.
Unfortunately, if you hold a BVC or a BVD or a BVE then you can’t apply for a BVB. It’s like losing your virginity.
Think of it this way – if you hold a BVC or BVD or BVE, you can never go back to get a BVB. At least until after your further substantive visa application has been granted.
As explained above, bridging visas “bridge” you from the time an existing visa ceases to be “in effect” until the time a decision is made on any new visa you may have applied for.
Usually, the bridging visa will run for a period of up to 28 days (and possibly 35 days, depending on when you lodge your application and when your bridging visa is granted) after the decision of the Department to refuse your visa application, allowing you or your migration agent or immigration lawyer enough time to file an appeal.
The Department of Home Affairs can issue you with a bridging visa if you intend to exit Australia. This is known as a “bridging visa on departure grounds”. These visas are for a fixed period.
There may be some scope to have these extended if, for some reason, you can’t depart. This is subject to negotiation between you and the compliance officer at the Department of Home Affairs.
For example, you might be without a visa and need a week or so to get things in order before you can exit Australia.
Immigration will often grant you this type of visa for a fixed term which will allow you time to exit the country or lodge another application.
There are serious consequences that follow after you exit Australia on a BVE. This is known as “special return criteria” where you may suffer a period of exclusion from Australia or a ban from a further visa grant for Australia.
The duration of this ban will depend on the sort of visa you are applying for and your circumstances. This is something that I advise on regularly and you should get independent immigration legal advice if you wish to make an application for Australia after exiting on a BVE.
Although your bridging visa may be granted (and you may have received a letter from Immigration saying that you have been granted this visa) take care. This visa usually only comes “into effect” when your existing visa expires and remains in place while the Department considers your new visa application. For example, suppose you are a holder of a subclass 600 Visitor visa. And you apply for a subclass 482 Temporary Skills Shortage visa while onshore.
Check your precise visa status regularly on the Department’s site.
You will not automatically become the holder of a bridging visa as soon as you make that 482 visa application. You will still be on your subclass 600 until it expires. Your bridging visa will usually kick in, if at all, immediately upon the expiry of your subclass 600 Visitor visa.
The Department may grant your 482 visa application while your subclass 600 visa is still in effect. This means your bridging visa in association with your subclass 482 visa application will be extinguished and never come into effect.
Don’t stress. Be vigilant with your follow-up as to why it could be that the Department didn’t consider your application valid.
Consider making a separate application for a bridging visa if your recent substantive visa application was valid but the Department hasn’t yet granted your bridging visa – this usually wakes up case officers!
Stay onshore (inside Australia) if your bridging visa is not yet in effect.
Exiting Australia will usually extinguish this visa and you may well find yourself stuck offshore. This can be tricky and I would recommend you get advice if you plan to exit from Australia. Book a call with me!
Please share your comments with me.
I’d love to know more about your experience with applying for this visa subclass!
View Comments
Hi Nilesh,
How long will it take to process the request for the cancellation of the 408 visa?
Thanks
Cath
Hi Nilesh,
Will my bridging visa A be active automatically if I cancel my current 408 visa?
And is there any risk of refusal for my future PR application if I cancel the 408 visa?
Thank you so much for your time.
Cath
Wondering if you could provide some advice… I’m aware that the bridging visa won’t come into play until the current substantive visa ceases. But if you are attempting to move from a skilled sponsorship visa to a student visa, is there any other way to do this without having to wait for the current substantive visa to cease? Appreciate your time!
Hi Nilesh,
Under Covid circumstances I'm sure lots of BVB holders are in similar situation as us:
Stuck out of Australia for close to a year (expiry of it) and not able to return due to no availability arriving.
Are you aware of any abnormal extension for this matter?
Negative Houston!
BVB is a Cinderella visa which has an expiry date, like when Cinderella's chariot turns into a pumpkin midnight right.
If you're not back inside Australia before midnight then you have to re-enter Australia with another visa requiring another visa application whether by way of electronic travel authority or visitor visa or something else.
It may be possible to seek another bridging visa once you have re-entered Australia.
Bridging visa a for example can be granted to you inside Australia when your substantive visa ceases. This is the case even though you had already received a bridging visa in association with a partner visa for example whilst in Australia and exit Australia on a bvb for example and that bvb expired and you remained outside of Australia at the time of expiry.
In this scenario you could technically get a visitor visa to re-enter Australia and once you have re-entered Australia, you could seek to have your BVA in association with your original partner visa application, re-instated.
How long can you stay on an WE 050 bridging visa whilst waiting for an appeal against a visa cancelation. Their visa was canceled in Jan this year and the E bridging visa granted on 23 of Feb. Will they seriously have to wait what looks like an average of two years for an appeal to be heard.
The bridging visa E (bvE) will continue until after matter has been finally determined.
Usually this means until after a decision has been made in relation to the review applicationat the AAT, which would have been lodged by the applicant to review the decision of DHA to cancel the visa.
Are you able to tell me what's the processing time for a bringing visa B? Thank you.
Currently a couple of days to a week or so.
Hi I’m a bridging visa A holder but my passport is going to expire soon and I won’t be able to renew my passport in consulate. Can apply bvb to renew my passport in my country? Is that a substantial reason?
Not sure why you are not able to renew your passport whilst you are inside Australia.
If you are the holder of a bridging visa a class and your passport expires after lodgment of your substantive application, please note that this is unlikely to be fatal to any grant of the substantive visa you applied for.
I don't think that heading off-shore on a bvb for the sole purpose of renewing your passport is a good enough reason.
Not only will you need to get a bvb, but you will also need to get travel exemptions to exit and re-enter Australia. These applications will be extremely problematic in the current covod-19 climate.
Hi i need advice pls
I m currently on bridging visa A which is going to expire soon
I need some visa to stay in Australia for 4 months until my separation is done
Please advise with visa
It is possible to obtain another visa to remain in Australia temporarily. At least one option would be to remain in Australia on a bridging visa E based on departure grounds. However you should get some specific immigration law advice about your circumstances, as there may be other visa pathways which are better for you.
Hi my husband holds a BVA and was waiting his AAT appeal. The appeal came back and they have refused to renew his student Visa. We’ve been married for more than 1 year and we want to put in for our partner visa, but we are afraid it might get refunded and going offshore is not an option for us. What do we do????
In your circumstances, I think you would be super-crazy not to lodge a partner visa now and seek to meet schedule 3 criteria.
Book in a chat with me to discuss schedule 3 issues.
Myvisa.com.au/10-min-chat
My wife and I have 858 permanent visas and we need to attend my only son's wedding in the UK in July. I know I need to apply for an exemption to depart Australia, but the Home Affairs website only mentions a funeral as an example of a compelling compassionate reason for considering granting an exemption. When I call them they say that the only way I can find out whether a wedding will meet the criteria is to file an application. I don't want to do this unless I'm sure it will meet the criteria. Can you help?
In my experience, a wedding will not cut it!
Hello sir , as I failed to apply for student visa extension in time I got my bridging visa E for 3months until august 9 . will my visa extension get effected by PIC 4104 if I apply offshore for student visa extension as I still have 2 more semesters to complete my masters . And Is there any alternative that I can appeal to get my visa extension here itself onshore explaining current situation to unable to go back to my home country ( INDIA) or else any alternative visa that I can get while on bridging visa E. Please help me with the possibilities to get my visa extension.
If you have a bridging visa e and you are making an application inside Australia for a student visa you'll find it extremely difficult to obtain any students visa.
You need to get immigration law advice as soon as you have become unlawfully present in australia .
It can be fatal if you immediately apply for a bve because that may not be your only option at the time of finding out that you have mmissed a deadline for lodging a further visa application while still holding a substantive visa.