Bridging Visa Australia
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.
How to apply for a bridging visa?
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.
Is the application necessary?
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.
Automatic grant
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.
Purpose
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.
Otherwise…
If a bridging visa were 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.
Types of bridging visas
The three most common types of bridging visas are a, b, and e.
Which do you have?
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.
Know this…
BVB limitation
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.
BVB disaster
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.
Bridging visa after re-entry
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.
Second BVB
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.
Only one chance!
Unfortunately, if you hold a BVC, 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.
Bridging visa lifespan after a decision on substantive application
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.
Bridging visa to travel overseas
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.
Extension of BVE
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.
Depart on BVE – consequences
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.
BVE ban duration
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.
Bridging visa “in effect”
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.
When your bridging visa kicks in
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.
Bridging visa might never activate
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.
Bridging visa not automatically granted
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!
Practice tip!
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!
Your experience?
Please share your comments with me.
I’d love to know more about your experience with applying for this visa subclass!
676 Responses
Hi, may I know how long period maximum can stay in Australia with bringing visa A (WA 010) without court yet and now still have covid19 restriction?
Thank you.
This is an excellent question. The answer is that there is no maximum period prescribed full stop the rule is that the bridging visa will continue for as long as it takes being such time as one exits Australia or 28 or 35 days after a final decision is made in respect of the substantive visa applied for and on the basis of which the bridging visa a was granted.
The reason why I say 28 days as well as 35 days is that it depends on when the applications were made. The rules have changed and are affected by the date of application for the substantive visa. It was originally 28 days and more recently 35 days after the final decision.
Hi sir
I am on bridging visa c as my student visa was till September 2020 and my wife course was finishing in November so we had applied was extension of student visa for which we waited till December but did not get any response as the course was finished so we had to withdraw the extension application and apply for tr 485 visa so we did that than moved to bridging visa c with work Rights my wife is doing a job in her field since January now I am concerned about her experience points because we haven’t got our 485 visa yet please advice and suggest what can be done for her experience points to be counted when she is done with one year work in her field
You should have actually check your eligibility as at the time of application for a subclass 485 visa and take a look at the visa held on the day you applied in particular. You should also then look at whether or not you are likely to meet all of the criteria for the subclass 485 visa when a decision maker opens your file and considers the material for the purposes of making a decision. That is called the time of decision criteria and you should get some urgent advice as to whether you will in fact meet the time of application criteria as well as the time of decision criteria for the subclass 485 you have applied for.
I have applied in 190 permanent residency. As I hv recived NT nomination I didn’t wait for 485 grant. Currently I am in bridging visa 485. My question is am I in right tract. I also didn’t receive 190 bridging visa. I
Well I’m not sure what you are asking me here but if you met the time of application criteria applicable to the subclass 485 as well as the time of decision criteria applicable to the 485 then you would be on track for the 485 visa.
In relation to the 190 visa, the same applies. That is to say that if you met the time of application criteria for the subclass 190 visa and you will also need the time of decision criteria for the subclass 190 visa then you will be on the right track.
One thing to be careful of is that if get the 190 visa granted and then because you have failed to then withdraw the application for the 485, you get the 485 visa granted.
In this unlikely but possible circumstance, the 485 visa will extinguish the 190 permanent residence visa and this result would be very very frustrating for you!
My name is Phong and I am holding a Bridging Visa A of Subclass 820 so could I change to Student Visa (subclass 500) at this stage of time?
Thank you for your kind support so much and I love to hear back from you soon.
I think that you will find that one of the criteria required to be met at the time of application for a student visa in Australia is that you hold a substantive visa and it would appear that you will not meet this requirement because you have stated that you hold only a bridging visa a in association with a substantive subclass 820 Visa and not the subclass 820 visa itself.
Hi Nilesh,
My sister is currently in Australia with Medical Treatment Visa subclass 602 as a supporting person for her husband. This visa will expire at the end of August. She’s recently lodged an application for student visa and has been issued Bridging visa A. My questions are:
1. Can she still lodge an application for Medical Treatment Visa while waiting for the student visa’s decision?
2. If she doesn’t apply for another Medical Treatment Visa while waiting for the student visa and the student visa is refused, can she then apply for Medical Visa or lodge an application for a review or lodge an appeal to the Tribunal?
Thank you so much for your help!
1. Yes.
2. Yes.
Thanks
Nilesh
Hello,
I am on a bridging visa A after a 417 working holiday visa, and awaiting a 600 tourist visa. The estimated wait time was 7 to 8 months, however the visa was just granted much sooner.
My question is, do I have to quit my job immediately as the new visa has no work rights, or is there a validy period to complete the last couple weeks of work on a contract.
Thank you!
Brad
The Visitor Visa effectively kills the bridging visa so the only thing you have right now is a visa which has no work rights and for which you can not get work rights so you need to stop working right now. Sorry!
Hi Nilesh,
Please answer this.
My sister in law is already granted visa 600 subclass family sponsored visa for six months from arrival (and arrival is expected to be in September)
Now, we are looking at two options. Our objective is to make sure that she can stay in Australia legit.
Please suggest me which one should we go after-
Option 1. Apply for tourist visa(this time visitor stream) now and hope that it does does not come with 8503 and 8531 visa. Then when she arrives in Australia in September, she can apply for onshore partner visa.
Option 2. Apply for offshore partner visa – 309 now and hope that it is granted before March 2022 (this is when family sponsored tourist visa expires). If partner is not granted till March 2022 then we can also look at waiving 8503 and 8531 condition (of her current family sponsored visa 600) and apply for another visa such as tourist or student to make sure she can stay long enough for offshore partner visa to be granted.
Someone suggested me that sister in law should apply for offshore partner visa and when her tourist visa is about to expire then she should go for BVE (this will get her time to get offshore partner visa granted whilst she is in Australia)
The only advantage of option 1 to us is that there is no harm in applying and we would know the outcome right away ( whether she can apply for onshore visa)
What do you suggest me – option 1 or 2?
Hi Zai
Great questions. You should do both.
Please book in with me using the link below to discuss this further and if you’d like me to do application(s).
Thank you for contacting me.
Regards,
Nilesh Nandan.
Immigration Lawyer.
MyVisa® Lawyers.
Australia’s #1 Immigration Law Advisory
https://myvisa.com.au/10-minute-chat/