If you are in Australia on a bridging visa and your application is still being decided, leaving the country is not a small step. A bridging visa A lets you stay in Australia. It does not let you come back in. The bridging visa B (subclass 020) is the bridging visa that does. It is not automatic: you apply for it, and a decision maker must be satisfied that your reasons for travelling are substantial.
What a bridging visa B costs, and how it compares with the other bridging visas, is on our bridging visas page. This article is about the decision to travel: who can ask, what "substantial" is measured against, how long the travel right lasts, and the order to do things in.
Verified against the Migration Regulations 1994, Compilation No. 289 (F2026C01017, in force 2 October 2026), Schedule 2, subclasses 010 and 020, as amended from 1 November 2026 by the Migration Amendment (2026 Measures No. 1) Regulations 2026 (F2026L01448).
Before anything else: do not book the flight
The most expensive mistake in this whole subject is buying a non-refundable ticket before the bridging visa B is granted. The clauses give the decision maker a judgement to make about your reasons. Until it is made, you do not know whether you can travel and come back on this visa. Hold off paying for travel you cannot cancel.
The visa also has to be granted while you are still here. Clause 020.411 says the applicant "must be in Australia, but not in immigration clearance" when the visa is granted. Leave first and the application cannot be granted in the way the clause requires.
Who can ask for one
Clause 020.211 says the applicant must hold "(a) a Bridging A (Class WA) visa; or (b) a Bridging B (Class WB) visa." If you hold a bridging visa C or E, this visa is not open to you. See what a bridging visa E allows.
Clause 020.212 then gives four situations. You need to fit one:
| Subclause | Your situation | The key words |
|---|---|---|
| 020.212(2) | You made a valid application in Australia for a substantive visa that can be granted while you are in Australia | The application "has not been finally determined" |
| 020.212(3) | That application was refused, and judicial review has been applied for within the time limits, or you are a family member whose combined application is under that judicial review | You wish to leave and re-enter "during the judicial proceedings" |
| 020.212(4) | You applied for a Partner (Migrant) (Class BC) visa | The application "has not been finally determined" |
| 020.212(5) | Your Partner (Migrant) (Class BC) application was refused, and judicial review is running | The proceedings "are not completed" |
Every one of the four ends with the same test: "the Minister is satisfied that the applicant's reasons for wishing to do so are substantial". On top of that, clause 020.213 requires that "the applicant's return to Australia would not be contrary to the public interest", and clause 020.221 requires that you still meet clauses 020.211 and 020.212 at the time of decision, not just when you applied.
"Finally determined" has a defined meaning in section 11A of the Migration Act. Under section 11A(2), if a refusal has been taken to the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART), the application is not finally determined until the decision on review is taken to have been made. So while an ART review is running, the application is still "not finally determined" for subclause (2).
Protection visa applicants and temporary protection holders cannot get one
From 1 November 2026, a bridging visa B is not available if your pending application is for a Protection (Class XA) visa (subclass 866). The Migration Amendment (2026 Measures No. 1) Regulations 2026 changed the rules in three places:
| Rule | What it now says |
|---|---|
| Schedule 1, item 1302(3)(baa) | Your pending substantive application must be one "other than a Protection (Class XA) visa" |
| Schedule 1, item 1302(3)(bab), and Schedule 2, clause 020.224 | You cannot have a protection visa application that "has not been finally determined or withdrawn", or a protection visa judicial review that is still running |
| Clause 020.212(2)(a) and (3)(a) | The pending application must be "other than an application for a Protection (Class XA) visa" |
Under clause 16501(3) of Schedule 13, the change applies to bridging visa B applications made on or after 1 November 2026. An application made before that date is not caught by it.
A separate rule already applied before this change. Under Schedule 1, item 1302(3)(bb), you cannot apply for a bridging visa B if you hold a Temporary Protection visa (subclass 785) or a Safe Haven Enterprise visa (subclass 790), or if either was your last substantive visa.
The most common pending application behind a bridging visa B request is an onshore partner visa. See partner visa 820/801.
"Substantial reasons" is a test, not a feeling
The words that matter are in clause 020.212(2)(d): "the Minister is satisfied that the applicant's reasons for wishing to do so are substantial". The same words appear in subclauses (3), (4) and (5).
Two things follow from that wording.
- It is the Minister who must be satisfied, not you. A reason can matter deeply to you and still not be shown to be substantial on the evidence given.
- The Regulations do not list what counts. There is no schedule of approved reasons: no list saying a funeral qualifies and a wedding does not. The decision maker weighs your reasons on what you put forward.
This is our professional view of what your evidence would need to speak to. It is not a checklist, and meeting it does not mean the visa will be granted:
- What the reason is, in plain terms, with documents from a third party where they exist (a doctor, a hospital, an employer, a funeral home, a court).
- Why you need to go now, rather than after your application is decided.
- Why it has to be you who travels.
- How long you need, and why that length.
- That you intend to come back to the application you have pending.
A vague reason with no documents is the weakest version of a request. A clear reason, with the paperwork to show it, is what a decision maker can actually be satisfied of.
How long the travel right lasts
Clause 020.511(1)(c) describes the visa as "permitting the holder to travel to and enter Australia until the time set by paragraph (b), unless the Minister has specified an earlier time for the purpose". Paragraph (b) is the end of the visa itself: for example, the grant of your substantive visa, or 35 days after a refusal.
In plain terms:
| What the clause provides | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| No fixed number of months is written into the clause | There is no standard travel period you can assume in advance |
| The travel right runs to the end of the bridging visa's own period | If nothing shorter is specified, you can travel until the visa itself ends |
| The Minister may specify an earlier time | If one is specified, that is your deadline to be back in Australia |
The date that matters is the one on your grant notice. Check it the day it arrives, and plan your return around that date, not around what you asked for.
The return leg: what happens if you are not back in time
This is the part people leave out, and it carries the most risk.
What the Regulations establish is simple: the permission "to travel to and enter Australia" lasts only until the time in clause 020.511(1)(c). After that time, the bridging visa B gives you no permission to enter Australia.
What that means for you while you are outside Australia, and for the application you left behind, is not settled by the bridging visa clauses alone. It depends on the Migration Act, on the kind of substantive visa you applied for, and on your own facts. We are not going to predict it here. If your date is getting close and you are not sure you can get back in time, get advice before the date passes, not after.
Leaving with a bridging visa B compared with leaving without one
| Leaving on a bridging visa B | Leaving on a bridging visa A alone | |
|---|---|---|
| Can you come back on the bridging visa? | Yes, until the time in clause 020.511(1)(c) | No. A bridging visa A permits you to remain in Australia; it is not a visa to re-enter |
| What happens to the bridging visa when you leave? | It continues, with its travel right, to the time on your grant notice | Section 82(8) of the Act: a visa to remain in, but not re-enter, Australia "ceases to be in effect if the holder leaves Australia" |
| Pending onshore application | Still pending; you return to it | What happens next depends on the Act and the visa you applied for. Get advice before you leave |
What it costs and how long it takes
The bridging visa B charge is on our bridging visas page. We keep it in one place so there is only one figure to keep current.
This page does not publish a processing time, and there is no guaranteed one. The only official source is the Department's global visa processing times tool. The Department's own bridging visa B page sets out when and how it asks you to apply; that is Departmental guidance, so read it on the Department's site before you lodge.
When a bridging visa B is not the answer
If you are thinking of leaving Australia in order to apply for a visa from outside, for example because a section 48 bar stops you applying onshore, that is a different decision with different consequences. It is covered in leaving Australia to apply offshore, and what triggers the bar is in the section 48 bar explained.
A bridging visa B is also not the way to change the conditions on your bridging visa. If your problem is that you cannot work, see condition 8101 and how to ask for work rights.
The order to take decisions in
- Confirm what you hold. Check your grant notice. The bridging visa B is only open to bridging visa A or B holders, and not if you have a protection visa application or protection judicial review running, or hold (or last held) a subclass 785 or 790 visa.
- Confirm which subclause fits you. Is your application still not finally determined, or is judicial review running?
- Put your reasons and evidence together, and apply. Then wait for the decision, in Australia.
- Read the grant notice. Note the date your travel right ends. Then book, with a return that leaves a margin before that date.
Frequently asked questions
Can I go home while my partner visa is being processed? Only with a bridging visa B granted before you leave, if you hold a bridging visa A or B and fit one of the subclauses in clause 020.212. Leaving without one is a different situation, and you should get advice before you do.
Is a wedding, or a sick parent, a substantial reason? The Regulations do not list reasons. The Minister must be satisfied that your reasons are substantial, on the evidence you give.
I have applied for a protection visa. Can I get a bridging visa B? Not for an application made on or after 1 November 2026. Schedule 1, item 1302(3)(bab) and clause 020.224 rule it out while your protection visa application is not finally determined or withdrawn, or while judicial review of it is running. Get advice before you leave Australia.
How long can I stay overseas? Until the time on your grant notice. Clause 020.511(1)(c) runs the travel right to the end of the bridging visa's period unless the Minister has specified an earlier time for the purpose.
How long does a bridging visa B take? There is no guaranteed processing time and this page does not publish one. Check the Department's global visa processing times tool, and do not book travel you cannot cancel until the visa is granted.
I have already booked a non-refundable ticket. What now? Apply as soon as you can with your evidence, and do not assume the dates will be approved. Check with the airline what changes are possible. Do not travel before the visa is granted.
Can I get a bridging visa B after a refusal? Clauses 020.212(3) and (5) cover refused applications where judicial review has been applied for. While an ART review of the refusal is running, section 11A(2) of the Migration Act means the application is not yet finally determined, so subclause (2) can still be relevant. You still need to hold a bridging visa A or B and meet the substantial-reasons test.
Get the travel question assessed before you buy the ticket
This is one of the few situations where a timely check can save real money. Migration Vision works with people across Australia and offshore on bridging visa status and travel. Nobody can promise that a bridging visa B will be granted, how long it will take, or what happens at the border. What can be done is to confirm which bridging visa you hold, whether a subclause of clause 020.212 fits you, and whether your evidence speaks to the test. If your matter involves a bar, a refusal or a review, start at complex cases.
Book a travel assessment before you buy a ticket.
Reviewed by Dr Asad Muhammad Khan, Registered Migration Agent, MARN 2619525. Last reviewed 3 November 2026 — Schedule 2 clauses 020.211, 020.212, 020.213, 020.221, 020.411 and 020.511, Schedule 1 item 1302(3)(bb), and clause 010.511, verified against the Migration Regulations 1994, Compilation No. 289 (F2026C01017, in force 2 October 2026); items 1302(3)(baa) and (bab), clauses 020.212(2)(a) and (3)(a) and clause 020.224 against the Migration Amendment (2026 Measures No. 1) Regulations 2026 (F2026L01448, in force 1 November 2026); and sections 11A and 82(8) against the Migration Act 1958, Compilation No. 172 (C2026C00461, in force 8 October 2026), on legislation.gov.au. Figures current as at 3 November 2026; confirm with the Department of Home Affairs before lodgement. This article is general information, not migration advice for your circumstances, and the law may change.
Ready for expert help with your visa?
Book a confidential consultation with an OMARA-registered migration agent, online or in person.
Book Your Consultation