Section 48 and the Partner Visa: Bridging, Work and Priority

Yes. A person barred by section 48 can still lodge an onshore partner visa, because Partner (Temporary) (Class UK), the subclass 820, is the first class on the list in regulation 2.12. What almost nothing online explains is what happens the day after you lodge: which bridging visa you get, whether you can work on it, and what happens if you leave Australia. Those answers are in the Regulations, and some of them surprise people.

This article covers only that: lodging an 820 while section 48 barred, and the bridging position that follows. What triggers the bar is on our section 48 explainer; the full list of what a barred person can lodge is on section 48 and Schedule 3 together.

Verified against the Migration Act 1958, Compilation No. 172 (C2026C00461, in force 8 October 2026), and the Migration Regulations 1994, Compilation No. 289 (F2026C01017, in force 2 October 2026), and Ministerial Direction 117 as signed.

Why the 820 is lodgeable at all

Section 48(1) of the Act says a person in Australia who does not hold a substantive visa, and who since last entering was refused a visa or had one cancelled on the listed grounds, may apply only for a visa of a class prescribed by the Regulations. Regulation 2.12 is that list, and its first two entries are Partner (Temporary) (Class UK), the 820, and Partner (Residence) (Class BS), the 801. The bar also applies to a refusal of an application made on your behalf (section 48(1A)), so a refusal you did not know about still counts.

One charge covers both stages

Schedule 1 item 1214C sets the Class UK charge at nil and requires the 820 application to be made at the same time and place as the Class BS application. The money is in item 1124B: for an applicant none of the special sub-items cover, the base application charge is $11,710. One payment carries the case from the temporary 820 to the permanent 801. The charges for additional applicants, the lower charge for holders of a valid passport from a Pacific-regional country, and what else the case costs are on the itemised partner visa cost page and the 820/801 guide.

The bridging visa you expect is not the one you get

Most partner applicants know someone who lodged an 820 and received a bridging visa A with full work rights. That person held a substantive visa when they applied. The ordinary route to a bridging visa A, subclause 010.211(2), requires that the applicant "held a substantive visa at the time that application was made". A section 48 barred applicant, by definition, did not.

The barred applicant's usual outcome is a bridging visa C. Subclause 030.212(2) fits their position exactly: not the holder of a substantive visa, a valid onshore application for a substantive visa that can be granted in Australia, and that application not yet finally determined. But the bridging visa C has its own gate. Clause 030.211 requires that the applicant "does not hold a Bridging E (Class WE) visa and has not held such a visa since last holding a substantive visa". A person who has been on a bridging visa E since their last substantive visa, which is common after a period unlawful, cannot get a bridging visa C and stays on the bridging visa E track.

The Department decides which bridging visa applies, and your grant notice governs. The table is the pattern the clauses produce, not a promise about any one case.

Work rights: not automatic, but not closed

Clause 030.614 says that, in any case not covered by the specific clauses before it, the bridging visa C carries condition 8101. Schedule 8 states the condition in one line: "The holder must not engage in work in Australia." A partner applicant on a bridging visa C should assume no work rights until the grant notice says otherwise.

The route out is a further bridging visa C under subclause 030.212(3): the applicant holds a bridging visa C subject to condition 8101, and the Minister is satisfied the applicant has a "compelling need to work". Regulation 1.08 defines that phrase narrowly. For a partner applicant it exists "if and only if" the person is in financial hardship. What financial hardship means, what evidence carries it and how the request is made are on our condition 8101 and work rights page. If the no-work default would break the household, the hardship material should be prepared alongside the partner application, not months after it.

Travel: the hard stop

A bridging visa C permits the holder "to remain in Australia" (clause 030.511). It is a visa to remain, not to re-enter, and section 82(8) of the Act says a visa of that kind "ceases to be in effect if the holder leaves Australia". There is no bridging visa B equivalent for a bridging visa C holder. Leaving does not pause the case; it ends the bridging visa, and there is no visa to come back on. The 820 itself can be granted while you are outside Australia (clause 820.411), but the Schedule 3 case and the criterion 4014 problem below still have to be met.

There is a second cost. Public interest criterion 4014 treats a person who "left Australia as ... the holder of a Bridging C (Class WC), Bridging D (Class WD) or Bridging E (Class WE) visa" as affected by a risk factor. Where a later visa application carries that criterion, it is satisfied only if the application is made more than 3 years after the departure, or the Minister is satisfied that compelling circumstances affecting the interests of Australia, or compassionate or compelling circumstances affecting an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen, justify grant within the 3 years. Subclause 4014(5) removes the risk factor for some people who left within 28 days of a substantive visa ceasing. Which applications carry 4014, and when leaving is nevertheless the right move, are examined in leaving Australia to apply offshore.

Where the application sits in the queue

Family visa processing order is set by Ministerial Direction 117, signed 24 July 2026 and commencing the day after. It revokes Direction 102. Its first split favours this reader: under section 8(1) and (2), applications where the primary applicant is in Australia at the time of application and the visa can be granted while they are in Australia are processed ahead of applications made offshore or needing an offshore grant. An onshore 820 is in the first group. Within each group, the Visa Processing Order in section 8(3) puts applications based on being the spouse, de facto partner, prospective spouse or dependent child of a sponsor second, immediately after cases where the Minister has substituted a Tribunal decision under section 351 or 417.

Read that honestly. The Direction is an order of consideration, not a processing time, and section 4(2) says it does not apply where it is readily apparent the criteria would not be met. A section 48 case also arrives with more to assess, because Schedule 3 almost always applies. We publish no processing-time figure here; the Department's global processing times tool is the only source for one.

The barrier that decides the case

Section 48 decides whether you may lodge. Schedule 3 decides whether the case can be granted. Subclause 820.211(2)(d)(ii) requires an applicant who does not hold a substantive visa to satisfy Schedule 3 criteria 3001, 3003 and 3004 "unless the Minister is satisfied that there are compelling reasons for not applying those criteria". By the time most barred applicants lodge, the case turns on that waiver. The criteria and the waiver are owned by our Schedule 3 hub, with criteria 3001, 3003 and 3004 explained and compelling reasons: what counts.

The order to take decisions in

1. Confirm the bar and the exception. The refusal or cancellation notice states its provision; regulation 2.12 answers what can still be lodged.
2. Price the bridging position before lodging. If a no-work bridging visa C would break the household, assemble the financial hardship evidence with the application.
3. Build the Schedule 3 waiver as the centrepiece. It is the case.
4. Do not travel. Not without advice, and usually not at all while the application is pending.

Frequently asked questions

Can I work after I lodge the 820? Not by default. A bridging visa C granted under clause 030.614 carries condition 8101, no work. Work rights come only through a further bridging visa C on the "compelling need to work" ground, which for a partner applicant means financial hardship under regulation 1.08.

Why did my friend get a bridging visa A and I got a bridging visa C? Your friend held a substantive visa when they applied, which is what subclause 010.211(2) requires for a bridging visa A. A section 48 barred applicant does not hold one, so clause 030.212 (bridging visa C) is the clause that fits.

I have been on a bridging visa E. Does that change things? Yes. Clause 030.211 rules out a bridging visa C for anyone who holds, or has held, a bridging visa E since last holding a substantive visa. Your bridging position stays on the bridging visa E track, with that visa's conditions.

Can I go home for a funeral or to see a sick parent? A bridging visa C ceases when you leave Australia (Act, section 82(8)) and has no return facility, and leaving as a bridging visa C holder is a risk factor under public interest criterion 4014 for 3 years. Get advice before booking anything.

Does being section 48 barred push me to the back of the queue? No. Direction 117 orders family applications by whether the applicant is onshore and by relationship type, not by section 48 status. An onshore partner application sits in the higher group. The Direction orders consideration; it does not set a processing time.

Is lodging the partner visa worth it if Schedule 3 applies? That is the real question, and it depends on whether a compelling-reasons waiver can be made out on your facts. The pages linked above set out what the criteria require and what has counted as compelling. Nobody can promise the waiver.

Get the four questions answered as one strategy

Migration Vision advises section 48 barred partner applicants across Australia on the lodgement, the bridging position, the work-rights request and the Schedule 3 waiver as one plan rather than four surprises. No outcome on a discretionary waiver can be promised; a properly sequenced case can be. Full criteria and charges are on the 820/801 guide, or book a consultation.

Reviewed by Dr Asad Muhammad Khan, Registered Migration Agent, MARN 2619525. Last reviewed 25 October 2026 — regulations 1.08 and 2.12, Schedule 1 items 1124B and 1214C, Schedule 2 clauses 010.211, 030.211, 030.212, 030.511, 030.614, 820.211 and 820.411, Schedule 4 criterion 4014 and Schedule 8 condition 8101 verified against the Migration Regulations 1994, Compilation No. 289 (F2026C01017, in force 2 October 2026); sections 48 and 82 against the Migration Act 1958, Compilation No. 172 (C2026C00461, in force 8 October 2026); processing order against Ministerial Direction 117 as signed by the Minister on 24 July 2026. Figures current as at 25 October 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.