Bridging Visas (A, B, C, D & E)

What is a bridging visa?

A bridging visa is the visa that keeps you lawful in Australia while something else is being decided — usually a substantive visa application, sometimes a review or a departure. It is not a lesser visa: while it is in effect it is your legal status, and the conditions attached to it decide whether you can work, study and travel.

Two things confuse almost everybody, and both come straight from the Regulations:

• Granted is not the same as in effect. A Bridging visa A granted while you still hold a student or visitor visa lies dormant. It comes into effect only "when the substantive visa (if any) held by the holder ceases" (Schedule 2, clause 010.511).
• Leaving Australia kills most of them. Section 82(8) of the Migration Act: a visa to remain in, but not re-enter, Australia "ceases to be in effect if the holder leaves Australia". That is why the Bridging visa B exists.

At a glance (updated 20 August 2026)

Only the Bridging visa B carries a charge. Confirm current figures on the Department of Home Affairs website before applying.

Bridging visa A (subclass 010)

The default bridge. You get a BVA when you make a valid onshore application for a substantive visa and you held a substantive visa when you made it.

• Comes into effect on grant, or when your current substantive visa ceases — whichever is later
• Stays in effect until your application is decided and the new visa is granted, or for 35 days after a refusal, a Tribunal decision or a withdrawal
• Conditions are inherited. Clause 010.611(4) applies to your BVA whichever of conditions 8101, 8102, 8103, 8104, 8105, 8107, 8108, 8111, 8112, 8114, 8115, 8539, 8547, 8549, 8607 and 8608 applied to the visa you held when you applied. If your student visa limited your work hours, the BVA carries that limit across
• No travel facility. Leave the country and it ceases — you are then outside Australia with a pending onshore application

Bridging visa B (subclass 020)

The only bridging visa with a travel facility, and the only one you pay for. You must already hold a BVA or BVB, your substantive application must still be undecided, and the Minister must be satisfied your reasons for travelling are substantial (clause 020.212(2)).

The travel facility runs to a date the Department specifies, and can be granted for single or multiple entries. There is no fixed statutory period — do not assume a set number of months, and do not book non-refundable travel before the BVB is granted. The Department asks that you apply no more than 3 months, and no less than 2 weeks, before you intend to travel.

Bridging visa C (subclass 030)

For people who applied onshore without holding a substantive visa — typically after a visa expired. The BVC keeps you lawful, but:

• No work rights by default. Clause 030.614 imposes condition 8101 (no work) in the ordinary case
• Work only on a compelling need. You can apply for a further BVC without 8101 where the Minister is satisfied you have a "compelling need to work" — and regulation 1.08 defines that narrowly: a person has a compelling need to work "if and only if" they are in financial hardship (or the separate sponsorship limb applies)
• No travel facility

Bridging visa D (subclass 040 and 041)

A five-working-day bridge, not a solution. The 040 is for someone whose visa is about to cease or has ceased, who tried to make a valid application and could not, and who will be able to within five working days — and who has not already been granted two 040s since last holding a substantive visa. The 041 covers people who cannot be interviewed because no authorised officer is available. Both carry condition 8101 (no work); the 041 also carries 8401 (reporting).

Bridging visa E (subclass 050 and 051)

For unlawful non-citizens — including those making, or subject to, "acceptable arrangements to depart Australia" (clause 050.212(2)). Conditions are a discretionary menu: reporting (8401), no work (8101), notification of address (8506), and others may be imposed. As with the BVC, work rights come only through the compelling-need-to-work test in regulation 1.08.

A BVE is often the visa that keeps a complex case lawful while a Ministerial Intervention request, a further application or a departure is arranged — see our Ministerial Intervention guide and the section 48 bar.

Where bridging visa plans go wrong

1. Travelling on a BVA. It ceases the moment you leave. Apply for the BVB first, and wait for the grant

2. Assuming work rights carry over automatically. A BVA inherits the old visa's conditions — including its limits. A BVC starts with no work rights at all

3. Booking travel before the BVB is granted. There is no guaranteed processing time and no fixed facility length

4. Letting the 35 days run after a refusal. That window is when review rights are exercised — miss it and the bridge ends with the matter undecided

5. Treating a BVD as breathing space. It is five working days, and you only get two

6. Not knowing which bridging visa you actually hold. Check VEVO; the conditions differ sharply between A, C and E

Bridging visa advice — Australia-wide

Migration Vision advises on status and bridging strategy for clients across Australia — which bridge you are on, what it permits, whether a BVB is realistic before travel, and how the bridge interacts with a refusal, a review or a section 48 bar. Online consultations in English, Hindi, Urdu and Punjabi.

Frequently asked questions

Do bridging visas cost anything?

Only the Bridging visa B. The BVA, BVC, BVD and BVE carry a nil application charge under Schedule 1 of the Migration Regulations. The BVB charge is $575, reduced to $195 for eligible Pacific-country passport holders.

Can I work on a bridging visa?

It depends which one. A Bridging visa A carries across the work conditions of the visa you held when you applied. A Bridging visa C carries condition 8101 (no work) by default, and work rights are available only where the Minister is satisfied you have a compelling need to work — which regulation 1.08 defines as being in financial hardship. Check your grant notice or VEVO for the conditions actually imposed.

Can I travel overseas on a bridging visa?

Only on a Bridging visa B. Every other bridging visa permits you to remain in Australia but not to re-enter, and section 82(8) of the Migration Act ends it the moment you leave.

How long does a bridging visa last?

A Bridging visa A runs until your substantive visa is granted, or for 35 days after a refusal, Tribunal decision or withdrawal. A Bridging visa D lasts five working days. Bridging visas C and E continue while the relevant application or arrangement runs.

My bridging visa was granted but my student visa is still valid — which one am I on?

The student visa. A bridging visa granted while you hold a substantive visa does not come into effect until that substantive visa ceases. Your current conditions are the student visa's conditions until then.

What happens to my bridging visa if my application is refused?

A Bridging visa A or B generally continues for 35 days after the refusal, which is the window in which review rights are exercised. Review deadlines are strict and commonly shorter than that — see our visa refusals and appeals page.

Reviewed by Dr Asad Muhammad Khan, Registered Migration Agent, MARN 2619525. Updated 20 August 2026 — bridging visa criteria, conditions and periods verified against the Migration Regulations 1994 (compilation in force 1 July 2026, Schedules 1 and 2 and regulation 1.08) and the Migration Act 1958 (compilation C2026C00232) on legislation.gov.au, and charges against the Department of Home Affairs. This page is general information, not migration advice for your circumstances.