A bridging visa keeps you in Australia legally while the Department decides your main visa. If you apply onshore and still hold a substantive visa, you get a Bridging Visa A automatically. It gives partner applicants full work rights but no travel rights. To leave and come back, you need a Bridging Visa B, granted before you go.
Bridging Visa A (BVA): Granted automatically when you apply for an onshore visa while holding a substantive visa. Full work rights for partner applicants. No travel allowed.
Bridging Visa B (BVB): Costs AUD $190. Lets you travel overseas and return while your application is decided. Apply before you leave.
Bridging Visa C (BVC): Granted in some circumstances when you apply for an onshore visa without holding a substantive visa (for example, a partner 820/801 application between substantive visas). No automatic work rights, no travel rights.
Bridging Visa E (BVE): For people who are unlawful (their previous visa has expired or been cancelled). Limited rights, no travel.
Critical warning: Leaving Australia on a BVA without a BVB cancels your bridging visa immediately. You may not be able to return for years.
If you've applied for a partner visa from within Australia, you're probably holding a bridging visa right now, or you're about to be. These visas exist in a strange middle ground: they're not the visa you applied for, but they're the visa keeping you legal while you wait. And partner visa processing can stretch into years.
The rules around travel are genuinely dangerous if you don't understand them. Work rights vary by which bridging visa you hold and what visa you originally applied for. And the difference between Bridging Visa A and Bridging Visa C might seem technical until you realise one gives you rights the other doesn't.
What is a bridging visa?
A bridging visa is a temporary visa that lets you stay lawfully in Australia while a decision is made on your main visa application. Bridging visas are created under the Migration Act 1958, and they bridge the gap between your current visa expiring and the new visa being granted or refused.
For partner visa applicants, this matters enormously. Onshore partner visas (subclass 820/801) currently take many months to several years to decide; check the live figures on the Home Affairs Global Visa Processing Times page and Tern's Visa Time Checker. Without a bridging visa, you'd become unlawful the moment your original visa expired, potentially facing detention and removal.
A bridging visa is tied to your main visa application. When that application is decided, your bridging visa's days are numbered. If your partner visa is granted, your bridging visa ends because you now hold the partner visa. If your application is refused, your bridging visa typically allows 35 days to leave Australia or appeal.
What are the main types of Australian bridging visas?
Four bridging visas matter most if you're waiting on a visa decision: Bridging Visa A (subclass 010), Bridging Visa B (subclass 020), Bridging Visa C (subclass 030), and Bridging Visa E (subclass 050/051). They're each defined in Schedule 2 of the Migration Regulations 1994. You get each one in a different situation, and each gives you different work and travel rights.
What is a Bridging Visa A (subclass 010)?
You get a Bridging Visa A automatically when you apply for an onshore visa while you still hold a substantive visa. It's the most common bridging visa for partner applicants. It gives full work rights but no travel rights.
When it's granted: Along with your main visa application, usually soon after you apply. You don't need to apply for it separately.
When it activates: The BVA sits dormant until your current substantive visa expires. Until then, you continue following the conditions of your existing visa. The moment your current visa ends, the BVA kicks in.
Work rights: For partner visa applicants, full and unrestricted. (See the work-rights section below for how this differs for other visa types.)
Travel rights: None. This is the critical limitation. If you leave Australia while holding an active Bridging Visa A, your visa ceases the moment you depart. You cannot return on the BVA. You would need to wait outside Australia until your main visa is decided, which for partner visas could mean years.
How long it lasts: Until a decision is made on your visa application, or until you depart Australia, whichever comes first.
What is a Bridging Visa B (subclass 020)?
The Bridging Visa B lets you leave Australia and come back while your main application is still being decided. You apply for it and pay for it: it costs AUD $190. It exists because the BVA does not let you travel.
When it's needed: Whenever you need to leave Australia and return while holding a BVA. Common reasons include family emergencies, work requirements, or simply wanting to visit home during what could be a multi-year wait.
Cost: AUD $190. Non-refundable, even if your travel plans change.
How to apply: Apply through ImmiAccount before you leave Australia. Home Affairs doesn't publish a processing time for the BVB, but in practice these are often decided within a few business days.
Urgent travel (expedited pathway): If you need to leave at short notice for an emergency (a hospitalised relative, a death in the family, or other compelling compassionate reason), the Department offers an urgent Bridging Visa B webform in addition to the standard ImmiAccount pathway. There is no additional fee for urgent processing, just the standard AUD $190. Submit strong supporting evidence (doctor's letter, death certificate, hospital records, or equivalent). In urgent cases the Department often decides within a few business days, and sometimes faster where the evidence is clear and travel is imminent.
Travel window: When the BVB is granted, you get a set travel period. The Department decides the length case by case, based on your reason for travel, and it's commonly a few weeks to several months. You must return to Australia before this period ends. If you don't, your BVB ceases and you're stuck overseas.
Work rights: Same as your underlying BVA. If you had full work rights on your BVA, you keep them on your BVB.
Critical timing: Tern recommends applying at least two weeks before your planned departure. If you leave Australia before your BVB is granted, you're leaving on your BVA, which means it cancels and you can't return.
Never book international flights while on a Bridging Visa A until you have your Bridging Visa B grant letter in hand. The consequences of getting this wrong can be catastrophic.
What is a Bridging Visa C (subclass 030)?
You can get a Bridging Visa C if you apply for an onshore visa without holding a substantive visa at the time. For partner applicants, the most common case is a partner 820/801 application made between substantive visas: your last one has ended, but the rules still let you make a valid onshore partner application. A BVC gives you no automatic work rights and no travel rights, and you can't upgrade to a BVB.
Work rights: None automatically. You must apply separately for permission to work and demonstrate financial hardship (see the work-rights section below).
Travel rights: None, and critically, you cannot upgrade to a BVB. If you leave Australia on a BVC, you cannot return on that visa.
Why this matters: A BVC keeps you lawful while your main application is decided, but it gives you far fewer rights than a BVA. The simplest way to avoid a BVC is to still hold a substantive visa when you submit your onshore application. That means watching your timing carefully.
What is a Bridging Visa E (subclass 050/051)?
The Bridging Visa E is the bridging visa for people who are unlawful. Their previous visa has expired or been cancelled, and the BVE keeps them lawful while they make arrangements to leave Australia, pursue an appeal, or resolve their immigration status. It carries no travel rights and no automatic work rights.
Subclass 050: For people who are unlawful, had their visa cancelled, or are awaiting the outcome of an appeal or ministerial intervention request.
Subclass 051: For people in immigration detention who have applied for a Protection visa.
Work rights: Generally none. You can apply for permission to work if you can demonstrate financial hardship. From October 2025, BVE holders granted under section 195A of the Migration Act 1958 are exempt from condition 8101 (no work), which means this group is no longer subject to the default no-work rule.
Duration: Typically short-term. It's designed to give you time to resolve your immigration matter or leave Australia, not to live indefinitely.
Three-year re-entry ban: A three-year exclusion period under PIC 4014 is triggered when you leave Australia while unlawful, or while holding a BVC, BVD, or BVE that was granted more than 28 days after your substantive visa ceased. The exclusion can be lifted in narrow circumstances: where compelling circumstances affect Australia's interests, where compelling or compassionate circumstances affect an Australian citizen, permanent resident, or eligible New Zealand citizen, or where the new application is made more than three years after the departure that triggered it.
A late-granted BVE holder who left Australia to care for his grandmother was refused the compelling-circumstances waiver under PIC 4014 and the refusal stood.
When do you get a bridging visa automatically?
You get a bridging visa automatically when you make a valid onshore main visa application. Which one you get (a BVA, a BVC, or a BVE) depends on your status at the time you apply. Offshore applicants don't get bridging visas, because they're not in Australia's migration zone.
You'll receive a BVA automatically if you're in Australia, you hold a substantive visa (not a bridging visa), and your application is valid.
You'll receive a BVC automatically if you're in Australia, you don't hold a substantive visa at the time of application, and the regulations still allow you to make a valid onshore application (the partner 820/801 application between substantive visas is the most common partner-cluster example).
You'll receive a BVE if you're unlawful (your previous visa has expired or been cancelled) and you apply for, or are dealing with the aftermath of, an onshore visa decision.
You won't receive a bridging visa at all if you're outside Australia when you apply, or your application isn't valid (missing documents, incorrect fee, etc.).
For onshore partner visa applicants (subclass 820/801), the BVA usually appears in your ImmiAccount soon after you apply. You'll see it listed next to your existing visa.
What work rights do bridging visas give you?
Your work rights on a bridging visa come from the visa you applied for and the conditions carried over from your old visa, not from the bridging visa itself. (Medicare works the same way.) So partner applicants on a BVA get full work rights, former student visa holders may carry over study-time work caps, and BVC and BVE holders get no automatic work rights at all.
Partner visa applicants (820/801) on a BVA
You get unrestricted work rights. No limitations on hours, no restrictions on employers, no separate application needed. From the day your BVA activates, you have the same work flexibility as an Australian permanent resident: full-time, part-time, casual, contracting, multiple jobs, switching freely.
Former student visa holders on a BVA
If you held a student visa and then applied for another visa (a graduate visa, for example), your BVA may carry over the work restrictions from your student visa. Students are typically limited to 48 hours per fortnight during study periods. Check your BVA conditions carefully in ImmiAccount.
BVC and BVE holders
Work rights are not automatic. BVC holders apply on Form 1005, and BVE holders apply on Form 1008. In both cases you have to show a "compelling need to work," which in practice means proving financial hardship. Evidence usually includes:
recent bank statements showing limited funds
rental agreements and proof of housing costs
bills and other essential expenses
a statement explaining your financial situation
Processing can take several weeks, so apply as soon as you know you'll need to work.
Which condition codes affect work?
Your bridging visa grant letter lists condition codes. The main ones:
Condition 8101: No work permitted.
Condition 8102: No work other than in relation to your study or training.
No work condition listed: Unrestricted work rights.
If your visa includes Condition 8101, you can apply to have it removed by demonstrating financial hardship.
What are the travel restrictions on a bridging visa?
Most bridging visas don't let you travel overseas. A BVA, BVC, or BVE ceases automatically the moment you leave Australia, and you can't re-enter on it. Only a Bridging Visa B lets you travel, and only if it's granted before you leave.
A Bridging Visa A doesn't allow travel. The consequence isn't a penalty: it's immediate and automatic. The moment you leave Australian territory, your BVA ceases to exist. You cannot re-enter on a ceased BVA, and you would need to wait outside Australia until your main visa is decided. For partner visas, that wait could be 2-3 years or more.
Every year, people fall into this trap. They don't realise the BVA doesn't allow travel. They book flights for a family emergency. Their bridging visa cancels. They're stuck overseas, separated from their Australian partner, waiting years for a visa decision that might have come within months if they'd stayed.
If you need to travel, the only safe path is to apply for a Bridging Visa B before you leave and wait for the grant letter in hand before booking flights. The BVB mechanics, the urgent pathway for emergency travel, and the timing rules are in the BVB section above. An application in progress is not a grant: if your BVB is still processing when you fly out, you're leaving on your BVA, which cancels.
BVC holders have no travel pathway and cannot apply for a BVB. If you leave Australia, your BVC ends and you cannot return on it. Your only options are to wait in Australia for your visa decision or leave permanently.
How long does a bridging visa last?
Bridging visas don't have fixed expiry dates. They last until something happens to end them, most often a decision on your main visa or your departure from Australia. For onshore partner visa applicants, that can mean holding a bridging visa for several months to several years.
Your bridging visa continues until:
Your main visa is granted. It ends because you now hold the visa you applied for.
Your main visa is refused. You'll typically have 35 days after the refusal to leave Australia or appeal. A valid appeal usually triggers a fresh bridging visa to keep you lawful while it's heard.
You depart Australia (if you hold a BVA, BVC, or BVE without travel rights). The visa ceases the moment you leave.
Your BVB travel period expires while you're overseas. You must return before the specified date.
Your visa is cancelled by the Department.
If your partner visa is refused, the 35-day window gives you time to either leave Australia, appeal to the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART), or seek legal advice. If you don't appeal, you must leave before the 35 days expire or you'll become unlawful. ART hearings can take many months, during which a fresh bridging visa keeps you lawful.
Are you eligible for Medicare on a bridging visa?
Medicare eligibility on a bridging visa comes from the visa you applied for, not from the bridging visa itself. Applicants for permanent visas (like the onshore partner 820/801, the offshore 309/100, or skilled permanent visas) generally qualify because they have applied for permanent residency. Applicants for temporary visas (further student visas, temporary skilled work visas) generally do not. Separately, citizens of countries with a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement with Australia may have Medicare-like access regardless of their bridging visa status.
For partner visa applicants specifically: you tick all the boxes. You have applied for a pathway to permanent residency, you hold a valid bridging visa, and your sponsor is an Australian citizen or permanent resident. To enrol, gather your bridging visa grant letter, your partner visa acknowledgement letter, and proof of your relationship to your Australian partner, then enrol online through myGov or at a Service Australia office.
If your partner visa is refused and you don't appeal, your Medicare eligibility may end. If you do appeal, you can apply to remain enrolled while the appeal is decided.
What other visa conditions can apply to a bridging visa?
Beyond work and travel, a bridging visa can carry other conditions. Your own conditions are listed on your bridging visa grant letter in ImmiAccount, and breaking them can get your visa cancelled. The common ones:
Condition 8501 (Maintain health insurance): If your bridging visa is linked to an application that requires health insurance (like student visas or certain temporary work visas), you must maintain adequate coverage. Partner visa bridging visas don't typically require this since you're eligible for Medicare.
Condition 8303 (Disruptive behaviour): You must not become involved in activities disruptive to, or in violence threatening harm to, the Australian community or a group within it.
Condition 8564 (No criminal conduct): You must not engage in criminal conduct while you hold the visa.
Check your grant letter carefully. Breaching conditions can result in cancellation.
What happens if you become unlawful in Australia?
If you become unlawful (you stay without a valid visa or a pending application), you immediately lose your work rights and Medicare, you can be detained, and you may face a three-year ban on returning to Australia. The consequences are serious, and they stay on your immigration record for good.
Immediately: you lose the right to work, lose Medicare eligibility, can be detained, and can be removed from Australia.
Long-term: a three-year exclusion period may apply, preventing most visas to return to Australia. Your immigration history will permanently show unlawful status, and future visa applications may be assessed more critically.
You can still apply for a visa while unlawful. If valid, you'll be granted a Bridging Visa C, which lets you stay lawfully while it's processed. But the BVC's restrictions (no automatic work rights, no travel pathway) make this a much worse position than applying while lawful.
The best approach is to never become unlawful in the first place. Monitor your visa expiry date. Apply before your current visa expires. If you're unsure about timing, seek professional advice early.
Frequently asked questions
What's the bottom line on bridging visas?
Bridging visas exist for one purpose: to keep you lawful while you wait. For partner visa applicants, that wait can stretch across years. Understanding what you can and can't do during that time isn't just administrative knowledge. It's the difference between living normally in Australia and being locked out of the country.
The rules are straightforward once you know them. Get a BVA automatically when you apply onshore. Get a BVB before any international travel. Understand that a BVC is more restrictive if you applied while unlawful. And know that a BVE is for people whose situations have become complicated.
The single most important takeaway: never leave Australia on a Bridging Visa A. If you need to travel, get your Bridging Visa B granted first, wait until you have the grant letter in hand, and then book your flights.
Tern Tip
Planning to apply for a partner visa from within Australia? Start your application with Tern. We explain your bridging visa entitlements upfront, remind you about travel restrictions, and guide you through every step of the process while you wait for your decision.
