An applicant who was unlawful when applying may hold a bridging visa E (BVE) instead, and only a bridging visa B (BVB), applied for separately for $575, lets you leave Australia and return while you wait.
A BVA ends when the partner visa is granted or 35 days after a refusal that is not taken to the ART, so check your bridging visa and its conditions in VEVO now.
Which bridging visa do you get with a partner visa?
| Bridging visa | When you get it (partner applicant) | Work | Travel | When it ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BVA (subclass 010) | You held a substantive visa when lodging the 820. It comes into effect when that visa ends: Home Affairs’ 820 and BVA pages. | Check your grant letter and VEVO. While your substantive visa remains in effect, its conditions apply: Home Affairs’ BVA page. | No return travel. It ends if you leave while it is in effect: Home Affairs’ BVA page. | On partner visa grant; 35 days after refusal without ART review, an ART decision affirming refusal, withdrawal or an invalidity decision: Migration Regulations 1994, cl 010.511. |
| BVB (subclass 020) | Apply separately while holding a BVA or BVB, with substantial reasons for travel: Home Affairs’ BVB page. Charge from 1 July 2026: $575, or $195 for eligible Pacific and Timor-Leste citizens: Migration Regulations 1994, Schedule 1 item 1302. | Allowed only if your previous or applied-for visa allows work. Apply for a BVA to change conditions: Home Affairs’ BVB page. | Leave and return within the grant notice’s travel period. It cannot be extended: Home Affairs’ Travel on a bridging visa page. | As for the BVA’s refusal, ART decision and withdrawal rules; also if you are outside Australia when the travel period ends: Home Affairs’ BVB and travel pages. |
| BVC (subclass 030) | Status only: a BVC is not a substantive visa under Migration Act 1958, s 5(1). If it is your only visa at 820 lodgement, Schedule 3 applies under cl 820.211(2)(d), subject to the compelling-reasons exception. | Not covered here. | Not covered here. | Not covered here. |
| BVE (subclass 050) | You were unlawful, or already held a BVE, when applying for the 820: Home Affairs’ BVE page. | Your grant letter says whether work is permitted. Unauthorised work risks cancellation, detention and removal: Home Affairs’ BVE page. | None. It ends immediately on departure: Home Affairs’ BVE page. | On a specified date or event, substantive visa grant, departure or cancellation: Home Affairs’ BVE page. |
Home Affairs’ BVA page says nearly all bridging visas are applied for automatically with a substantive visa application. In this partner pathway, bridging visas concern the onshore temporary partner visa: Home Affairs’ 820 page requires applicants and included family members to be in Australia at application. The 309 and 300 are applied for outside Australia; those applications do not give you a partner bridging visa.
Bridging visa A: when it starts and ends
A BVA bridges the gap after your substantive visa ends. Under the Migration Regulations 1994, cl 010.511, and Home Affairs’ BVA page, it comes into effect when that visa ceases, or on grant if the substantive visa has already ceased. It allows you to remain while the application is finally determined.
Clause 010.511 of the Migration Regulations 1994 sets the relevant BVA end points:
- Grant of the partner visa.
- 35 days after refusal, if no ART application is made.
- 35 days after an ART decision affirming the refusal.
- 35 days after withdrawal or a decision that the application or review is invalid.
Home Affairs’ BVA page also says it ends immediately if you leave Australia while it is in effect.
How long you hold it depends on your application, not a fixed waiting allowance. Home Affairs’ processing-time guide, checked on 3 October 2026, showed 50% of 820 applications decided in 22 months and 90% in 30 months. These are historical guides, not your deadline. Ministerial Direction 117 gives onshore 820/801 applications the highest priority from 25 July 2026; see partner visa processing time.
Once the 820 is granted, the BVA ends. Under cl 820.511 of the Migration Regulations 1994, the 820 ordinarily remains in effect until notification of the 801 decision or withdrawal of that application.
Partner visa bridging visa work rights
You can work only as your visa conditions permit. Home Affairs’ BVA page directs you to your grant letter and VEVO. While your substantive visa is still in effect, you must follow its conditions—not the conditions of a BVA that has not yet started.
If your BVA prevents or restricts work, Home Affairs’ BVA page says you can apply for a further BVA allowing work, usually by showing financial hardship. If permission is refused, the new BVA carries the same work restriction. Do not treat lodging the request as permission to start work.
For a BVE, Home Affairs’ BVE subclass 050 page says the grant letter specifies whether you may work. A new BVE with work permission is possible in some situations, including financial hardship. Working without permission can lead to cancellation, detention and removal.
Travelling: the bridging visa B
The standard BVB application charge is $575 from 1 July 2026, or $195 for eligible Pacific and Timor-Leste citizens, under Schedule 1 item 1302 of the Migration Regulations 1994.
Home Affairs’ BVB page requires you to hold a BVA or BVB, be in Australia when applying and when it is granted, and provide substantial reasons for travel with supporting documents. A BVE holder cannot get a BVB, because that eligibility requirement is not met.
Home Affairs’ BVB and Travel on a bridging visa pages say to apply no more than three months and no less than two weeks before travel. That application window is not a promise that a decision will arrive before your flight.
Only a BVB provides departure and return rights while you rely on a bridging visa. Home Affairs’ travel page says the travel period on your grant notice cannot be changed or extended. If you are outside Australia when it expires, the BVB ceases and you cannot return on it. Check the permitted return date before booking.
Bridging visa B refused (travel)
If your BVB is refused, read the refusal letter before making travel arrangements. Home Affairs’ BVB page says the letter explains why it was refused and whether review is available.
Do not travel on a BVA instead. Home Affairs’ BVA page says it ends when you leave while it is in effect and provides no return right. The BVB page explains that, without a visa allowing return, you would need another visa granted before coming back—with no guarantee of grant.
The 820 itself can be decided while you are in or outside Australia under cl 820.411 of the Migration Regulations 1994. That does not give you permission to re-enter: the partner visa decision and your travel authority are separate questions.
Bridging visa E and Schedule 3
A BVE can keep an otherwise unlawful applicant lawful, but it does not remove Schedule 3. Home Affairs’ BVE page says that, in some cases, a valid substantive visa application in Australia also includes a BVE application. You cannot apply for a BVE in anticipation of becoming unlawful.
Under Migration Act 1958, s 5(1), no bridging visa is a substantive visa. An 820 applicant holding only a BVE—or a BVA, BVB or BVC from another application—must meet Schedule 3 criteria 3001, 3003 and 3004 unless the Department accepts compelling reasons for not applying them under cl 820.211(2)(d) of the Migration Regulations 1994.
There is a separate pathway for a former Prospective Marriage visa holder who entered on the 300 and married the sponsor: cl 820.211(5) places that applicant outside Schedule 3. Separately, Home Affairs’ BVE page confirms that a BVE ends immediately when you leave Australia.
Your bridging visa after a refusal or withdrawal
The 35-day bridging visa end rule is not the ART review deadline. The Migration Regulations 1994 and Home Affairs’ BVA and BVB pages provide the relevant 35-day end points after notification of refusal without review, an ART decision affirming refusal, or withdrawal. Home Affairs’ BVA page also lists a 28-day end point after a court upholds the refusal on judicial review.
An ART review of an 820/801 refusal must be sought within 28 days after notification, or 14 days if in immigration detention, under Migration Act 1958, s 347(3). Section 347(5) prevents an extension. The ART’s fees page lists the standard migration review fee as $3,727 from 1 July 2026.
If review is lodged in time, the BVA continues through review; cl 010.511 provides that it ends 35 days after an ART decision affirming refusal. Home Affairs’ withdrawal guidance requires partner applicants to withdraw both subclasses in writing. Removing an application from ImmiAccount is not withdrawal.
FAQ
Can I apply for a partner visa while on bridging visa A?
Yes, but a BVA is not a substantive visa under Migration Act 1958, s 5(1). If it is all you hold at 820 lodgement, Schedule 3 applies under cl 820.211(2)(d), subject to the compelling-reasons exception. Holding a BVA alone does not establish eligibility.
How long does it take to get a bridging visa for a partner visa?
Usually there is no separate application step: Home Affairs’ BVA page says nearly all bridging visas are applied for automatically with the substantive visa application. It lists no BVA processing time, so there is no published waiting period to promise. Check for your grant notice.
How long can I stay on a bridging visa?
For a BVA linked to an 820 application, cl 010.511 of the Migration Regulations 1994 allows you to remain while the application is determined. It ends on grant, 35 days after refusal without ART review, or 35 days after an ART decision affirming refusal. Departure and other cessation events can end it earlier.
Do 309 applicants get a bridging visa?
No—not from their 309 application. Home Affairs’ 309 page requires application outside Australia. The partner bridging visa pathway described here is for onshore 820 applicants; an offshore application does not itself provide lawful status in Australia.
What are the new partner visa rules for Australia in 2026?
For most onshore applicants, the base charge became $11,710 on 1 July 2026 under the Migration Regulations 1994. Ministerial Direction 117 prioritised onshore 820/801 applications from 25 July 2026. As at 3 October 2026, the proposed restriction on visitor visa holders applying onshore was not law: Schedule 1 item 1214C contained no such bar.
A partner visa with Australian Migration Lawyers usually costs $14,000 plus GST, separate from the Home Affairs visa application charge.
When a bridging visa problem needs a lawyer
Ask an Australian migration lawyer to check your lodgement history if your visa expired before applying or you held only a bridging visa. The Schedule 3 waiver partner visa guide explains the compelling-reasons issue under cl 820.211(2)(d) of the Migration Regulations 1994.
A lawyer can compare your grant notices, VEVO conditions and application dates; check financial-hardship evidence for a work-permission request; and review travel documents before a BVB application.
After refusal, ask an Australian migration lawyer to check the visa held at 820 lodgement, any Schedule 3 issue and the separate 28-day review deadline. Under Migration Act 1958, s 347, a BVA end date does not extend that deadline.