You’ve lodged a new visa application, and somewhere in the paperwork is a line saying you’ve been granted a bridging visa A. It sounds reassuring, and it is. But that single letter decides a lot: whether you can travel, when your new conditions start, and what happens if you step on a plane.
Here’s what each bridging visa does, in plain English, as at October 2026, and how to check which one you actually hold.
Why bridging visas exist
A bridging visa keeps you lawful in Australia while your immigration matter is being worked out. For example, that can be the gap between your current visa ending and a decision on your new one.
Home Affairs says nearly all bridging visas are applied for automatically as part of applying for a substantive visa. In other words, many people receive one without taking any extra step.
The letter you’re given depends on your situation, and each letter comes with different rules.
Bridging visa A (subclass 010)
According to the Home Affairs Bridging visa A page, a bridging visa A allows you to stay in Australia after your current substantive visa ceases, while your new substantive visa application is being processed.
The key points:
- It may not start straight away. A BVA generally comes into effect when your current substantive visa ceases. Until then, you stay on your current visa and keep following its conditions.
- Your conditions can change when it starts. Once your substantive visa ceases, the conditions of your BVA apply.
- It doesn’t let you travel and come back. Home Affairs says the BVA does not support return travel to Australia.
- Work depends on your conditions. You might be allowed to work, depending on the conditions that apply to your BVA.
Home Affairs also notes that you can’t use a bridging visa while you wait for a citizenship application to be decided.
Bridging visa B (subclass 020)
The bridging visa B is the travel option. The Home Affairs Bridging visa B page describes it as letting you leave and return to Australia while your substantive visa application is being processed.
What Home Affairs says about travelling on a bridging visa:
- Only a BVB lets you leave and re-enter while you wait for a decision on a substantive visa.
- Leaving on any other bridging visa ends it. If you depart Australia with another type of bridging visa in effect, that visa will cease.
- A BVB comes with a defined travel period. When setting it, Home Affairs considers why you want to travel and when a decision on your substantive visa is likely.
- You need a BVA or BVB to apply. The BVB application form lists holding a bridging visa A or B as a requirement.
What about cost and the bridging visa B processing time? Charges and timeframes can change, so check the current amount with the Home Affairs visa pricing estimator, and apply well before you plan to travel. Don’t book non-refundable flights until your BVB is granted and you’ve checked the travel period.
See the Home Affairs guidance on travelling while your visa is being processed for more detail.
Bridging visa C (subclass 030)
The Home Affairs Bridging visa C page describes the BVC as letting you stay lawfully in Australia until a decision is made on your substantive visa application.
If you’ve been granted a BVC, check its conditions in VEVO once it’s in effect, before making plans about work. As with any bridging visa other than a BVB, leaving Australia will end it.
Bridging visa E (subclasses 050 and 051)
The Home Affairs Bridging visa E page describes the BVE as letting you stay lawfully in Australia while you make arrangements to leave, finalise your immigration matter or wait for an immigration decision.
People hold a BVE for many reasons, and it doesn’t define anyone’s situation. What matters is understanding your conditions and your options.
If you’re seeking review of a refusal, our guides to Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) appeals and on-the-papers ART reviews explain how the process works. Home Affairs also notes that if a tribunal upholds a refusal and you apply for judicial review, you’ll need to apply for a bridging visa to keep your lawful status during those proceedings.
Work rights, and how to check yours in VEVO
There’s no single rule for work rights on a bridging visa. They depend on the conditions attached to the visa you hold.
The Home Affairs VEVO service shows details of your current in-effect visa, including:
- which visa you hold
- the expiry date
- the period of stay
- your conditions (what you can and can’t do)
One catch worth knowing: VEVO can’t show details of a visa that isn’t yet in effect. If you hold a bridging visa but your substantive visa hasn’t expired, VEVO will show your current substantive visa, not the bridging visa waiting behind it.
Your letter at a glance
- Bridging visa A: stay after your current visa ceases, while your new application is processed. No return travel.
- Bridging visa B: leave and return within a defined travel period while your application is processed.
- Bridging visa C: stay lawfully until a decision is made on your substantive visa application.
- Bridging visa E: stay lawfully while you make arrangements to leave, finalise your matter or wait for a decision.
- Leaving Australia: only a BVB lets you leave and re-enter. Any other bridging visa will cease.
When your letter doesn’t match your plans
If you need to travel but hold a BVA, need to work but aren’t sure your conditions allow it, or have received a BVE you didn’t expect, it’s worth getting advice before you act.
Our bridging visa application team can review your situation and explain your lawful options. If you’ve applied for a partner visa onshore, see our guide to partner visas (subclass 820 and 801). If you’re new to lodging online, start with how to create an ImmiAccount.
FAQs
What is the difference between bridging visa A and B?
A BVA lets you stay while your new application is processed but does not support return travel. A BVB lets you leave and return within a defined travel period. Leaving on a BVA ends it (Home Affairs, as at October 2026).
Does a bridging visa allow you to work?
It depends on the conditions attached to your visa. Check your current in-effect visa’s conditions in VEVO. Home Affairs says you might be allowed to work depending on the conditions that apply to your BVA.
What are the conditions of a bridging visa A?
While your substantive visa is still in effect, you follow its conditions. Once it ceases, your BVA conditions apply (Home Affairs, as at October 2026).
Can we travel on bridging visa A?
Not and come back on it. Home Affairs says the BVA does not support return travel, and leaving on a bridging visa other than a BVB will end it. You need a BVB first.
