Staying Lawful While Your 858 Is Decided: Bridging Visas and Visa Expiry in 2026

Yes — if you lodged your National Innovation visa (Subclass 858) application while in Australia and the Department of Home Affairs granted you a bridging visa at that time, that bridging visa comes into effect when your current visa expires, and you can remain in Australia on it while your subclass 858 application is being processed. This reflects the Department of Home Affairs official page for the National Innovation visa (Subclass 858), in the version current as at August 2026. It is general information only, not advice about your individual circumstances — for a decision that affects your status, check the official page or get help from a registered migration agent or legal practitioner.

What visa do you need to hold to lodge a subclass 858 in Australia?

To be eligible to apply onshore, you must hold one of the following at the time you apply:

a substantive visa
Bridging visa A (BVA, subclass 010)
Bridging visa B (BVB, subclass 020)
Bridging visa C (BVC, subclass 030)

If you currently hold, or your last substantive visa was, a Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) (subclass 491) or Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) (subclass 494) visa, you must have held that visa for at least 3 years when you apply.

You also need an invitation to apply. Once invited, you must lodge within 60 days of the invitation, and the Department will not accept applications lodged without an invitation or outside that timeframe. You must attach a completed Nomination for National Innovation visa (Form 1000) when you apply.

When does the bridging visa actually start?

It starts when your current visa expires, not before. The Department's guidance is that the bridging visa granted to you when you applied "will come into effect" if your visa expires before your new application is decided. Until then, your existing visa (and its conditions) is what keeps you lawful.

This matters because of a separate, standing requirement: while your application is being processed, you must hold a valid visa to stay lawful in Australia. The bridging visa is what fills the gap after the expiry date — but only if one was granted to you at application time. If no bridging visa was granted, expiry leaves a gap.

Assume an applicant holding a subclass 482 visa with three months left on it lodges a subclass 858 onshore and receives a BVA at that time. For those three months they remain on the 482. On the day the 482 ceases, the BVA comes into effect and they stay lawful while the 858 is decided. The key variable is not the expiry date itself but whether a bridging visa was granted when the application was lodged.

Why shouldn't you ask the Department to cancel your current visa?

Because cancelling your visa does not put you onto a bridging visa — it removes the visa that the bridging visa is designed to follow. The Department states plainly: do not ask us to cancel your current visa. If your visa is cancelled, you:

will be in Australia as an unlawful non-citizen, and
may not be eligible for a Bridging visa A.

That second point is the one people miss. A BVA is generally tied to holding, or having recently held, a substantive visa; voluntary cancellation can cut the link that makes the bridging visa available. The result is a gap in lawful status rather than a tidier one.

What does being an unlawful non-citizen mean for your 858 application?

Under the Department's guidance, the consequences are immediate: you are in Australia without a valid visa, and you may lose eligibility for a BVA. Unlawful status is also the kind of immigration history the Department considers when deciding applications, and the same page notes that your immigration history is taken into account and you might not be eligible if you have had a visa cancelled or refused.

There is a related limit worth noting. If you have had a visa cancelled or an application refused, in some circumstances you may still apply for a permanent visa, but those situations are governed by the "Limitations on applications in Australia" rules (Form 1026i). Whether those limits apply to you depends on your own history, so treat any online summary as a starting point only.

If your visa is about to expire and nothing has changed, the safer path is to let it run to its expiry date and rely on the bridging visa you were granted — rather than asking for cancellation.

Can you travel while the 858 is being decided?

You do not have to notify the Department if you want to travel outside Australia during processing, but two practical limits apply. First, if you leave Australia you must make sure you have a valid visa to return; check your visa details and conditions through VEVO before you book anything. A BVA, in particular, generally does not let you re-enter Australia if you depart.

Second, location at decision time is a grant condition. To be granted this visa, you must be either in Australia or outside Australia, but not in immigration clearance, when the decision is made. Landing at an airport and being processed through the border at the exact moment a decision is recorded is the scenario to avoid.

What if the application is refused?

The Department will tell you in writing why the visa was refused and whether you have a right to a review of the decision. The application charge is not refunded if the application is refused. If a bridging visa was in effect during processing, its cessation arrangements are set out in the bridging visa grant itself, so check your own grant notification.

Keeping your status clean during a long wait

The subclass 858 process involves an invitation stage, a 60-day lodgement window, and a decision period in which the Department does not provide status updates — you are expected to wait for contact and check your ImmiAccount for requests for more information. During that wait, three habits do most of the work: keep your contact and passport details current through ImmiAccount, watch your VEVO record, and never request cancellation of the visa you are holding.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does everyone who applies onshore get a bridging visa?

Not automatically. The Department's wording is that when you applied, they may have granted you a bridging visa. Whether a bridging visa was granted, and which one, is shown in your own grant notification and ImmiAccount rather than assumed from the fact of applying.

What happens on the exact day my current visa expires?

If a bridging visa was granted when you lodged your subclass 858, it comes into effect when your visa expires before the decision is made, so there is no gap in lawful status. If no bridging visa was granted, expiry leaves you without a valid visa.

Can I ask the Department to cancel my visa so the bridging visa starts earlier?

No — the Department specifically says not to ask for your current visa to be cancelled. If it is cancelled, you become an unlawful non-citizen and you may not be eligible for a Bridging visa A, which is the opposite of what you are trying to achieve.

Can I hold a bridging visa and still travel overseas?

You do not need to notify the Department that you are travelling, and you may depart. The problem is returning: you must have a valid visa to re-enter, and you cannot be in immigration clearance when the decision on your subclass 858 is made. Check VEVO before travelling.

Do I need an invitation before I can lodge the 858 at all?

Yes. You can only apply if the Department invites you, and you must apply within 60 days of that invitation. Applications without an invitation, or lodged outside that window, are not accepted.

Does a visa refusal affect the fee I paid?

Yes. The Department states it will not refund the application charge if it refuses the application. The refusal notice will also set out the reasons and whether you have a right to a review of the decision.