Bridging Visa A, B, C or E: Which One Applies to Your Situation in 2026?
Work out which bridging visa — A, B, C or E — fits your situation in 2026, based on travel, your status when you applied, and lawful stay.
If you are waiting on a substantive visa decision in Australia, the bridging visa you end up on is usually settled by three questions rather than by choice: do you need to travel overseas and come back, did you hold a substantive visa at the moment you lodged your new application, and are you already without a visa. A Bridging visa A (BVA, Subclass 010) is the one most applicants get automatically with a new substantive visa application lodged onshore; Bridging visa B (BVB, Subclass 020) is the travel variant; Bridging visa C is the category that applies where a bridging visa is needed but no substantive visa was held when the application was made; and Bridging visa E (Subclasses 050/051) comes into view once a person is already unlawful or their earlier bridging visa has ceased. This article draws on the Australian Department of Home Affairs official page for Bridging visa A (Subclass 010) as at August 2026, together with the criteria for Subclass 010 in the Migration Regulations 1994 and the related departmental policy guidance. It is general information only and is not advice about your individual circumstances, so confirm the current position on the official pages and get professional guidance before you act on any of it.
Which bridging visa applies to you? Start with these three questions
The categories are not a menu you pick from. Each one is tied to a different factual situation, and applying for the wrong one is a known reason for a bridging visa application to fail.
| Your situation | Category | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Waiting onshore for a substantive visa decision, not travelling | Bridging visa A (Subclass 010) | Keeps you lawful in Australia while the application is decided |
| Waiting onshore but you need to leave and return | Bridging visa B (Subclass 020) | Travel facility attached to the same substantive visa application |
| You lodged the substantive application without holding a substantive visa | Bridging visa C | The bridging option where BVA's onshore-substantive-visa requirement is not met |
| Already unlawful, or your earlier bridging visa has ceased | Bridging visa E (Subclass 050/051) | A discretionary pathway back to lawful status in defined circumstances |
The detail below is fullest for BVA, because that is where the published criteria are clearest. For BVC and BVE in particular, treat this as orientation only and check the current official pages for those subclasses before lodging anything.
Do you need to leave Australia and come back?
This is the fork that catches the most people. A BVA does not support return travel: if you leave Australia while your BVA is in effect, the visa ceases on departure and you cannot come back on it. The official page is explicit that you must be granted a BVB before you leave if you want to travel and return while your substantive visa application is still being processed.
The two are also linked in a way that surprises applicants. A BVA ends immediately if you are granted another bridging visa, such as a BVB, in relation to the same substantive visa application. So a granted BVB does not sit alongside your BVA as a backup — it replaces it for that application, and the BVA ceases at that point.
Whether your BVA is "in effect" matters here, and VEVO is the tool the Department points to for checking that. A BVA comes into effect when it is granted (if your substantive visa has already ceased, or the BVA is more beneficial than your current bridging visa), when your current substantive visa ceases, or when a more beneficial bridging visa ceases. If you still hold a substantive visa when the BVA is granted, you keep complying with the substantive visa's conditions until it ceases, and only then do the BVA conditions apply.
Did you hold a substantive visa when you lodged your new application?
BVA has a hard requirement at lodgement. The Subclass 010 criteria require that the applicant made a valid application in Australia for a substantive visa of a kind that can be granted while the applicant is in Australia, that the application has not been finally determined, and that the applicant held a substantive visa at the time that application was made.
Where that last element is missing, the correct bridging category is not BVA. Departmental policy guidance lists applying for BVA when a Bridging visa C was the appropriate category — for example, where the substantive visa application was made without holding a substantive visa — as a recognised refusal ground.
The same "held a substantive visa" logic explains why timing your new application matters so much. Lodging before your current visa expires is what keeps you inside the BVA framework; lodging after it has ceased can push you out of it entirely.
Are you already without a visa, or has your bridging visa ceased?
Bridging visa E (Subclasses 050 and 051) is the category departmental guidance associates with people who are already unlawful, or whose earlier bridging visa has ceased, rather than with someone simply waiting on a decision. Guidance notes that a person whose BVA has ceased may be eligible for a BVE depending on their circumstances.
The criteria, conditions and the evidence expected for BVE are set out on the Department's own pages for that subclass, and because they turn heavily on individual facts, those pages should be treated as the operative source rather than any summary.
When does a Bridging visa A start and stop working?
A BVA lets you stay lawfully in Australia until your substantive visa application is finally determined, or — where it was granted in association with judicial proceedings — until those proceedings are complete.
It ends immediately in four situations: you leave Australia while it is in effect; you are granted the substantive visa you applied for; you are granted another bridging visa (such as a BVB) for the same substantive visa application; or the Department cancels either the BVA or the substantive visa you held when the BVA was granted.
One point worth flagging: you cannot use a bridging visa while you wait for a citizenship application to be decided.
How long do you have after a refusal or review decision?
For a BVA granted on or after 19 November 2016, the visa ceases 35 calendar days after the Department's refusal decision or an Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) decision on the associated substantive visa application, after a determination that the substantive application or AAT review application is invalid, or after you withdraw the substantive application or AAT review application. It ceases 28 calendar days after a judicial review body upholds the refusal decision, or after you withdraw a related judicial review application.
For a BVA granted before 19 November 2016, the general period is 28 days from notification of invalidity, refusal, withdrawal, an AAT decision upholding the refusal, a tribunal finding that it has no jurisdiction, withdrawal from a tribunal or judicial review body, or a judicial review body upholding the refusal. VEVO shows the exact date once you have been notified of an outcome.
If a merits review tribunal upholds the refusal and you apply for judicial review, you need a bridging visa to stay lawful during those proceedings — and if you have applied for judicial review, a bridging visa can only be applied for by webform.
Can you work while you wait?
It depends on the conditions attached to your particular BVA, and your grant letter is the document that tells you what they are. VEVO also shows your conditions.
If your BVA does not allow work, or restricts it, you can apply for another BVA that does allow work — but you will usually have to demonstrate financial hardship, and the Department assesses your circumstances against that claim. If you do not meet the work requirements and are still eligible for a BVA, you may be granted a new BVA carrying the same work prevention or restriction as the old one. There are two situations where a new work-permitting BVA cannot be granted: where your current BVA was granted because you applied for judicial review of the substantive visa decision, and where you have applied for a protection visa.
What does a Bridging visa A cost, and can you extend it?
The official page lists the cost as free. You, and anyone included in your application, must be in Australia both when the BVA application is submitted and when it is granted.
You cannot extend a BVA to stay longer. If you want to remain in Australia beyond when it ceases, you must apply for a new visa.
Most bridging visas are applied for automatically as part of applying for a substantive visa, and the Department tells you if that has happened; VEVO is the way to check whether you already hold one. A separate BVA application may be necessary where your substantive visa application did not also constitute an application for a BVA, where a previous BVA or BVB has ceased and you meet the requirements for another, where you are seeking a further BVA without work restrictions, or where you have applied for judicial review.
Can your family be included?
If you and your family applied together for a substantive visa in Australia, you may also have applied together for a BVA — check whether family members already hold one in VEVO. If you apply separately for a BVA, you can include members of the family unit who are included in your substantive visa application. Each family member's application is assessed separately, and the Department decides which bridging visa each person can be granted. Family members in different situations can therefore end up on different bridging visas.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the main difference between a Bridging visa A and a Bridging visa B? A Bridging visa A keeps you lawful in Australia while a substantive visa application is decided, and it does not support return travel. A Bridging visa B is the category that allows you to leave and come back while that application is still being processed, and you must be granted it before you depart.
Can I travel overseas on a Bridging visa A and return on the same visa? No. A BVA that is in effect ceases when you depart Australia, and you cannot return on it. If you need to travel and return while your substantive application is under consideration, you need to have been granted a BVB before you leave.
What happens to my Bridging visa A if I am granted a Bridging visa B? Your BVA ceases immediately on the grant of another bridging visa, including a BVB, in relation to the same substantive visa application. The BVB takes over for that application rather than running alongside the BVA.
Why would I be refused a Bridging visa A? The Subclass 010 criteria require a valid onshore application for a substantive visa that can be granted in Australia, that the application is not finally determined, and that you held a substantive visa when you made it. Policy guidance also lists applying for BVA when a Bridging visa C was the correct category, and being outside Australia or in immigration clearance, as refusal grounds.
How long can I stay after my substantive visa is refused? For a BVA granted on or after 19 November 2016, it ceases 35 calendar days after the refusal or AAT decision on the associated application, or after withdrawal. It ceases 28 calendar days after a judicial review body upholds the refusal, or after you withdraw a related judicial review application. VEVO shows your exact date.
Can I apply for a Bridging visa A that lets me work? Yes, if your current BVA prevents or restricts work you can apply for another BVA allowing work, usually by demonstrating financial hardship. You cannot be granted one if your BVA was granted because you applied for judicial review, or if you have applied for a protection visa.