Who Is Eligible for a Bridging Visa A (Subclass 010) in Australia in 2026?
Plain-English guide to Bridging visa A (Subclass 010) eligibility in 2026, and what holding or having held a substantive visa really means.
If you are reading this because your last visa has already stopped and you are worried you are now in Australia unlawfully, the key point is this: the Bridging visa A (BVA) (Subclass 010) test is not "do you hold a substantive visa today". According to the Australian Department of Home Affairs' official Bridging visa A (BVA) (Subclass 010) page, current as at the August 2026 version, one of the common eligibility criteria is that you hold or have held a substantive visa. Losing your last visa does not by itself close the door, but the other criteria still have to line up at the same time.
The information below is general only. It is not personalised advice about your situation, and because eligibility turns on the exact wording of the criteria and on your own visa history, you should check the Department's current published requirements or get advice from a registered professional before you rely on it.
What does "hold or have held a substantive visa" actually mean?
A substantive visa is the visa that lets you stay in Australia in your own right — the student, visitor, skilled, partner or employer-sponsored visa you were granted — as opposed to a bridging visa, which exists only to keep you lawful while a further application is being decided.
The Department's official page lists the requirement in two words that are easy to skim past: "hold or have held". Read together, that means the condition can be satisfied in either of two ways:
- You still hold one. Your substantive visa is still in force, and the BVA will usually sit behind it until that visa ceases.
- You held one in the past. It has since ceased, expired or otherwise run out, but you can point to a time when you did hold one.
The second limb is what matters most for readers in the "I think I have no visa now" position, and it is also the limb that is most often misread. It is not a free-standing permission to regularise your status. The official page still requires, at the same time, that you have made a valid application for a substantive visa that has not been finally determined — or an application for judicial review lodged within the prescribed timeframe where those proceedings have not finished.
Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994 sets out the full criteria in clause 010.211. The clause commonly relied on by people still waiting on a decision, 010.211(2), requires that the applicant made the substantive visa application 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. That last element is the practical reason timing matters so much: the relevant moment is when you lodged, not when the bridging visa is granted.
Does it matter that my substantive visa has already ceased?
Not by itself, but it changes how the bridging visa behaves.
The Department's official page explains when a BVA comes "in to effect":
- When it is granted, if your substantive visa has already ceased since you applied for the BVA, or if the BVA is more beneficial than the bridging visa you hold now.
- When your current substantive visa ceases, if you are still holding one when the BVA is granted.
- When another bridging visa that is more beneficial than your current one ceases.
If you still hold a substantive visa when the BVA is granted, you keep obeying the conditions of that substantive visa; when it ceases, the BVA conditions take over. So the usual pattern is: substantive visa now gone → BVA already granted → the BVA is in effect immediately, and you remain lawful while the new substantive visa application is decided.
A separate BVA application may be necessary where your substantive visa application did not also count as an application for a BVA, where a BVA or Bridging visa B (BVB) you were granted has ceased and you meet the requirements for another BVA, where you are seeking a further BVA without work restrictions, or where you have applied for judicial review.
When is a separate application needed, and when does it happen automatically?
Nearly all bridging visas are applied for automatically as part of applying for a substantive visa, and the Department says it will tell you if that happens. Whether you already hold one can be checked through VEVO (Visa Entitlement Verification Online).
Assume an applicant lodges a partner visa application online while still holding a student visa, and the student visa expires three weeks later. In that scenario the BVA is normally already in place from the date the substantive application was lodged, and it simply switches on when the student visa ceases — nothing further needs to be done. By contrast, assume another applicant whose previous BVA ceased after a refusal and who has since lodged a fresh substantive visa application in Australia that has not been finally determined. A separate BVA application may be necessary in that situation, but only if the person also meets the other BVA requirements, including having held a substantive visa at the time the fresh substantive visa application was made.
What else do you have to satisfy at the same time?
The official page lists these as the common criteria, and they operate cumulatively:
| Requirement | What the official page says |
|---|---|
| Substantive visa | You must hold or have held a substantive visa |
| Location | You need to be in Australia when you apply, and at the time of grant |
| Application or review | A valid substantive visa application not finally determined, or a judicial review application made within the prescribed timeframe that has not been completed |
| Review timing | If applying in association with a review (AAT merits review or judicial review), you must apply within the prescribed timeframe |
| Age | You can be any age |
| Character | You need to meet the character requirement |
Two of these cause the most confusion. "In Australia" is not just about where you press submit — the official page states that you and anyone included in the application must be in Australia both when the BVA application is submitted and when it is granted. And "not finally determined" is about the substantive visa application: once it has been decided, refused and any review window has closed, or once you withdraw it, the bridge to which the BVA is attached falls away.
The official page also confirms there is no application fee — the cost is listed as free — and that a BVA cannot be used while you wait for a citizenship application to be decided.
How long does a BVA keep you lawful after a decision?
This depends on when your BVA was granted and on what happens to the substantive application.
For a BVA granted on or after 19 November 2016, the official page says it ceases 35 calendar days after the Department refuses the associated substantive visa application or the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) decides it, after a determination that the substantive application or AAT review application is invalid, or after you withdraw the substantive visa 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 official page sets out a 28-day period running from notification that the substantive application is invalid or refused, withdrawal of the application, notification that a merits review tribunal has upheld the refusal or has no jurisdiction, withdrawal of a merits or judicial review application, or a judicial review body upholding the refusal.
A BVA also ends immediately if you leave Australia while it is in effect, if you are granted the substantive visa you applied for, if you are granted another bridging visa (such as a BVB) in relation to the same substantive visa application, or if the Department cancels your BVA or the substantive visa you held when the BVA was granted. You cannot extend a BVA; staying longer means applying for a new visa.
What about work rights, travel and family members?
Work depends on the conditions attached to your particular BVA, and your grant letter is the document that tells you what they are; the same conditions can be checked in VEVO. If your BVA does not let you work or restricts your work, you can apply for another BVA that does, and you will usually have to demonstrate financial hardship. The Department's official page also states that you cannot be granted a new BVA that lets you work if your current BVA prevents or restricts you from working in Australia and either your current BVA was granted because you applied for judicial review of the decision on your substantive visa application, or you have applied for a protection visa.
Travel is the trap. A BVA does not support return travel. If you leave Australia while it is in effect, it ceases on departure and you cannot come back on it. To travel and return while the substantive application is being processed, you need to have been granted a BVB before you leave.
Family members can be covered. If you applied together for a substantive visa in Australia, you may also have applied together for a BVA — again checkable in VEVO. If you apply for the BVA separately, you can include members of the family unit in that application if they are included in your substantive visa application, and each person's application is assessed individually to decide which bridging visa they can be granted.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I get a Bridging visa A if my last substantive visa has already expired?
Yes, possibly — the official criterion is that you hold or have held a substantive visa, so an expired one can still satisfy that limb. But it must be combined with a valid substantive visa application lodged in Australia that has not been finally determined, or a judicial review application made within the prescribed timeframe that has not been completed.
Do I have to be in Australia for the whole process?
The Department's official page requires you to be in Australia when you apply, and the process section adds that you must also be in Australia at the time of grant if you meet all the eligibility requirements. Anyone included in your application must meet the same location requirement.
Can I travel overseas on a Bridging visa A and come back?
No. The official page states the BVA does not support return travel and that an in-effect BVA ceases upon departure from Australia. If you need to travel and return while your substantive visa application is being processed, you need to have been granted a Bridging visa B before leaving.
How long do I have to stay after my substantive visa is refused?
For a BVA granted on or after 19 November 2016, the official page says it ceases 35 calendar days after a refusal decision or an AAT decision on the associated substantive visa application, or after withdrawal or an invalidity determination. For judicial review outcomes, and for BVAs granted before 19 November 2016, the period is 28 calendar days.
Does a Bridging visa A cost anything?
The Department's official page lists the cost as free. You must still meet all of the eligibility criteria, and the full set of criteria is found in Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994.
Is there an age limit or a character test?
You can be any age to apply, according to the official page. You must also meet the character requirement, which is a separate published requirement of the Department.