Subclass 010 visa: Bridging A

010 visa requirements

Home Affairs lists these common criteria on the Eligibility tab of its Bridging visa A page:

• Substantive visa. The applicant must hold, or have held, a substantive visa.
• In Australia. The applicant must be in Australia when they apply.
• A pending application or judicial review. A valid substantive visa application that has not been finally decided, or a judicial review application about that substantive visa application, made in time and not yet completed.
• Review applied for in time. Merits review must be applied for within the prescribed timeframe. Judicial review must be applied for within 35 days of the tribunal's decision.
• Age. Any age.
• Character. The applicant must meet the character requirement.

Home Affairs points to Schedule 2 of the Migration Regulations 1994 for the full criteria.

When a separate BVA application is needed

Home Affairs says nearly all bridging visas are applied for automatically as part of a substantive visa application, and it tells the applicant when this happens. A separate BVA application may be needed when:

• the substantive visa application did not also count as a BVA application
• a previous BVA or BVB has ended and the person meets the requirements for another BVA
• the person wants a further BVA without work restrictions
• the person has applied for judicial review.

A bridging visa can't be used while waiting for a citizenship application to be decided.

What the visa lets you do

According to Home Affairs' BVA page, the visa lets the holder:

• stay lawfully in Australia until the substantive visa application is finally decided, or, if granted for judicial review, until those proceedings are complete
• work, if they meet the requirements for work.

When it comes into effect

A BVA comes into effect when it is granted (if the substantive visa has ended since the BVA application, or the BVA is more beneficial than the current bridging visa), when the current substantive visa ends, or when a more beneficial bridging visa ends. While the substantive visa is still in effect, its conditions continue to apply. Once it ends, the BVA conditions apply.

Work rights

Home Affairs says work rights depend on the conditions on the BVA, which are in the grant letter and in VEVO. If a BVA does not allow work, or restricts it, the holder can apply for another BVA that allows work. They will usually need to show they are in financial hardship. If they do not meet the work requirements but are still eligible, Home Affairs grants a new BVA with the same work condition as before.

A new BVA that allows work can't be granted if the current BVA restricts work and either it was granted because of a judicial review application, or the person has applied for a protection visa.

Travel

A BVA does not support return travel. Home Affairs says a BVA that is in effect ends when the holder leaves Australia, and it can't be used to come back. To leave and return while the application is processed, the person needs a Bridging visa B granted before they leave.

When it ends

A BVA ends straight away if the holder leaves Australia while it is in effect, is granted the substantive visa, is granted another bridging visa (such as a BVB) for the same application, or if the BVA or the substantive visa held when it was granted is cancelled.

For a BVA granted on or after 19 November 2016, Home Affairs says it ends:

• 35 calendar days after a refusal or tribunal decision on the substantive visa application, a finding that the application or review application is invalid, or a withdrawal of either
• 28 calendar days after a judicial review body upholds the refusal, or after a related judicial review application is withdrawn.

A BVA granted before 19 November 2016 ends 28 days after these events. The visa can't be extended; a new visa is needed to stay longer.

Family members and cost

If a family applied together for a substantive visa in Australia, they may also have applied together for a BVA. Home Affairs says a separate BVA application can include members of the family unit who are included in the substantive visa application. It assesses each family member and decides which bridging visa each can get.

Home Affairs' Visa Pricing table lists:

Step by step

This follows the Step by step tab of Home Affairs' BVA page.

Before you apply

1. Check in VEVO whether a BVA is already held.
2. Gather identity documents (passport pages, national identity card, proof of any change of name) and, if asking for different visa conditions, proof of hardship. Non-English documents need English translations.

Apply

1. Apply the same way the substantive visa was applied for. If it was lodged in ImmiAccount, the BVA is lodged in ImmiAccount.
2. If the substantive visa was lodged on paper, or a review of a decision has been applied for, the BVA application (Form 1005) is lodged by webform.
3. Everyone in the application must be in Australia when it is lodged.

After you apply

1. Home Affairs confirms it has received the application. It does not give updates on processing times.
2. Webform applicants must attach all documents before submitting; they can't add documents later. Home Affairs may ask for more information.
3. Changes in circumstances, such as a new passport or the birth of a child, must be reported.
4. Home Affairs gives its decision in writing. Everyone in the application must be in Australia at the time of decision.

Applying in or outside Australia

The BVA is an onshore visa only. Home Affairs says the applicant and anyone included in the application must be in Australia when the BVA application is submitted and when it is granted (BVA page).

010 visa processing time

Home Affairs publishes current processing times in its visa processing times guide.

Compare: BVA, BVB, BVC and BVE