Are you an immigrant who has decided to live in Australia further and applied for another visa before your current visa expires? But what if your current visa expires and the decision on the applied visa is not received? To deal with such situations, the Australian Govt. provides a visa to make the stay legal during a particular time. That visa is a bridging visa.
Well! A bridging visa is the best way to make you stay legal in Australia while your current visa expires and a decision on a new substantive visa is pending. This visa works as a bridge to fill the gap between the current visa and a new substantive visa (the applied visa’s decision is yet to be declared).
Applying for this visa is a bit daunting and requires both time and money. Therefore, to avoid any undesired outcomes and ensure a positive outcome, one can take help from the registered migration agents to process your bridging visa application.
What is Bridging Visa?
The bridging visa allows an individual to stay lawfully in Australia temporarily until the decision on the applied visa is declared. Generally, the bridging visa is usually automatically approved when the current visa is granted. However, in some cases, it requires submitting a new bridging visa application.
Purpose of Bridging Visa
The purpose of having a bridging visa may vary from person to person, such as:
- The current visa expires and waiting for applied visa approval.
- Requested for ministerial intervention.
- Waiting for AAT’s (Administrative Appeals Tribunal) decision against visa cancellation or refusal or court decision
- Want to leave Australia legally
Types of Bridging Visas
Here are a few popular types of bridging visas that people generally apply for as per their needs which is:
Bridging Visa A (BVA) (Subclass 010)
This visa type works as a bridge to fill the gap when the current visa expires, and a new visa application is being processed. During that time, the visa holder can stay, work and travel legally in Australia, depending on the visa grant letter conditions. With this visa, one can work in Australia, but it all depends upon the visa conditions which is applied on the Bridging Visa A.
This visa type does not support visa holders leaving Australia; if the person leaves Australia, then not allowed to enter again on the same visa.
Bridging Visa B (BVB) (Subclass 020)
The bridging visa B allows an individual to stay legally and travel outside Australia temporarily until the substantive visa result is determined or granted. With this visa, one can work in Australia, but it all depends on the last visa one has or the applied visa. One can also apply for this visa type only if one already holds a BVA visa and staying in Australia.
Bridging Visa C (BVC) (Subclass 030)
If the current visa expires and the decision on the substantive visa application is pending, apply for this visa type to make the stay legal in Australia. With the BVC visa, one is not allowed to work or needs another BVC visa to work in Australia.
On this visa type, visa holders cannot travel outside Australia; if they leave the country, then the return is not possible on the same visa to Australia BVC gets ended.
Bridging Visa E (BVE) (Subclasses 050 and 051)
This BVE visa type is divided into two subclasses: Subclass 050 and Subclass 051.
This visa subclass 050 is applied when an individual needs time to make arrangements to leave the country or wait for the decision on the applied visa.
With subclass 051, visa holders can stay in Australia legally while waiting for a Protection visa’s decision. While on Bridging Visa E, a visa grant letter decides whether an individual will be allowed to work and if not permitted to work and the person works or leaves the country, the visa will be ended.
Keep in mind the applications for BVA, BVB and BVC visa types could be submitted online via the online web form or ImmiAccount.
To get detailed information on these visa types, feel free to take assistance from our MARA agents and make the visa application process stress-free.
How to Apply for an Australian Bridging Visa
To apply for a Bridging Visa successfully, you need to follow certain steps:- Step 1: Decide the type of visa you want to apply for according to your circumstances.
- Step 2: Check the eligibility requirements for the visa type and ensure you meet them.
- Step 3: Prepare the list of documents required for the Bridging Visa application.
- Step 4: Submit the application either online or offline.
- Step 5: Check and pay the visa application fee, if applicable for your visa type.
Stay Duration of Bridging Visas
For all the bridging visa types, there is no fixed stay duration. One can stay in Australia until the decision on the substantive visa is made by the Department of Home Affairs (DHA), whether positive or negative.
The Final Word
Are you one of those whose visa is about to expire? Check your visa status now, and if you have already applied for another visa and waiting for the decision and have yet to apply for bridging, get in touch with our migration agents.
The Australian Government also suggests taking assistance from a registered migration agent because the Australian immigration process is a bit tricky, so getting professional advice and assistance may lead to positive outcomes.
We are one of the best and most trustworthy education and migration agencies among various immigration firms in Australia, India, the Philippines, Cambodia and Pakistan, so why are you waiting for?
Get in touch with us today!
