A Bridging Visa B (Subclass 020) lets you leave Australia and return while the Department of Home Affairs finishes processing your substantive visa application. You can apply if you already hold a Bridging Visa A or an existing Bridging Visa B, you are in Australia, your substantive visa application has not been finally decided, and you have a substantial reason to travel. The application fee is AUD 190.1Department of Home Affairs. Subclass 020 Bridging Visa B (BVB)
Who Can Apply
Four conditions must all be true when you lodge and when the Department decides:
- You currently hold a Subclass 010 Bridging Visa A or an existing Subclass 020 Bridging Visa B.
- You are physically in Australia.
- You have a valid substantive visa application still awaiting a final decision.
- You have a genuine reason to leave and return, backed by evidence.2Department of Home Affairs. Subclass 020 Bridging Visa B (BVB) – Eligibility
If Your Case Is at Judicial Review
You can still apply for a BVB if your substantive visa was refused, a merits review tribunal upheld the refusal, and you filed for judicial review within 35 days of that tribunal decision. Those proceedings must still be running. In this situation you lodge through the Department’s webform rather than ImmiAccount, and you still need a substantial reason and supporting evidence.2Department of Home Affairs. Subclass 020 Bridging Visa B (BVB) – Eligibility
What Counts as a Substantial Reason
The application uses Form 1006, which asks for your personal details, the file reference number of your pending substantive visa application, your planned departure and return dates, and your reason for travel.3Department of Home Affairs. 1006 – Application for a Bridging Visa B The reason is where most applications are decided.
The Department expects evidence of a genuine, time-sensitive need. Common examples are:
- Visiting a seriously ill family member, backed by a medical certificate.
- Attending a family event such as a wedding, with an invitation or event documents.
- Business obligations that cannot be handled remotely, with employer letters or contracts.
Attach flight itineraries, booking confirmations, and any official correspondence that corroborates your travel dates. Any document not in English needs an approved translation. Inside Australia, translations must come from a translator accredited by the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI).4Australian Embassy and Consulates in the United States. English Translation of Foreign Documents
How to Lodge and Pay
If you lodged your substantive visa application through ImmiAccount, you must lodge your BVB the same way. Pay the AUD 190 fee in ImmiAccount, then upload the completed Form 1006 and your supporting documents.5Department of Home Affairs. Submit Your Bridging Visa Application Online Applicants who are at review use the Department’s dedicated webform instead.6Department of Home Affairs. Submit Your Bridging Visa Application Online (Bridging Visa B Only)
The Department does not publish a standard processing time for this visa, so there is no official wait estimate. Apply well ahead of your travel date and watch ImmiAccount for updates. Don’t book non-refundable flights until the grant notification confirms your travel authority dates.
How Your Travel Window Works
The grant notification specifies your travel authority period. This is the window in which you may leave and return. It may cover a single trip or multiple entries up to a set end date.1Department of Home Affairs. Subclass 020 Bridging Visa B (BVB)
The single most important rule: the Department cannot change or extend the travel period once the visa is granted.7Department of Home Affairs. Travel on a Bridging Visa If plans change and you need longer overseas, you cannot phone the Department for an extension. You would have to return within your current window and lodge a fresh BVB application with another fee. Check the granted dates against your return flight and leave a buffer for delays. Keep a digital copy of the grant notification on your phone; airlines sometimes ask to see proof of your right to re-enter before letting you board.
Applying With Your Family
If your family applied together for the same substantive visa, you can include them on one BVB application. Part E of Form 1006 has space for up to five additional applicants, and you pay only one fee for the family unit.1Department of Home Affairs. Subclass 020 Bridging Visa B (BVB) Everyone aged 18 or over must sign the declaration in Part J.3Department of Home Affairs. 1006 – Application for a Bridging Visa B Family members must fit the family unit definition in migration law. Anyone who lodged a separate substantive visa application needs their own BVB and their own fee.
Work, Study, and Other Conditions
Your BVB conditions depend on your wider visa situation. While your substantive visa is still in effect, you keep following its conditions. Once it ceases, the BVB conditions kick in. Work rights on the BVB generally mirror what was allowed under the substantive visa you held or the one you applied for.8Department of Home Affairs. Subclass 020 Bridging Visa B (BVB) – Conditions
You cannot apply to change the conditions on a BVB. If your BVB doesn’t permit work and you face financial hardship, the path to modified work rights runs through a Bridging Visa A application, where you can demonstrate that hardship. There is no condition-change request within the BVB itself.1Department of Home Affairs. Subclass 020 Bridging Visa B (BVB)
If You’re Still Overseas When the Window Closes
If you are outside Australia when the travel period ends, the visa ceases and you cannot use it to come back. The Department cannot retroactively extend the window, so you would need to apply for and be granted a different visa before returning.7Department of Home Affairs. Travel on a Bridging Visa
The consequences go further than a missed flight. Leaving without valid travel authority, or failing to return in time, can jeopardize your pending substantive visa application. A person in this situation may face a re-entry ban of up to three years, and in some cases the exclusion can be permanent.9Department of Home Affairs. Re-Entry Ban Because you must be in Australia to apply for a new BVB, being stranded abroad leaves very few options. Treat the return date as a hard deadline.
When Your BVB Ends
Your BVB ends automatically when the Department reaches a final decision on your substantive visa, whether that decision is a grant or a refusal. A grant means you hold the new visa and no longer need bridging status.
If your substantive visa is refused, or the Administrative Review Tribunal upholds the refusal, a BVB granted on or after 19 November 2016 stays valid for 35 calendar days after the decision, giving you time to depart or lodge a further legal challenge.1Department of Home Affairs. Subclass 020 Bridging Visa B (BVB)10Administrative Review Tribunal. Information About Decisions – MR25 – Fact Sheet For BVBs granted before that date, the visa ends 28 days after the tribunal notifies you. Note that the Administrative Review Tribunal replaced the former Administrative Appeals Tribunal on 14 October 2024, so older references to the AAT now apply to the ART.11Administrative Review Tribunal. New Federal Administrative Review Body Commences
Letting a bridging visa lapse without departing or taking further action makes you an unlawful non-citizen, which can trigger detention, removal, and long-term consequences for future Australian visa applications. If a refusal is approaching and you are unsure what to do, get immigration advice before the 35-day window closes.