Bridging Visas

Bridging visas are quite limited as visas and everything should be done to have a client on a substantive visa the whole time. If things go wrong while a person is holding a bridging visa then there may be very limited room to manoeuvre. Here is one example.

The Schedule 1 criteria may prevent a person applying for a Bridging visa A (BVA) down the track. Here is an extract from Item 1301(3):

(c) Either:

(i) the applicant has made a valid application for a substantive visa that has not been finally determined; or

(ii) application has been made, within statutory time limits, for judicial review of a decision in relation to the applicant’s substantive visa application, and the judicial review proceedings (including proceedings on appeal, if any) have not been completed.

(d) Applicant must:

(i) hold a substantive visa; or

(ii) hold a Bridging A (Class WA) or Bridging B (Class WB) visa and have held a substantive visa when he or she made the substantive visa application; or

(iii) have held a substantive visa when he or she made the substantive visa application referred to in paragraph (c);

The effect of the parts in bold are that if a person applied for a substantive visa while holding a BVA then that person will not be eligible for a BVA when seeking either merit review or judicial review of the last substantive visa applied for. This may seriously impact on work rights.

So the rule is apply for a substantive visa while holding another substantive visa. If this means applying for a second or separate temporary visa this will be worth doing.

A BRIDGING VISA B DOES NOT ALLOW A PERSON TO COME AND GO FROM AUSTRALIA UNTIL VISA DECISION

A Bridging Visa B does not necessarily allow a person to travel to and from Australia until visa decision. There is a tricky little clause in paragraph 020.511.

(c) permitting the holder to travel to and enter Australia until the time set by paragraph (b), unless the Minister has specified an earlier time for the purpose.

Subparagraph (b) refers to the usual time of expiry for a bridging visa being the date of visa decision, 28 days after the merit review process, or if the person is on a separately applied for judicial review bridging visa similarly 28 days after the end of the judicial review process.

But on a Bridging Visa B the delegate can set a limit on when the person must return to Australia which can be earlier that the expiry date of the visa. This has caught out a number of Bridging Visa B holders. They do not realise their Bridging Visa B sets an earlier deadline on when they must return to Australia in order to be allowed entry to Australia. Missing that means that they may get to the airport to return home to Australia and they discover they have no visa and the airline will not let them onto the plane.

Sometimes if the person holds an ETA eligible passport (which includes Hong Kong SAR) then fast track arrangements can be made to grant an ETA but usually it is a tourist ETA and that visa will only last for 3 months.

Of course if one returns within that deadline then the BVB remains in place until final determination of the visa application.

Take care on what one puts in the BVB application. Immigration officers have been known to scout back and look at BVB’s and try and pick discrepancies with a view to applying PIC 4020 (false information).

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A BRIDGING VISA B DOES NOT ALLOW A PERSON TO COME AND GO FROM AUSTRALIA UNTIL VISA DECISION