What Is the Difference Between Bridging Visa A (010) and Bridging Visa B (020) in 2026?

If you are trying to decide whether it is worth applying for a Bridging visa B, the decision hangs on one sentence from the Australian Department of Home Affairs' official Bridging visa A (BVA) (Subclass 010) page, current as of the August 2026 version of that page: "The BVA does not support return travel to Australia." A Bridging visa A holds your lawful status in place while your substantive visa application is being decided; it is not a ticket back in. If you want to travel and return while that application is still being processed, the same page says you will need to have been granted a Bridging visa B (BVB) before you leave. Every other difference between the two follows from that one.

So is the difference really only about travel?

Yes, at the level where the decision gets made. Both visas exist to bridge the same gap — the period between lodging a substantive visa application in Australia and getting a decision on it. What they do not share is what happens when you cross the border.

The eligibility criteria for subclass 010 are set out in Schedule 2 of the Migration Regulations 1994, which is where the situations in which the Department can grant this visa — including cases involving judicial review — are drawn from. Legislative provisions change, so anything time-sensitive should be read against the current compilation and the Department's pages.

What happens to my BVA the moment a BVB is granted?

It ends. The official page lists four events that terminate a BVA immediately, and one of them is being granted another bridging visa — it names BVB specifically — in relation to the same substantive visa application. The other three are leaving Australia while the BVA is in effect, being granted the substantive visa you applied for, and cancellation of the BVA or of the substantive visa you held when the BVA was granted.

The practical reading is that these two are substitutes, not layers. You cannot hold both against the same application, and once the BVB arrives there is no BVA waiting underneath it. Whatever conditions travel with the new grant will be notified to you; the old permission does not quietly carry over.

What if I leave Australia while my BVA is in effect?

You lose it at the border. A BVA that is in effect ceases upon departure from Australia, and once that happens you cannot use it to come back — there is no reactivation.

"In effect" matters here, because the BVA does not necessarily start working the day it is granted. It comes into effect when it is granted if your substantive visa had already ceased or if the BVA is more beneficial than your current bridging visa, and otherwise when your current substantive visa ceases, or when another more beneficial bridging visa ceases. If you are still riding on a substantive visa, leaving on that visa is a different question from leaving on an in-effect BVA. The Department's answer to checking which situation you are actually in is VEVO, its online visa entitlement check.

Once it has ceased, can I sort out a new bridging visa from where I am?

Not from outside Australia. Applicants, and anyone included in the application, must be in Australia both when a BVA application is submitted and when it is granted, so a bridging visa that has already ceased on departure cannot simply be replaced while you are offshore.

Within Australia, there is a route back. The official page says a separate BVA application may be necessary where your substantive visa application did not itself constitute an application for a BVA, where you were granted a BVA or BVB that 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. Judicial review is the narrowest of these: if a merits review tribunal has upheld the refusal and you go on to judicial review, you can apply for a bridging visa only by webform.

When does a bridging visa stop carrying me?

Not on the day of the decision — usually shortly after. For a BVA granted on or after 19 November 2016, the visa ceases 35 calendar days after a refusal decision or an Administrative Appeals Tribunal decision on the associated application, after a determination that the application is invalid, or after you withdraw the application or review. It ceases 28 calendar days after a judicial review body upholds a refusal, or after you withdraw a related judicial review application. For BVAs granted before 19 November 2016, the page gives a 28-day period measured from notification or withdrawal across the same set of events. The exact date is shown in VEVO once you have been notified of the outcome.

One thing a bridging visa does not do: it cannot extend your stay. The BVA page is explicit that you cannot stay longer by extending this visa, and that staying longer means applying for a new visa. Nor can a bridging visa be used to wait out a citizenship application; the Department notes that bridging visas cannot be used while you wait for a citizenship decision.

What should I check before deciding whether to apply for a BVB?

Assume you are holding a BVA and have a reason to travel. The order worth checking things in is fairly short:

• Do I need to leave at all? If not, the BVA alone keeps you lawful until the application is finally determined, and it costs nothing.
• Is my BVA already in effect? Check VEVO before booking anything, because an in-effect BVA is what ceases on departure.
• Has any decision landed on my substantive visa application? If a refusal or tribunal decision has already been notified, the 35-day clock may already be running, and a BVB does not stop it.
• Can the BVB be granted before I fly? The requirement is a grant before departure, not an application lodged in time.
• Is anyone else travelling? Where you applied together for the substantive visa, family members may already hold their own BVAs; each person's conditions and status are assessed and recorded separately, so each record needs its own VEVO check.

This is general information about how the two visa classes work, not advice about any individual case, so your own grant conditions and dates should be read off VEVO and confirmed against what the Department currently publishes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I automatically get a Bridging visa A when I lodge my substantive visa application?

In most cases yes — 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 this has happened. A separate BVA application is only needed in the narrower situations listed on the official page, such as when the substantive application did not itself count as a BVA application.

How do I know whether my BVA is in effect or still dormant?

Check VEVO, the Department's online visa details and conditions service. It shows whether the BVA is in effect, which conditions attach to it, and — once you have been notified of an outcome on your substantive visa application — exactly how long you can remain in Australia.

Do I lose my BVA when I am granted a BVB?

Yes. A BVA ends immediately when another bridging visa such as a BVB is granted in relation to the same substantive visa application. The two are alternatives against one application rather than visas you can stack.

Can I apply for a bridging visa from overseas after leaving Australia?

No. Both you and anyone included in the application must be in Australia when the BVA application is submitted and when it is granted. That is why a bridging visa that ceased on departure cannot simply be replaced while you are outside the country.

How long can I stay after my substantive visa application is refused?

For a BVA granted on or after 19 November 2016, the visa keeps working for 35 calendar days after the refusal or an Administrative Appeals Tribunal decision, after a determination that the application is invalid, or after you withdraw it. A shorter 28-day period applies after a judicial review body upholds a refusal or you withdraw a judicial review application, and to BVAs granted before 19 November 2016.

Is there anything a bridging visa cannot cover?

Yes. The official BVA page notes that you cannot use a bridging visa while you wait for a citizenship application to be decided, and that you cannot extend this visa to stay longer — a longer stay requires applying for a new visa.

References

• Australian Department of Home Affairs — Bridging visa A (BVA) (Subclass 010)
• Federal Register of Legislation — Migration Regulations 1994