Whenever a person thinks of living in Australia, he must have an eligible visa for his stay. Because staying in a foreign country without a valid permit is illegal, the Australian government can detain the person from Australia. 

A bridging visa is to recover the gap between an expired and an applied credential. This visa is for international students who have come to Australia on a visitor visa and want to stay beyond the validity of a tourist visa. 

A bridging visa can be of six types Bridging visa A, Bridging Visa B, Bridging visa C, Bridging visa D, Bridging visa E, and bridging visa F. 

Bridging visa A

Bridging visa A subclass 010 allows a person to stay in Australia even after the expiry of his substantive visa while he has already applied for a new substantive visa. The applicant must be in Australia while applying for the visa. An applicant can not extend this visa.

Visa 010 does not allow him to return to Australia if the applicant leaves once. The effect of bridging visa A will cease on departure. This visa does not carry any charges/costs to it.

Eligibility for visa subclass 010

Visa subclass 010 has the requirements to be fulfilled for eligibility. These requirements are- 

  • The applicant must hold a substantive visa, the validity of which has expired or is about to expire.
  • He must be in Australia while applying for bridging visa 010.
  • He must have already applied for another substantive visa.
  • He must have a statement/certificate of good health and character.

The applicant must comply with Australian laws and regulations. 

Working rights for Bringing visa A

A visa 010 does not allow one to work in Australia unless:

  • The applicant proves that he is suffering from a financial hardship/crisis.
  • The applicant holds a skilled nominated/employer-sponsored visa containing working rights. He will receive the same rights to work as there in the previous substantive visa. 

A visa grant letter will contain all the bridging visa A working rights. Whether the applicant can work on this visa will depend on the conditions attached to BVA. 

If A bridging visa A does not allow him to work, then the aspirant can apply for a new Bridging visa A (unless otherwise restricted).

Termination of Bridging visa subclass 010

The following circumstances can end the bridging visa A subclass 010 of a person -

  • He has received his substantive for which he has applied. 
  • He has Australia while his BVA is in the process.
  • He has received another Bridging visa for the same visa application.

The BVA will be valid for 35 days of the decision of the refusal when there is a rejection of the substantive visa application. 

Application process

 There are a few easy steps that an applicant has to follow to apply for a bridging visa A. These steps are:

  1. The applicant must arrange all his documents and their copies (as required).
  2. He can apply for BVA through ImmiAccount if he has applied for his substantive visa through ImmiAccount. 
  3. After applying for the visa, the applicant must wait for the application to be processed. The processing time is not determinable. It depends on how correctly the applicant has filed his application.
  4. The applicant will receive the decision in writing.

Bridging visa B subclass 020 is similar to Bridging visa A subclass 010. The applicant is waiting for the judicial review of his substantive visa application. It allows me to work and travel from or to Australia multiple times.

Processing time

The processing time of visa subclass 010 is not available.  It changes case-by-case as per their circumstances. The following are situations that affect the processing time of an application -

  • When the details filled in the application are incorrect
  • When the department call for additional information to be submitted
  • When the applicant does not verify the documents attached

Conclusion

A bridging visa allows a person to remain in Australia while waiting for his new substantive visa to be processed. It is a temporary visa. An applicant must be within the Australian territory while applying for it.

Bridging visa A does not allow the applicant to work unless he has proof that he is facing financial hardship. If the applicant leaves Australia while his BVA is in effect, he can not return to Australia and apply for a substantive visa for three years. It is because visa 010 does not carry travelling rights. 

If the applicant wishes to travel in any condition, he must apply for a bridging visa B. An applicant can similarly apply for visa subclass 010 as he applies for his substantive visa application. 

The validity period of bridging visa A subclass 010 ends when he receives his substantive access for which he has applied/gets another bridging visa.