Travelling on a bridging visa — the trap that strands people.
If you are on a Bridging Visa A waiting on an onshore partner-visa decision, leaving Australia cancels it — and you cannot come back on it. This guide explains the single most counter-intuitive rule in partner-visa processing, the Bridging Visa B you need before you travel, and the two mistakes that leave applicants stuck overseas.
A Bridging Visa A ceases the moment you leave Australia.
When you lodge a valid onshore partner-visa application while holding a substantive visa, you are generally granted a Bridging Visa A (BVA, subclass 010) automatically. It keeps you in the country lawfully while the Department of Home Affairs works through your 820/801 — which can take many months. For most of that time it does its job quietly, and it is easy to forget what it does not do.
A BVA does not carry a travel facility. If you leave Australia while you are on one, the visa ceases on departure and you cannot re-enter on it. Your substantive partner-visa application keeps processing in the background — it is not refused, and it does not vanish — but you are now offshore with no valid visa to return on. A family emergency, a work trip, a wedding back home: any of them can turn into being locked out of the country at the worst possible moment.
This is the rule worth tattooing somewhere visible: do not leave Australia on a BVA without sorting out the right paperwork first. It is one of the few situations in the whole partner-visa process where a single avoidable decision has a hard, immediate consequence — you literally cannot come home.
The Bridging Visa B is the one that lets you leave and return.
A Bridging Visa B (BVB, subclass 020) is a separate visa you apply for specifically because you need to travel while your partner visa is still being decided. It authorises you to leave Australia and re-enter within a set window, without disturbing the substantive application underneath. Four things matter about it:
Base application charge
AUD $190The Department of Home Affairs charge for a Bridging Visa B. Modest next to the partner-visa fee itself, but the BVB is a separate application you have to lodge and pay for in its own right.
Must be granted onshore
Apply AND be granted in AustraliaA BVB cannot be granted while you are outside the country. The whole point is to authorise a departure-and-return, so the grant has to happen before you leave — there is no way to fix this once you have flown out.
Specified travel period
Set out in the grant noticeYour BVB grant notice states a travel period — a window inside which you must return to Australia. Come back after it expires and you are in the same stranded position the BVB was meant to prevent.
Rights carry over
Work + study preservedThe work and study conditions attached to your Bridging Visa A carry across to the BVB, so moving onto it to travel does not cost you the rights you already hold while the partner visa is decided.
Source: Department of Home Affairs — current visa pricing. Fee retrieved June 2026. Bridging-visa charges are adjusted periodically, so confirm the live figure before you lodge.
Lodge, wait for the grant, then book — in that order.
The sequence is simple, and the order is the whole point. The temptation is to book travel first and treat the BVB as a formality to chase afterwards. That is exactly the trap.
- Lodge the BVB application through your ImmiAccount while you are still in Australia, setting out the dates you need to travel.
- Wait for the grant notification. Do not assume anything until the grant email actually arrives — the Department of Home Affairs does not publish processing times for the BVB, so build in a buffer rather than booking to a tight departure.
- Then book and travel — and make sure you return before the travel period in your grant notice expires.
The two mistakes that strand applicants.
“I applied for the BVB, so I’m covered.”
Applied is not granted. If you board a flight while the BVB is still pending, you are still on your Bridging Visa A — which ceases on departure. Wait for the actual grant notification before you book anything.
“I’m on a BVC — can I get a BVB?”
Generally no. Bridging Visa C holders usually cannot travel and return at all, and there is no BVB equivalent for them. It is a different visa class with different rules — do not assume the BVB path is open to you.
If you are on a Bridging Visa C, this guide is not your path.
A Bridging Visa C (BVC, subclass 030) is granted to people who lodged their substantive visa application without holding a substantive visa at the time. It does not permit international travel and return, and there is no Bridging Visa B equivalent that opens that door. If you are on a BVC and travel is unavoidable, the consequences are serious and depend heavily on your circumstances — so this is exactly the point at which to speak to a registered migration agent before you act.
Travelling on a bridging visa — common questions.
- Can I travel overseas on a Bridging Visa A?
- Not and return on it. A Bridging Visa A (subclass 010) does not carry a travel facility — it ceases the moment you leave Australia, and you cannot re-enter on it. Your substantive partner-visa application keeps being processed while you are offshore, but you have no visa to come back on. To travel and return while your partner visa is pending, you must apply for and be granted a Bridging Visa B (subclass 020) before you depart.
- What is the difference between a Bridging Visa A and a Bridging Visa B?
- A Bridging Visa A (BVA, subclass 010) is the bridging visa most onshore partner-visa applicants are granted automatically when they lodge — it lets you stay in Australia lawfully while the application is decided, but it does not permit travel. A Bridging Visa B (BVB, subclass 020) is a separate visa you apply for when you need to leave and return: it authorises departure and re-entry within a specified travel period. The BVB is the one that actually lets you travel.
- How much does a Bridging Visa B cost?
- The Department of Home Affairs base application charge for a Bridging Visa B is AUD $190, retrieved June 2026. Bridging-visa fees are adjusted periodically — usually each 1 July — so confirm the current figure on the Department's pricing page before you lodge.
- Does applying for a Bridging Visa B mean I can travel?
- No. Applying is not the same as being granted. You must wait for the BVB grant notification before you book travel and leave — boarding a flight while the application is still pending leaves you on a Bridging Visa A, which ceases on departure. The Department of Home Affairs does not publish processing times for the BVB, so allow a buffer rather than booking tight to a departure date.
- I am on a Bridging Visa C — can I get a Bridging Visa B to travel?
- Generally no. A Bridging Visa C (subclass 030) is granted to people who applied for their substantive visa without holding one, and it does not permit international travel and return — there is no BVB equivalent for it. If travel is unavoidable while you are on a BVC, the consequences are serious and situation-specific, so seek advice from a registered migration agent before doing anything.
Know what you can do before you book the flight.
ReRooted tracks every requirement and condition behind your partner-visa application — including the bridging-visa steps — so a travel plan does not turn into a re-entry problem. Free to start.