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GrokA bridging visa E (BVE) is a temporary visa that keeps you lawful in Australia while you resolve your immigration status or make arrangements to leave. There is no application fee. It ends the moment you leave Australia, and whether you can work depends on the conditions on your grant notice, not on the visa itself.
If a visa has expired, been refused or been cancelled, you may still have options. Several of the deadlines below run in days, though, so it helps to know exactly where you stand.
| Item | Fact |
|---|---|
| Subclasses | 050 Bridging (General) and 051 Bridging (Protection Visa Applicant) |
| Who can apply for a 050 | An unlawful non-citizen, or a BVE or Bridging D (041) holder |
| Application fee | Nil |
| Work | Set by your grant; some BVEs must carry condition 8101 (no work) |
| Travel | None; a BVE ends when you leave Australia |
| Applying for another visa | Limited by section 48 if you were refused or cancelled since you last entered |
| Leaving more than 28 days after your last substantive visa ended | A 3-year exclusion may apply (PIC 4014) |
Source: Migration Regulations 1994, Schedule 1 item 1305, Schedule 2 Parts 050 and 051 and Schedule 4, compilation in force from 2 October 2026 (cited provisions unchanged at 2 November 2026); Migration Act 1958, sections 48 and 82, compilation in force from 8 October 2026 (cited provisions unchanged at 2 November 2026).
What a bridging visa E is, and who gets one
A bridging visa is a holding visa. The Subclass 050 Bridging (General) visa is the one most people hold, and under clause 050.211 of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations the applicant must be “an unlawful non-citizen”, “the holder of a Bridging E (Class WE) visa” or “the holder of a Subclass 041 (Bridging (Non-applicant)) visa”. In practice it is the bridging visa for people who are already out of status.
You also need a reason the regulations recognise. Clause 050.212 lists them, and the common ones are:
- you are “making, or [are] the subject of, acceptable arrangements to depart Australia”;
- you have lodged, or will lodge within a period the Minister allows, a valid application in Australia for a substantive visa (any visa other than a bridging, criminal justice or enforcement visa);
- you have applied for judicial review of a visa decision, or for merits review of a decision to cancel a visa;
- you have asked the Minister to intervene under section 351 and have “not previously sought” that intervention, so in practice a first request.
The Subclass 051 Bridging (Protection Visa Applicant) visa is much narrower. It covers certain protection visa applicants who were not immigration cleared and who fit a category in regulation 2.20, such as a person aged 75 or over or a person with a certified special need.
An officer usually has to interview you before a 050 is granted (clause 050.222). The Department’s Subclass 050 page describes the purpose this way: you can “stay in Australia lawfully while you finalise your immigration matter or make arrangements to leave Australia.”
BVE compared with BVA, BVB and BVC
Our guide to bridging visas in Australia covers the BVA and BVB in detail. Those visas protect people who lodged while they still held a substantive visa. The BVE is for people who did not, or who are leaving.
| Visa | Usually for | Work | Travel | Usually ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BVA (010) | You lodged onshore while holding a substantive visa | Depends on the grant | No | 35 days after a refusal or ART decision |
| BVB (020) | A BVA or BVB holder with substantial reasons to travel; from 1 November 2026, not while a protection visa application, or judicial review of one, is pending | Depends on the grant | Yes, in the travel period | 35 days after a refusal or ART decision |
| BVC (030) | You lodged onshore without a substantive visa and have held no BVE since | Usually 8101; not for listed skilled and business visas | No | 35 days after a refusal or ART decision |
| BVE (050) | You are unlawful, or hold a BVE or a BVD (041), and are resolving your status or leaving | Set by the grant; some must carry 8101 | No | Depends on why it was granted |
Source: Migration Regulations 1994, Schedule 2 clauses 010.211, 010.511, 020.211, 020.212, 020.511, 030.211, 030.511, 030.613, 030.614, 050.211 and 050.511, compilation in force from 2 October 2026; Migration Amendment (2026 Measures No. 1) Regulations 2026, Schedule 1 items 3 to 5 (new clause 020.224), in force from 1 November 2026.
Two details catch people out. A BVC is only available if you have “not held such a visa”, meaning a BVE, “since last holding a substantive visa” (clause 030.211), so once you are on a BVE you generally stay on BVEs until you hold a substantive visa again. And a BVB costs $575 ($195 for Pacific-regional passport holders) under Schedule 1 item 1302, while the BVA, BVC and BVE charges are nil.
BVE conditions: the exact wording and what it means
Your grant notice lists your conditions, and you can also check them in VEVO. The general list in clause 050.617 allows “any 1 or more of conditions 8101, 8104, 8116, 8201, 8207, 8401, 8402, 8505, 8506, 8507, 8508, 8510, 8511, 8512 and 8548”. Condition 8564 may also be added (050.618), and 8566 must be added if you have signed a code of behaviour (050.619). A few kinds of BVE have their own closed list of conditions instead (clauses 050.613, 050.613A and 050.616A). From 1 November 2026 those lists also include 8564 and 8566, so these two conditions can now appear on those BVEs as well (the change applies to visa applications made on or after 1 November 2026).
| Condition | Schedule 8 wording | In practice |
|---|---|---|
| 8101 | “The holder must not engage in work in Australia.” | No work, paid or unpaid, of a kind normally paid |
| 8104 | “The holder must not engage in work for more than 40 hours a fortnight while the holder is in Australia.” | Up to 40 hours in each 14-day period starting on a Monday |
| 8201 | “While in Australia, the holder must not engage, for more than 3 months, in any studies or training.” | No study or training for longer than 3 months |
| 8207 | “The holder must not engage in any studies or training in Australia.” | No study at all |
| 8401 | “The holder must report: (a) at the time or times; and (b) at a place or in a manner; specified, orally or in writing, by the Minister from time to time.” | Report when and how you are told |
| 8402 | “The holder must report: (a) within 5 working days of grant, to an office of Immigration; and (b) to that office on the first working day of every week after reporting under paragraph (a).” | Report within 5 working days, then weekly |
| 8505 | “The holder must continue to live at the address specified by the holder before grant of the visa.” | Stay at the address you gave |
| 8506 | “The holder must notify Immigration at least 2 working days in advance of any change in the holder’s address.” | Tell the Department before you move |
| 8512 | “The holder must leave Australia by the date specified by the Minister for the purpose.” | Your departure date is binding |
| 8564 | “The holder must not engage in criminal conduct.” | Criminal conduct breaches the visa |
| 8566 | If you signed an approved code of behaviour, “the holder must not breach the code.” | Breaching the code breaches the visa |
Source: Migration Regulations 1994, Schedule 8 and Schedule 2 clauses 050.617 to 050.619, compilation in force from 2 October 2026 (cited provisions unchanged at 2 November 2026); Migration Amendment (2026 Measures No. 1) Regulations 2026, Schedule 1 items 6 and 7, in force from 1 November 2026.
The others on the list are 8116 (work limited to activities a ministerial instrument allows), 8548 (study capped at 4 months), 8508 (lodge a visa application by a set time) and three departure conditions: 8507 (detention costs), 8510 (a passport) and 8511 (a ticket out). The regulations define work as “an activity that, in Australia, normally attracts remuneration” (regulation 1.03), which is why unpaid work can still breach 8101.
The Department is direct about breaches: “If you work when you are not allowed to, we can cancel your BVE and detain you. You could also be removed from Australia.”
Can you work on a bridging visa E?
Only if your grant allows it. Some grants leave no room. For most BVEs granted because of judicial review, clause 050.612A(2) says “Condition 8101 must be imposed.” For most protection visa applicants granted a 050, clause 050.613A(1) imposes “condition 8101, unless condition 8116 is imposed.”
If your BVE carries 8101 and was granted because you lodged a substantive visa application, there is a narrow way to a new BVE without it. Under clause 050.212(8) you may be eligible if “the Minister is satisfied that the applicant has a compelling need to work”. Apart from a limb for subclass 457 applicants, regulation 1.08 defines that as being “in financial hardship”. The Department’s example is that “you might be in financial hardship if you cannot pay for the reasonable cost of your living expenses.”
That pathway does not cover a BVE granted for judicial review. As the Department puts it, “There are different requirements, depending on whether you have applied for judicial review or ministerial intervention.”
Can you apply for another visa while on a bridging visa E?
Holding a BVE does not, by itself, stop you lodging. Your history does. The main rule is section 48 of the Migration Act, which applies to a non-citizen in Australia who “does not hold a substantive visa” and who, since last entering, was refused a visa (other than a bridging visa or a character refusal) or “held a visa that was cancelled” under listed powers, including sections 109 and 116. That person may apply only for prescribed classes, “but not for a visa of any other class.” A BVE is not a substantive visa, so section 48 applies to BVE holders with that history.
| Your situation | What the law allows in Australia | Law |
|---|---|---|
| Refused or cancelled since you last entered | Only prescribed classes, including onshore partner, protection, child and bridging visas, subject to the regulations | Act s48; Regs r 2.12 |
| Refused a protection visa onshore | No further protection visa unless the Minister decides otherwise | Act ss 48A, 48B |
| Lodging an onshore partner visa without a substantive visa | Schedule 3 criteria apply unless there are compelling reasons not to apply them | Sch 2 cl 820.211(2)(d); Sch 3 |
| Your last visa had a no further stay condition, such as 8503 | Can stop most substantive visas being granted while you remain here, unless waived | Act s41(2)(a), (2A) |
| In immigration detention | 2 working days to apply, plus 5 more if you give written notice; then only bridging or protection visas | Act s195 |
Source: Migration Act 1958, sections 41, 48, 48A, 48B and 195, compilation in force from 8 October 2026 (cited provisions unchanged at 2 November 2026); Migration Regulations 1994, regulation 2.12, clause 820.211 and Schedule 3, compilation in force from 2 October 2026 (cited provisions unchanged at 2 November 2026).
The Schedule 3 row matters for partners of Australians. Criterion 3001 requires that “The application is validly made within 28 days after the relevant day”, generally the last day you held a substantive visa, although for the 820 the Minister can set Schedule 3 aside for “compelling reasons”. Our guide to Schedule 3 criteria for onshore partner visas explains how that works, and our guide to condition 8503 and how to request a waiver covers the no further stay row.
Leaving Australia on a BVE: exclusion periods
A BVE does not survive travel. Section 82(8) of the Act says a visa “to remain in, but not re-enter, Australia that is granted to a non-citizen in Australia ceases to be in effect if the holder leaves Australia.” In the Department’s words, “You will not be able to return unless you have another substantive visa.”
Leaving can also start an exclusion period, which the Department’s re-entry ban page describes as a time when “a person may not be granted further visas to return to Australia.” For BVE holders the main rule is public interest criterion (PIC) 4014.
| How you left, or why | Exclusion period | Visas affected | Law |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unlawful, or on a BVC, BVD or BVE, more than 28 days after your last substantive visa ended | 3 years from departure | Visas that include PIC 4014 | PIC 4014(1), (4) |
| Within 28 days after your last substantive visa ended | None under PIC 4014 | Not applicable | PIC 4014(5)(a) |
| On a bridging visa granted within 28 days after your last substantive visa ended | None under PIC 4014 | Not applicable | PIC 4014(5)(b) |
| Removed under section 198, 199 or 205 | 12 months from removal | Visas that include SRC 5002 | SRC 5002 |
| A visa cancelled for reasons such as incorrect information or unauthorised work | 3 years from cancellation | Visas that include PIC 4013 | PIC 4013 |
Source: Migration Regulations 1994, Schedule 4 (PIC 4013 and 4014), Schedule 5 (SRC 5002) and Schedule 2, compilation in force from 2 October 2026 (cited provisions unchanged at 2 November 2026).
PIC 4014 mostly appears in temporary visas, such as the Visitor (subclass 600), Student (subclass 500), Skills in Demand (subclass 482) and Working Holiday (subclasses 417 and 462). It is not a criterion for the Partner visas (subclasses 309, 100, 820 and 801) or for skilled permanent visas such as the 186, 189 and 190, although SRC 5002 is a criterion for the 309, 186, 189 and 190.
The exclusion can be set aside. Under PIC 4014(1)(b) the Minister may grant within the 3 years where “compelling circumstances that affect the interests of Australia” or “compassionate or compelling circumstances that affect the interests of an Australian citizen, an Australian permanent resident or an eligible New Zealand citizen” justify it. The Department asks for that explanation in writing and warns that “Failure to provide this information will result in your visa being refused.” Our article on PIC 4013 and 4014 risk factors goes further.
The deadlines that matter on a BVE
A missed date can do more damage than a weak case. Beyond the reporting and address deadlines in the conditions table, these are the time limits set by the law.
| Time limit | What it governs | Law |
|---|---|---|
| 28 days after your substantive visa ends | Leave, or be granted your bridging visa, by then to stay outside PIC 4014 | PIC 4014(5) |
| 28 days after the relevant day | Schedule 3 criterion 3001, for onshore visas such as the 820 | Sch 3, 3001 |
| 28 days after notification (14 in detention) | Applying to the ART after a refusal or cancellation | Act s347(3) |
| 35 days after a refusal or ART decision is made | When a BVE granted for a substantive visa application usually ends | Sch 2, 050.511 |
| 28 days after judicial review ends | When a BVE granted for judicial review usually ends | Sch 2, 050.512 |
Source: Migration Act 1958, section 347, compilation in force from 8 October 2026 (cited provisions unchanged at 2 November 2026); Migration Regulations 1994, Schedules 2, 3 and 4, compilation in force from 2 October 2026 (cited provisions unchanged at 2 November 2026).
The Tribunal cannot give you more time. Section 347(5) of the Act says its extension power “does not apply” to migration decisions.
Costs you might not expect
The visa is free: Schedule 1 item 1305 sets the BVE application charge at nil. Other costs can still arise.
- A security. Under clause 050.224, if an officer “has required a security for compliance with any conditions”, it must be lodged before grant.
- Detention costs. Condition 8507 can require you to pay, or arrange to pay, “the costs … of the holder’s detention”.
- Debts. PIC 4004, a criterion for many visas, requires that you do “not have outstanding debts to the Commonwealth” unless arrangements to pay have been made.
If you cannot afford to leave, the Department’s Subclass 050 page points to its “Help to leave Australia” service.
When it is worth getting legal advice
Not every BVE needs a lawyer. The stakes rise quickly in a few situations, though:
- a refusal or cancellation letter has arrived and the ART deadline is running;
- you are not sure whether section 48 or Schedule 3 limits what you can lodge;
- you are thinking about leaving and want to know whether PIC 4014 or SRC 5002 would affect your next visa;
- you need to work and may be eligible for a BVE without condition 8101;
- you are in detention, or considering a first request for ministerial intervention.
Our team acts on refusals, cancellations and Tribunal appeals, and can look at your immigration history as a whole before you take a step that is hard to undo.
Frequently asked questions
How long can I stay on a bridging visa E?
It depends on why it was granted. A BVE linked to a substantive visa application usually lasts until the visa is granted or 35 days after a refusal or ART decision (clause 050.511). A BVE for judicial review usually ends 28 days after the proceedings finish (050.512), and a BVE for departure ends on a date the Minister specifies (050.517).
Can I work on a bridging visa E?
Only if your conditions allow it. If your BVE has condition 8101 and was granted because you lodged a substantive visa application, you may be eligible for a new BVE without it if the Minister is satisfied you have a compelling need to work, which in practice means financial hardship.
Can I travel overseas on a bridging visa E?
No. A BVE ceases when you leave Australia, and you cannot return without another visa. Leaving more than 28 days after your last substantive visa ended can also trigger a 3-year exclusion under PIC 4014.
How much does a bridging visa E cost?
There is no application charge. Schedule 1 item 1305 of the Migration Regulations sets it at nil, although a security may be required and some conditions carry costs.
Can I apply for another visa on a bridging visa E?
It depends on your history. If you were refused a visa or had one cancelled since you last entered Australia, section 48 limits you to prescribed classes, such as onshore partner and protection visas. The subclass 820 partner visa also applies Schedule 3 criteria to applicants without a substantive visa.
What is the difference between a subclass 050 and 051 BVE?
The 050 Bridging (General) visa covers most people who are unlawful or already on a BVE. The 051 is a narrow visa for certain protection visa applicants who were not immigration cleared and fall into categories in regulation 2.20.
A realistic next step
A BVE buys you time, and its conditions decide how much freedom you have while you use it. If a refusal, a cancellation or a departure date is in front of you, book a consultation with our migration lawyers and bring your grant notice and any letters from the Department.
About the author: Tina Nematian is the Principal Lawyer at One Planet Migration Law. She is admitted as an Australian Legal Practitioner, and has guided clients through partner, skilled, employer-sponsored, student, and humanitarian visa applications across Australia.
This article is general information only and does not constitute legal or migration advice. Visa rules change frequently and outcomes depend on individual circumstances. Speak with a registered migration lawyer or agent before making any application. Figures were current as of November 2026; always check immi.homeaffairs.gov.au before lodging.
