When Does a Bridging Visa C (Subclass 030) Start and End in 2026?

A Bridging visa C (BVC, subclass 030) comes into effect on whichever happens first out of three triggers — it is granted, your current substantive visa ceases, or a more beneficial bridging visa you hold ceases. Once your permanent visa application is refused, a BVC granted on or after 19 November 2016 ceases 35 calendar days after the refusal decision; a BVC granted before that date ceases 28 days after you are notified of the refusal. This reflects the Department of Home Affairs' Bridging visa C (subclass 030) visa listing page, as published as at August 2026.

One caution before the detail: this is general information about how the published rules operate, not advice on your own circumstances. Day counts and current settings should be confirmed against the Department's current page and, where your history is complicated, with a registered migration professional.

What makes a BVC come into effect?

A BVC is not a visa you usually apply for on its own. Nearly all bridging visas are applied for automatically as part of applying for a substantive visa, and the Department may grant a BVC where you have made a valid application in Australia for a substantive visa but do not already hold one. A separate application is only needed in narrow situations, such as seeking a further BVC without work restrictions, or where you have applied for judicial review.

The visa "comes into effect" — that is, it actually starts holding your lawful status — when one of these happens:

• it is granted; or
• your current substantive visa ceases; or
• another bridging visa that is more beneficial than your current bridging visa ceases.

The third trigger matters more than people expect. If you hold a substantive visa when the BVC is granted, the BVC sits behind it: you must keep complying with the conditions of the substantive visa, and the BVC's own conditions only apply once that substantive visa ceases. If you currently hold a more generous bridging visa, your BVC waits until that one ends.

What ends a BVC immediately, with no countdown at all?

Four events terminate a BVC on the spot:

• you leave Australia while the BVC is in effect;
• you are granted the substantive visa you applied for;
• you are granted another bridging visa in relation to the same substantive visa application;
• the Department cancels either your BVC, or the substantive visa you held when the BVC was granted.

There is no grace period attached to any of these. Departure is the one that catches skilled migration applicants out, and it is dealt with below.

How long do I have after my 189, 190 or 491 application is refused?

For a BVC granted on or after 19 November 2016, the visa ceases 35 calendar days after any of the following:

• the Department's refusal decision, or a decision by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT), in relation to your associated substantive visa application;
• a determination that your substantive visa application, or an AAT review application, is invalid;
• you withdraw your substantive visa application or your AAT review application.

The same cohort of BVCs ceases 28 calendar days after either of these:

• a judicial review body upholds the decision to refuse your substantive visa application;
• you withdraw a related judicial review application.

For a BVC granted before 19 November 2016, the count is 28 days from the date one of the following happens: the Department notifies you that your substantive visa application is not valid; the Department notifies you that it has been refused; you withdraw your substantive visa application; a merits review tribunal notifies you that it has upheld the refusal; a merits review tribunal notifies you that it has no jurisdiction; you withdraw a merits or judicial review application; or a judicial review body upholds the decision to refuse the substantive visa application.

Two things follow from this. The dividing line is the date your BVC was granted, not the date you lodged your permanent visa application. And the newer rules count from the decision or the withdrawal, while the older rules count from the event itself or from notification of it, depending on which event applies — so the day the letter or email reaches you can matter for a pre-2016 BVC.

How do I confirm my own cease date?

Once you have been notified of an outcome, the Department's instruction is to check VEVO, which shows exactly how long you can remain in Australia. VEVO is also where you confirm whether your BVC is in effect at all, what conditions attach to it, and whether family members who applied with you already hold a BVC of their own.

Assume nothing from the refusal letter alone. Assume a scenario: an applicant whose 190 nomination and visa application are refused while holding a BVC granted in 2025, and whose BVC shows no cease date in VEVO for several days after the decision. Until VEVO records the date, the safest reading is that the 35 calendar days run from the decision, and the countdown is already moving.

Can I work while I wait, or after a refusal?

The initial BVC granted when you apply for your substantive visa will not let you work unless the substantive visa you applied for is one of a listed set, which includes the Business Talent visa (subclass 132), Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186), Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (subclass 187), Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) (subclass 188) and (Permanent) (subclass 888), Skilled — Independent (subclass 189), Skilled — Nominated (subclass 190), Skilled — Regional (Provisional) (subclass 489), Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) (subclass 491), and Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) (subclass 494).

For a 189, 190 or 491 applicant, that means the standard BVC received on lodging is not subject to a work prevention condition. The position changes on the judicial review path: if you are a SkillSelect visa applicant and are granted a BVC for judicial review, that visa will not initially allow you to work, and getting work rights requires a further BVC application supported by demonstrated financial hardship. Applicants outside the listed subclasses face the same hardship test, and if the hardship claim is not accepted but you remain eligible for a BVC, a new BVC is granted carrying the same work prevention or restriction condition as the previous one.

Does leaving Australia pause the countdown?

No. A BVC does not support return travel, and a BVC that is in effect ceases upon departure from Australia. As a BVC holder, the Department cannot grant you a Bridging visa B that would let you travel and return while your substantive visa application is processed. If you leave and hold no other visa permitting return, you would need to apply for and be granted a substantive visa before coming back, and there is no guarantee one will be granted.

This is worth weighing against the 35-day window: departing ends the BVC immediately rather than buying time, and it forfeits the lawful status you were holding while the permanent application was decided.

Can I extend a BVC to buy more time?

No. You cannot stay in Australia longer by extending this visa; you must apply for a new visa if you wish to stay longer. Relatedly, a BVC cannot be used while you wait for a citizenship application to be decided.

If a merits review tribunal upholds the refusal and you then apply for judicial review, you need to apply for a bridging visa to maintain lawful status during those proceedings, and in that situation the application can only be made by webform.

Where the criteria in the Migration Regulations 1994 and departmental policy guidance describe the subclass 030 requirements — for example, that an applicant does not hold a substantive visa and has made a valid application in Australia that has not been finally determined — those provisions sit behind the visa page; for dates, day counts and current effect, the Department's public page is the one to rely on, and the published position can change, so treat the current official wording as final.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does my BVC start the moment it is granted?

Only if the other two triggers have not already passed. A BVC comes into effect when it is granted, or when your current substantive visa ceases, or when a more beneficial bridging visa you hold ceases — whichever applies first. If you still held a substantive visa at grant, you keep obeying that visa's conditions until it ends.

I lodged my 189 in 2025 — do I get 35 days or 28 days after a refusal?

If your BVC was granted on or after 19 November 2016, which a 2025 grant obviously is, it ceases 35 calendar days after the refusal decision. The 28-day figure applies to BVCs granted before 19 November 2016, and to the separate judicial review events for post-2016 BVCs.

When does the 35 days start running?

For a BVC granted on or after 19 November 2016, the count runs in calendar days from the Department's refusal decision, not from the day you happen to read the notification. Check VEVO after you are notified of the outcome, because it shows the exact date you must leave.

What happens if the tribunal upholds the refusal and I go to judicial review?

A BVC granted on or after 19 November 2016 ceases 28 calendar days after the judicial review body upholds the refusal, or 28 days after you withdraw the judicial review. To remain lawful during the proceedings you must apply for a bridging visa, and that application can only be made by webform.

If my BVC ends after a refusal, can I just leave and come back on it?

No. A BVC in effect ceases the moment you depart Australia, it does not support return travel, and a BVC holder cannot be granted a Bridging visa B for travel. Returning would require being granted another visa that permits re-entry.

Do I keep work rights on the BVC after my 491 is refused?

The initial BVC granted for a 189, 190 or 491 application is not subject to a work prevention condition, but that BVC ceases 35 calendar days after the refusal and there is no extension available. A BVC granted for judicial review to a SkillSelect applicant does not initially allow work and needs a further application supported by financial hardship.

How much does a BVC cost, and can my family be on it?

The visa is free. If you and your family applied together for the substantive visa in Australia, you may also have applied together for a BVC — check each family member's status in VEVO. If you apply separately, you can include members of the family unit who are included in your substantive visa application.

References

• Department of Home Affairs — Bridging visa C (subclass 030)
• Migration Regulations 1994 — Subclass 030 (Bridging C)