Can I Hold a Bridging Visa A (010) While My Australian Citizenship Application Is Decided? (2026)
No — a Bridging visa A cannot be used to wait out a citizenship decision; here is what the subclass 010 rules actually cover.
No. A bridging visa cannot be used to keep you lawful in Australia while your Australian citizenship application is being decided. The Australian Department of Home Affairs says so directly on its official page for the Bridging visa A (BVA) (Subclass 010): "You can't use a bridging visa while you wait for a citizenship application to be decided." That page was current as at October 2026.
The rest of this article explains why that exclusion sits comfortably with everything else the subclass 010 rules do, and which visa is actually carrying your status while you wait. It is general information about how the rules are framed, not personalised advice about your own circumstances, so the official published position remains the thing to check against.
What does the official page actually say about bridging visas and citizenship?
The exclusion is stated once, and stated flatly. The Department's Bridging visa A (Subclass 010) page places the sentence among the general description of the visa rather than in a footnote or exception: you can't use a bridging visa while you wait for a citizenship application to be decided.
There is no qualifying carve-out attached to it. Nothing on the page suggests a version of the visa that applies to the citizenship waiting period, and nothing suggests that lodging a citizenship application gives rise to a bridging visa of any kind.
Why is a bridging visa tied to a substantive visa application?
Because that is the gap the visa exists to fill. The official page describes what the BVA allows in a single line: you can stay lawfully in Australia until your substantive visa application is finally determined, or, where the visa was granted in association with judicial proceedings, until those proceedings are complete.
Every operative rule on the page hangs off that anchor:
- How it starts. Nearly all bridging visas are applied for automatically as part of applying for a substantive visa, and the Department tells you if this happens. A separate BVA application may be necessary where your substantive visa application did not also constitute an application for a BVA; where you were granted a BVA or a Bridging visa B (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.
- When it comes into effect. A BVA comes into effect when it is granted, if your substantive visa has ceased since you applied for the BVA or the BVA is more beneficial than your current bridging visa; when your current substantive visa ceases; or when another bridging visa more beneficial than your current one ceases.
- When it stops. In all other situations, one of these outcomes determines when the BVA ceases: your substantive visa application is refused; your merits or judicial review is decided; you withdraw your application for the substantive visa, merits review or judicial review; or a merits review tribunal tells you it has no jurisdiction to consider your review application.
A citizenship application is not a substantive visa application, and the page excludes it explicitly. That is the whole reason the question has a short answer.
If I already hold permanent residence, what carries my status during the citizenship wait?
Your permanent visa does. A BVA is a temporary visa whose function, as described above, is to bridge the interval around a substantive visa application. If you are already the holder of a permanent visa, there is no interval of that kind to bridge.
The direction of travel on the official page makes this clear. If you hold a substantive visa when your BVA is granted, you must continue to comply with the conditions of the substantive visa; the conditions of the BVA apply only once your substantive visa ceases. The bridging arrangement steps in behind an existing visa that is ending, not alongside a visa that is still running.
The reverse case is worth stating too, because it catches people who held a BVA before their PR was granted: a BVA will end immediately if you are granted the substantive visa you applied for. So a BVA held on the way to permanent residence does not survive the grant, and cannot be repurposed afterwards for the citizenship wait.
One boundary on scope: the Bridging visa A page does not address how long a permanent visa remains available for travel to and from Australia, or how a citizenship application interacts with travel. Those questions fall outside this page and should be checked against the Department's current published information.
When would a Bridging visa A actually be relevant to you?
It is relevant when you are in Australia, your substantive visa has ceased or is about to, and a new substantive visa application is on foot. The practical markers from the official page:
| Feature | What the official page says |
|---|---|
| Cost | Free |
| Where you must be | You, and anyone included in your application, must be in Australia when the application is submitted and when it is granted |
| Family | If you applied together for a substantive visa in Australia, you may have applied together for a BVA; on a separate BVA application you can include members of the family unit who are included in your substantive visa application, and each is assessed separately |
| Extending | You cannot stay longer by extending this visa; you must apply for a new visa |
Suppose an applicant holds a substantive visa that is due to cease, lodges an onshore substantive visa application, and is told that a BVA has been applied for as part of it. That is the ordinary case the visa is built for. The same applicant later applying for citizenship is in a different situation entirely, and the bridging visa has no role in it.
What are the conditions and end dates if a BVA does apply to me?
Conditions are imposed on the visa and you will be notified of them; visa holders must adhere to the conditions imposed. Your obligations are to comply with all Australian laws, comply with the conditions of your current visa, and comply with the conditions of your BVA once it comes into effect.
A BVA ends immediately in four situations: you leave Australia while it is in effect; you are granted the substantive visa you applied for; you are granted another bridging visa (such as a BVB) in relation to the same substantive visa application; or the Department cancels either the BVA or the substantive visa you held when the BVA was granted.
For BVAs granted on or after 19 November 2016, the official page sets fixed calendars:
| Trigger | When the BVA ceases |
|---|---|
| Refusal decision, or an Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) decision, on the associated substantive visa application | 35 calendar days after |
| A determination that the substantive visa application, or an application for AAT review, is invalid | 35 calendar days after |
| Withdrawal of the substantive visa application or the AAT review application | 35 calendar days after |
| A judicial review body upholds the refusal decision | 28 calendar days after |
| Withdrawal of a related judicial review application | 28 calendar days after |
For BVAs granted before 19 November 2016, the visa ceases 28 days after the date of the relevant notification or withdrawal event, including notification that the substantive application is invalid or refused, withdrawal of the substantive application, notification that a merits review tribunal upheld the refusal or has no jurisdiction, withdrawal of a merits or judicial review application, or a judicial review body upholding the refusal.
Once you have been notified of an outcome, the exact date you can remain until is recorded in the Department's VEVO system, rather than being a matter of calculation on your part.
What about work and travel on a Bridging visa A?
Work depends entirely on your conditions. You might be allowed to work in Australia depending on the conditions that apply to your BVA, and your grant letter sets these out.
If your BVA does not let you work, or restricts working, you can apply for another BVA that lets you work. To be considered, you will usually have to demonstrate financial hardship, and the Department assesses your circumstances against that claim. If you do not meet the requirements for work but are still eligible for a BVA, you will be granted a new BVA carrying the same work prevention or restriction that applied before. There is a hard limit: you cannot be granted a new BVA that lets you work if your current BVA prevents or restricts work and either your current BVA was granted because you have applied for judicial review of the substantive visa decision, or you have applied for a protection visa.
Travel is stricter. A BVA does not support return travel to Australia. An in-effect BVA ceases upon departure, so leaving on it means you cannot come back on it. To travel and return while your substantive visa application is being processed, you need to have been granted a BVB before you leave. There is also no visa label: the visa is digitally linked to your passport.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I apply for a Bridging visa A while my citizenship application is pending?
No. The Department of Home Affairs states on the Bridging visa A (Subclass 010) page that you can't use a bridging visa while you wait for a citizenship application to be decided. The pathways to a BVA listed on that page all run through a substantive visa application, judicial review, or a previous bridging visa that has ceased.
I held a BVA before my permanent visa was granted. What happened to it?
It ended. A BVA will end immediately if you are granted the substantive visa you applied for, which includes the grant of permanent residence. Nothing carries over from that BVA to a later citizenship application.
Does waiting for citizenship mean I am at risk of becoming unlawful?
Not because of the citizenship wait itself. A BVA is a temporary visa that bridges the period around a substantive visa application; if you hold a permanent visa, your status rests on that visa. The Bridging visa A page does not set out how long a permanent visa remains available for travel, so that part should be checked against the Department's current published information.
If my BVA is in effect and I leave Australia, can I return on it?
No. An in-effect BVA ceases upon departure from Australia, and the visa does not support return travel. To travel and return while a substantive visa application is being processed, you need to have been granted a Bridging visa B (BVB) before leaving.
Can I work while on a Bridging visa A?
Only if your conditions allow it, and your grant letter and VEVO record will show the position. If your BVA prevents or restricts work, you can apply for another BVA that permits work, usually by demonstrating financial hardship — unless your BVA was granted because you sought judicial review, or you have applied for a protection visa, in which case a work-permitting BVA cannot be granted.
How long does a BVA last after a refusal decision?
For a BVA granted on or after 19 November 2016, it ceases 35 calendar days after the refusal decision or an AAT decision on the associated substantive visa application. If a judicial review body upholds the refusal instead, the BVA ceases 28 calendar days after. The precise date appears in VEVO once you have been notified.
Can a Bridging visa A be extended, and does it cost anything?
It cannot be extended. The official page states you can't stay in Australia longer by extending this visa and that you must apply for a new visa if you wish to stay longer. The BVA itself is free, and you and any included family members must be in Australia when it is applied for and granted.