Staying Lawful on Bridging Visa A After a Skilled PR Refusal and AAT Review (2026)

How a Bridging visa A keeps you lawful from a skilled PR refusal through AAT review and judicial review, and where you must reapply.

Published: 10 July 2026 Reading time 12 min

Your Bridging visa A (BVA) (Subclass 010) does not carry itself automatically from one stage of the skilled PR chain to the next. According to the Australian Department of Home Affairs' Bridging visa A (BVA) (Subclass 010) page (as at the August 2026 version of that official page), the BVA that came with your substantive visa application keeps you lawful while that application and any merits review are on foot, but if the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) upholds the refusal and you move to judicial review, you must apply for a bridging visa again — and that application can only be made by webform. This article explains how the rules fit together; it is general information only and not advice on any individual case, so your own conditions and dates should be checked against VEVO, the official page and the current legislation.

Where your BVA comes from in the first place

Nearly all bridging visas are applied for automatically as part of applying for a substantive visa. For a skilled PR pathway — subclasses 189, 190 and 491 among them — lodging the substantive application in Australia usually triggers the bridging visa without a separate form, and the Department tells you if that has happened. The first practical step at any point in the chain is therefore to check in VEVO whether you already hold a BVA before assuming you need to apply.

A BVA only "comes into effect" at a particular moment. Per the official page, that happens when it is granted (if your substantive visa has already ceased, or if the BVA is more beneficial than your current bridging visa), when your current substantive visa ceases, or when another bridging visa that is more beneficial ceases. If you still hold a substantive visa when the BVA is granted, you keep complying with the substantive visa conditions; the BVA conditions only bite once the substantive visa ends.

What happens to that BVA when the PR application is refused?

For a BVA granted on or after 19 November 2016, the visa ceases 35 calendar days after the Department's refusal decision, after a determination that the substantive application is invalid, or after you withdraw the substantive application. That 35-day period is a fixed end point, not a grace period you can extend: the official page states plainly that you cannot stay longer by extending a BVA, and that you must apply for a new visa if you want to remain.

VEVO is the place to see the exact date. The official page directs holders to VEVO after notification of an outcome, because the calendar-day count runs from the decision rather than from any later letter or email.

Does lodging an AAT review give you a new BVA, or extend the old one?

Neither, in the ordinary case. The review being lodged does not by itself produce a new BVA, and a BVA cannot be extended. What happens instead is that the existing BVA continues to hold your lawful status while the review is before the tribunal, because the substantive application has not yet been finally determined.

The important date is the outcome, not the lodgement. For a BVA granted on or after 19 November 2016, the visa ceases 35 calendar days after the AAT decision on the associated substantive application, or 35 calendar days after you withdraw the application for AAT review. The official page also lists a merits review tribunal telling you it has no jurisdiction as one of the outcomes that determines when a BVA ceases.

When do you actually have to apply for a new BVA?

The official page sets out four situations in which a separate BVA application may be necessary:

your substantive visa application did not also constitute an application for a BVA
you were granted a BVA or a Bridging visa B (BVB) but it has ceased, and you meet the requirements for another BVA
you are seeking a further BVA without work restrictions
you have applied for judicial review

For a skilled applicant, the fourth is the one that matters. The official page states it directly: if a merits review tribunal upholds the decision to refuse your substantive visa application and you apply for judicial review, you will need to apply for a bridging visa to maintain lawful status during the judicial review proceedings.

What does a judicial review BVA require?

Three things run together here, and the chain usually breaks on one of them.

You must hold a bridging visa when the judicial review is filed. The Migration Regulations 1994 require under clause 010.211(3) that the applicant held a BVA or BVB at the time the judicial review application was made, that the substantive application was made in Australia and has been refused, and that the judicial review is within the statutory time limit and not yet complete. The Department's PAM3 guidance puts that filing window at 35 days after the AAT decision, so confirm the current statutory time limit before you file.

You must apply by webform only. If you have applied for review of a decision about your substantive visa application, the BVA application must be submitted by webform (Form 1005), even where the original skilled application was lodged through ImmiAccount. The webform route has a hard documentary consequence: all documents must be attached before you submit, because you cannot attach anything afterwards.

You must be in Australia. The official page requires you, and anyone included in the application, to be in Australia both when the BVA application is submitted and when it is granted. A BVA does not support return travel, and it ceases immediately if you leave Australia while it is in effect.

There is no visa application charge for a BVA — the official page lists the cost as free.

How long do you have once judicial review ends?

For a BVA granted on or after 19 November 2016, the visa ceases 28 calendar days after a judicial review body upholds the decision to refuse the substantive visa application, or 28 calendar days after you withdraw a related judicial review application. That is shorter than the 35 days that follows a refusal or an AAT decision, and it is the reason the end of the chain needs to be planned for rather than discovered.

How long your BVA runs after each step

Event	When the BVA ceases (granted on or after 19 November 2016)
Department refuses the substantive visa application	35 calendar days after the refusal decision
Substantive application or AAT review application found invalid	35 calendar days after the determination
You withdraw the substantive application or the AAT review	35 calendar days after withdrawal
AAT decides the review	35 calendar days after the AAT decision
Judicial review body upholds the refusal	28 calendar days after that decision
You withdraw the judicial review application	28 calendar days after withdrawal

If your BVA was granted before 19 November 2016, a different rule applies: it ceases 28 days after notification that the application is invalid or refused, after withdrawal of the substantive application, after a merits review tribunal notifies you that it has upheld the refusal or that it has no jurisdiction, after withdrawal of a merits or judicial review application, or after a judicial review body upholds the refusal. The official page also lists a merits review tribunal advising that it has no jurisdiction as one of the outcomes that determines when any BVA ceases.

Can you work while on a BVA granted for judicial review?

Work rights on a BVA depend entirely on the conditions attached to it, which the grant letter and VEVO will show. Where a BVA does not permit work or restricts it, the official route is to apply for another BVA that does allow work, usually by demonstrating financial hardship; the Department assesses the hardship claim and, if it is not accepted, grants a new BVA carrying the same work prevention or restriction as before.

There is one hard limit. You cannot be granted a new BVA that lets you work if your current BVA prevents or restricts work and that BVA was granted to you because you applied for judicial review of the decision on your substantive visa application (or if you have applied for a protection visa). For a skilled applicant whose review-period BVA carried a work restriction, that closes the hardship route for the duration of the judicial review BVA.

On conditions generally, the Migration Regulations provide that a BVA otherwise tends to carry the same conditions as the previous BVA or BVB held. The Department's PAM3 guidance lists skilled and employer-sponsored subclasses such as 189, 190, 491, 186 and 482 among those whose associated BVA is generally granted without conditions; for subclass 457 or 482 holders, the guidance states that the BVA must carry the same 8107 or 8501 condition if the last substantive visa held was subject to it. Rely on your grant letter and VEVO for what actually applies to you.

What cuts a BVA short before its date?

Four events end a BVA immediately, regardless of the calendar-day count: leaving Australia while it is in effect, being granted the substantive visa you applied for, being granted another bridging visa (such as a BVB) in relation to the same substantive visa application, or cancellation of either the BVA or the substantive visa you held when the BVA was granted.

Travel is the one that catches people out. A BVA does not support return travel, and an in-effect BVA ceases on departure. If you need to travel and return while the substantive application or review is still on foot, you must have been granted a BVB before you leave.

Where the chain usually breaks, and how to keep it continuous

Assume an applicant whose 190 nomination-linked application is refused in March, who lodges AAT review within the review period, and whose BVA continues through the review. The tribunal affirms the refusal. Nothing in that sequence produces a new bridging visa, and the 35-day clock starts from the tribunal decision. If the applicant then files for judicial review but waits until the BVA has already ceased before submitting the webform, there is a period of unlawful status that no later grant can undo.

The Department's own guidance on this is to apply early: it does not give updates on application processing times, and it states that it is important to submit the application early to allow enough time for the bridging visa to be processed while you remain lawful. Check VEVO for your current status, lodge the webform while the existing BVA is still running, and attach everything at the time of submission.

Family members follow the same structure. If you applied together for the substantive visa in Australia, family members may already hold a BVA — check each of them in VEVO. If you apply separately for a BVA, you can include members of the family unit who are included in your substantive visa application, and each person's application is assessed individually to decide which bridging visa they can be granted.

Finally, only some people can lawfully help with an application: a registered migration agent, a legal practitioner, or an exempt person. Anyone can be appointed to receive documents on your behalf.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a new BVA as soon as my skilled PR application is refused?

Not immediately, and not because of the refusal alone. The BVA granted with your substantive application continues and runs for 35 calendar days after the refusal decision, which gives you the window to move to AAT review or to make other arrangements. The obligation to apply again arises later, if you reach the judicial review stage.

Does applying to the AAT keep me lawful?

Yes, but through the BVA you already hold rather than a fresh grant. The BVA continues while the review is on foot because the substantive application is not finally determined, and it then ceases 35 calendar days after the AAT decision or after you withdraw the review. A BVA cannot be extended, so the review itself does not lengthen it.

Why do I have to reapply for a BVA when I go to judicial review?

Because the official page treats judicial review as one of the situations where a separate BVA application may be necessary, and states that if a merits review tribunal upholds the refusal and you apply for judicial review, you need to apply for a bridging visa to maintain lawful status during those proceedings. The applications are tied to different legal bases: the first to the undecided substantive application, the second to the incomplete judicial review.

Can I lodge the judicial review BVA through ImmiAccount?

No. Where you have applied for review of a decision about your substantive visa application, the BVA application must be submitted by webform using Form 1005, regardless of how the original skilled application was lodged. Documents must all be attached before submission, as nothing can be added afterwards.

Can I travel overseas while my BVA is in effect?

Not on the BVA itself. An in-effect BVA ceases when you leave Australia and cannot be used to return. You would need to have been granted a BVB before departure if you want to travel and come back while the substantive application or review is still being considered.

How do I find out the exact date my BVA ends?

VEVO. The official page directs holders to VEVO after being notified of an outcome, because the 35-day and 28-day counts run from the relevant decision, withdrawal or determination, and VEVO shows the specific date that applies to your visa.

Is there a fee for a BVA?

No. The Department's visa listing page records the cost of a Bridging visa A (Subclass 010) as free.