Your Bridging Visa on an Onshore Partner Visa
Lodging an onshore partner visa while you hold a substantive visa gives you a Bridging visa A (subclass 010) at no charge, which comes into effect only when your current substantive visa ends under cl 010.511 of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth), carries over any work limit that visa had under cl 010.611, and lasts until your partner visa is decided.
Until your current visa ends you stay on that visa and its conditions, not on the bridging visa. Offshore partner visa applicants do not get a bridging visa, because a bridging visa can only be granted to someone in Australia. The conditions and commencement rules below were checked against the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth) as compiled on 1 July 2026 and the Home Affairs pages on 23 September 2026.
| Your bridging visa, at a glance | For an onshore partner visa (subclass 820 and 801) |
|---|---|
| Which application grants it | A valid onshore 820 and 801 application made while you hold a substantive visa |
| Visa | Bridging visa A, subclass 010 |
| Separate application? | No, in the ordinary case. The Department says nearly all bridging visas are applied for automatically with the substantive application |
| When it comes into effect | When your current substantive visa ceases (cl 010.511) |
| What you are on until then | Your existing visa, with its conditions |
| Work rights | Whatever work condition your visa had when you applied carries over (cl 010.611(4)) |
| Study rights | No study-time limit carries over, but a regional live-study-work condition (8539 or 8549) does |
| Medicare | Comes from the permanent visa application, not the bridging visa |
| Travel | None. Leaving while it is in effect ends it; you need a Bridging visa B |
| How long it lasts | Until the partner visa is decided |
| If the partner visa is granted | It ends on the grant |
| If the partner visa is refused | It ends 35 days after the decision, or 35 days after a tribunal decision on review |
| Cost | Nil (Sch 1 item 1301) |
| Checked | 23 September 2026 |
Do you get a bridging visa when you lodge an onshore partner visa?
Yes, if you are in Australia and hold a substantive visa when you lodge: that is the test in cl 010.211(2) of Schedule 2, and Home Affairs confirms it on the subclass 820 page. Offshore applicants do not get one. Nor, in the ordinary case, does someone who held no substantive visa at lodgement; they also face the Schedule 3 criteria covered on this site's Schedule 3 page. A partner visa applicant who held no substantive visa when applying may instead be granted a Bridging visa C, and one who is unlawful may need a Bridging visa E.
When does your bridging visa start after you lodge your partner visa?
It is granted with the application but, under cl 010.511(1)(a), comes into effect only when the substantive visa you hold ceases.
Worked example. You lodge an onshore partner visa on 10 February 2026 while holding a visitor visa whose stay ends on 30 April 2026. From 10 February to 30 April you are on the visitor visa and must follow its conditions. When the visitor visa ceases at the end of 30 April 2026, the Bridging visa A comes into effect, and you stay on it until the partner visa is decided.
What visa are you on until then, while your partner visa is decided?
Your existing visa, with all of its conditions. Home Affairs says the bridging visa's conditions apply only once that visa ceases.
Can you work while your partner visa is decided?
It depends on the visa you held when you lodged. Clause 010.611(4) gives the Bridging visa A whichever of the listed work conditions applied to that visa, so the bridging visa does not start afresh. If your visitor visa said no work, so does the bridging visa; if your earlier visa had full work rights, the bridging visa has no work condition.
If you are restricted, you can apply for another Bridging visa A that lets you work, showing a compelling need to work (cl 010.211(4)); Home Affairs says that usually means financial hardship. Once the subclass 820 is granted, you have full work rights.
Can you study while your partner visa is decided?
Yes. The visitor visa's 3-month study limit (condition 8201) is not among the conditions that pass to the bridging visa. A regional condition that limits where you live, study and work (8539 or 8549) does pass across.
Are you eligible for Medicare while your partner visa is decided?
Usually, yes, but because you applied for a permanent visa, not because of the bridging visa. Under s 3 of the Health Insurance Act 1973 (Cth), a temporary visa holder living in Australia who has applied for a permanent visa qualifies if they have work rights, or if their spouse, parent or child is an Australian citizen or permanent visa holder. Services Australia's operational guidance on permanent residency applicants applies the same test and issues an interim card.
What conditions are on your bridging visa while your partner visa is decided?
| Condition | What it means | When it is imposed on your bridging visa |
|---|---|---|
| No work condition | You may work without limit | Your visa at lodgement had none of the listed work conditions |
| 8101 | You must not work in Australia | Your visa at lodgement had it, as most visitor visas do |
| 8104 or 8105 | Work limited to 40 hours a fortnight (student-related) | Your student visa at lodgement had it |
| 8107 | Work only for the employer or activity the visa was granted for | Your employer-sponsored or activity visa had it |
| 8547 | No more than 6 months with any one employer without permission | Your visa at lodgement had it |
| 8539 or 8549 | Live, study and work only in a specified regional area | Your regional visa at lodgement had it |
These apply only once the bridging visa is in effect.
How long does your bridging visa last while your partner visa is decided?
Until the partner visa is decided, however long that takes. Clause 010.511(1)(b) then sets the end point:
- Granted: the bridging visa ends on the grant.
- Refused: it ends 35 days after the decision. It ends at the moment of refusal where the refusal rests on certain public interest criteria (4003 or 4003A).
- Refused, then reviewed by the Administrative Review Tribunal: it ends 35 days after the tribunal decides.
- Withdrawn: it ends 35 days after you withdraw.
What happens to it when your partner visa is granted?
It ends, and the subclass 820 takes over. Under s 82(3) of the Migration Act, a bridging visa ceases when another visa comes into effect. What changes on that day is on the page about partner visa work and study rights.
What happens to it if your partner visa is refused?
It continues for 35 days after the decision, and for 35 days after a tribunal decision if you apply for review. The refusal letter tells you whether review is available.
Applying these rules to your own circumstances is immigration assistance, which ss 276 and 280 of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) restrict to registered migration agents and Australian legal practitioners.
What if you were on a visa with a "no further stay" condition when you lodged your partner visa?
Condition 8503 in Schedule 8 means the holder cannot be granted a substantive visa, other than a protection visa, while in Australia. Home Affairs says a waiver must be approved before you can apply for the subclass 820. Under reg 2.05(4), a waiver needs compelling and compassionate circumstances that arose after the visa was granted, outside your control, and a written request. This site's condition 8503 page covers the waiver.
Can you travel overseas on this bridging visa while your partner visa is decided?
No. A Bridging visa A ends if you leave Australia while it is in effect, and it gives you no right to return. To leave and come back you need a Bridging visa B, granted before you go; see how to travel overseas while your partner visa is undecided.
What you must do while you hold a bridging visa and your partner visa is decided
- Follow the conditions of whichever visa is in effect.
- Keep your contact details and passport current in ImmiAccount.
- Tell the Department in writing, as soon as practicable, if an answer on your application stops being correct (s 104 of the Migration Act).
- Think before applying for any other visa. If another visa is granted, your bridging visa ceases under s 82(3).
Where to go next with your partner visa
- The visa your bridging visa is waiting on: the partner visa subclass 820, its criteria, cost and processing time.
- What you can do once it is granted: partner visa work and study rights.
- Leaving Australia during the wait: how to travel overseas while your partner visa is undecided.
- The full sequence from lodgement to decision: waiting for a partner visa decision.
Bridging visa rules turn on dates and on the visa you held at lodgement: which condition carried over, when an earlier visa ends, and whether 8503 applied. A registered migration agent or an Australian legal practitioner checks those facts before you lodge, so an application they prepare is more likely to succeed and less likely to leave you with a no-work bridging visa you did not expect. No one can guarantee the outcome.
Questions people ask
When does a bridging visa A start after lodging a partner visa?
It is granted with a valid onshore partner visa application but does not come into effect until the substantive visa you hold ceases. Until then you remain on your existing visa and must follow its conditions. This is set by clause 010.511 of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994.
Do we get old working rights when we are on a bridging visa?
The Bridging visa A granted with an onshore partner visa takes on the work conditions of the visa you held when you applied, such as condition 8101 (no work) from a visitor visa. If that visa had no work condition, the bridging visa has none either. If you are restricted and in financial hardship, you can apply for a further Bridging visa A without the restriction.
How long can someone be on a bridging visa for a partner visa?
The Bridging visa A lasts until the partner visa is decided, however long that takes. If the partner visa is granted, the bridging visa ends at that moment. If it is refused, the bridging visa ends 35 days after the decision, or 35 days after a tribunal decision if you seek review in time.
Can I apply for a partner visa while on a tourist visa in Australia?
Yes, unless your visitor visa carries condition 8503 (no further stay). Home Affairs says a waiver of that condition must be approved before you can apply. Your Bridging visa A would then carry the visitor visa's no-work condition.
Does a bridging visa A cost anything?
No. Schedule 1 item 1301 of the Migration Regulations 1994 sets every component of the Bridging visa A charge at nil, and the Department says nearly all bridging visas are applied for automatically with the substantive visa application.
Sources
Primary sources this page was checked against on 23 September 2026.
- Department of Home Affairs, Bridging visa A (subclass 010) immi.homeaffairs.gov.au
- Department of Home Affairs, Partner visa (subclass 820) immi.homeaffairs.gov.au
- Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth), Federal Register of Legislation www.legislation.gov.au
- Services Australia, Applicants for permanent residency eligibility for Medicare (operational guidance) operational.servicesaustralia.gov.au