Travel Overseas While Your Partner Visa Is Undecided

Your partner visa keeps being processed while you are away. Since 25 November 2023, cl 820.411 of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth) has allowed the subclass 820 to be granted whether you are in or outside Australia. Apply before you book, not after. The fee and processing position were checked on 23 September 2026.

Can you leave Australia while your partner visa is being decided?

Yes, with a Bridging visa B. No, on a Bridging visa A, if you want to be sure of getting back. Home Affairs says a Bridging visa A ends immediately if you leave Australia while it is in effect, and only a Bridging visa B lets you leave and re-enter while you wait.

If your earlier visa has not yet ended and allows travel, you can travel on it. Home Affairs says that if it might expire before you return, you may still choose to get a Bridging visa B first. The rules on your bridging visa on an onshore partner visa explain when that earlier visa gives way.

What you need before you leave Australia while your partner visa is pending, and the form you use

1. Check in VEVO that you hold a Bridging visa A or B, and that your passport is valid. A new passport should come before the application.
2. Apply for the Bridging visa B in ImmiAccount if your partner visa was lodged online. Form 1006 is the paper version.
3. Give your reason for travel and your intended dates, with evidence.
4. Pay the charge.
5. Stay in Australia until it is granted. Cl 020.411 requires you to be in Australia at grant.
6. Only then book. The travel period is set by the Department, not by your itinerary.

What does a Bridging visa B cost while your partner visa is pending?

A$575 for the main applicant as at 23 September 2026, under Schedule 1 item 1302 of the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth). The Department's own price listing shows the same base charge. It is A$195 if you hold a valid passport from an eligible Pacific country or Timor-Leste. Family members included in the same application are charged nil. Check the charge on the Department's page before you pay, as charges are indexed.

How long does a Bridging visa B take to be decided while your partner visa is pending?

The Department publishes none. Its Bridging visa B page says "There are no processing times available for this visa." Instead it recommends applying no more than 3 months and no less than 2 weeks before you travel. It warns that a last-minute application risks leaving you without a visa to return on. Leave at least that 2-week buffer, and more if your reason for travel needs documents.

How long can you be out of Australia while your partner visa is decided?

As long as the travel period in your grant notice. Under cl 020.511(1)(c), a Bridging visa B lets you travel to and enter Australia until the time set for the visa, unless the Department specifies an earlier time. Home Affairs says the grant notice clearly defines the travel period, and that it may allow a single trip or several.

Home Affairs says it cannot change or extend the travel period after grant. If you are in Australia when it ends and need to travel again, you apply for another Bridging visa B.

What counts as a reason for travel while your partner visa is pending?

The Department publishes no list of accepted reasons. The legal test in cl 020.212(2)(d) is that the Department is satisfied your reasons are substantial. Home Affairs says it considers two things when setting the travel period:

1. Why you want to travel.
2. When it is likely to decide your partner visa application.

It asks you to give evidence of your reason and your intended travel dates. A letter, booking or medical document that shows the reason and the dates is what the application needs.

What happens if your travel period expires while you are overseas and your partner visa is still undecided?

The Bridging visa B ceases, and you cannot use it to return. Home Affairs says that if you are outside Australia when the travel period ends, you need to apply for and be granted another visa before you can re-enter, with no guarantee of a grant. Your Bridging visa A ended when you left.

The partner visa application itself is not withdrawn. Clause 820.411 allows the 820 to be granted while you are outside Australia. That does not give you a way back in the meantime, and the right next step depends on your own facts.

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.

Does travelling affect your partner visa application?

The application continues. Since the Migration Amendment (Location Requirements for Grant of Visa) Regulations 2023 took effect on 25 November 2023, cl 820.411 says you may be in or outside Australia when the subclass 820 is granted. Home Affairs repeats this on the subclass 820 page. A grant landing while you are away is not the risk it once was.

What does not pause is your side of the process. A request under s 56 still carries its period, 28 days in the ordinary case under reg 2.15. The duty in s 104 to report changes also continues.

How does the travel period sit against the partner visa wait?

In the Department's guide updated on 4 September 2026, half of subclass 820 applications were decided within 23 months and 90% within 29 months. If you lodged in September 2025, a trip in month 14 (November 2026) sits well before the median. The Department weighs its expected decision date when it sets your travel period, so a trip near month 23 may get a shorter one. See the partner visa processing time page for the full series.

What if your Bridging visa B is refused while your partner visa is pending?

You remain in Australia on the visa you already hold, and the partner visa application continues. A bridging visa refusal is also expressly excluded from the bar in s 48 of the Migration Act on further applications after a refusal. What you cannot do is leave and return without a visa that allows re-entry. 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.

If you are applying for an offshore partner visa

An offshore partner visa applicant has no bridging visa and travels on whatever passport and visas they hold. Clause 309.412 lets the subclass 309 be granted whether you are in or outside Australia, as long as you are not in immigration clearance. The reverse case, visiting your partner in Australia while the 309 is pending, is covered in visiting Australia during a 309 partner visa wait.

Where to go next with your partner visa

• The visa you are waiting on: the partner visa subclass 820, its criteria and where you must be at each step.
• The full sequence from lodgement to decision: waiting for a partner visa decision.

A Bridging visa B application is short, but the stakes are high. A weak reason, a travel period that does not cover the trip, or an earlier visa that ends while you are away can leave you outside Australia with no visa. A registered migration agent or an Australian legal practitioner checks the dates and the evidence before you apply, so an application they prepare is more likely to succeed. No one can guarantee a grant.

Questions people ask

Can I travel overseas on a bridging visa while my partner visa is processed?

Not on a Bridging visa A. It ends if you leave Australia while it is in effect, and it gives no right to return. You need a Bridging visa B, granted before you leave, and you must come back within the travel period it sets.

How much does a bridging visa B cost?

The base charge is A$575 as at 23 September 2026, under Schedule 1 item 1302 of the Migration Regulations 1994 and the Department's price listing. It is A$195 for an applicant with a valid passport from an eligible Pacific country or Timor-Leste. Family members included in the same application pay nothing extra.

How long does a bridging visa B take?

The Department publishes no processing time for the Bridging visa B. It recommends applying no more than 3 months and no less than 2 weeks before the date you want to travel, and warns that leaving it to the last minute risks having no visa to return on.

How long can you leave Australia on a bridging visa B?

As long as the travel period in your grant notice allows. The Department sets it after considering why you want to travel and when it is likely to decide your partner visa. It cannot be changed or extended after grant, so if you need another trip you apply for a new Bridging visa B while in Australia.

What happens if my bridging visa B expires while I am overseas?

The Bridging visa B ceases and you cannot use it to return. The Department says you would need to apply for and be granted another visa before re-entering Australia, and there is no guarantee of that. This is the outcome to plan around.

Sources

Primary sources this page was checked against on 23 September 2026.

1. Department of Home Affairs, Bridging visa B (subclass 020) immi.homeaffairs.gov.au
2. Department of Home Affairs, Travel on a bridging visa immi.homeaffairs.gov.au
3. Department of Home Affairs, Partner visa (subclass 820) immi.homeaffairs.gov.au
4. Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth), Federal Register of Legislation www.legislation.gov.au
5. Migration Amendment (Location Requirements for Grant of Visa) Regulations 2023 www.legislation.gov.au