Your partner visa is still being processed and you need to leave the country.
The Bridging Visa A you are living on lets you work and stay. But it ceases the moment you depart, and it will not bring you back.
A bridging visa B is what turns that one-way door into a return trip.
This guide covers when you need one, what the substantial reasons test really asks, what the $575 charge does and does not cover, and what to settle before you book.
The short version
- A bridging visa B (subclass 020) is the only way to leave Australia and return while your partner visa is still being decided. A BVA ceases the moment you depart.
- You must be in Australia when you apply. There is no offshore route, and no fixing it after you have gone.
- You can apply holding a BVA or an existing BVB — a second trip does not need you to go back to a BVA first.
- The fee rose from $190 to $575 on 1 July 2026. It is charged per application, and family members combined into one application commonly attract no additional charge.
- The test is “substantial reasons” for the travel. There is no fixed list, and personal travel is not automatically excluded — vagueness is what sinks applications, not the reason itself.
- There is no standard travel period. Grants range from a few weeks to twelve months, set against your reasons and the likely decision timing.
- Return before the travel period ends. If it expires while you are overseas, you generally cannot re-enter on that BVB.
- Do not be overseas when a decision is likely. A refusal does not end your bridging visa instantly, but managing one from another country is a far weaker position.
In this guide
What a bridging visa B actually does
A Bridging Visa B (subclass 020) is the travel-enabled bridging visa.
It keeps you lawful in Australia while your partner visa is decided.
And it adds what a BVA does not have: the right to leave and come back.
A BVA holds your status while you stay put. Step onto a plane and it ceases.
Leave on a BVA and you are outside Australia with no visa to return on.
The partner visa keeps processing. You just cannot come home until something is granted.
Millennium Migration sees that mistake cost people weeks stranded overseas.
A partner on the other side of the world, and no quick fix available.
Worth saying plainly: a bridging visa B does nothing to speed up your partner visa. Your 820 is processed on the same timeline whether you spend the wait in Melbourne or abroad.
Who needs a bridging visa B
You need one if all four of these are true.
- You hold a Bridging Visa A, or an existing Bridging Visa B
- Your substantive visa application is still being processed
- You intend to leave Australia and return before it is decided
- You will lodge from inside Australia, before you depart
That second option in point one matters more than it looks.
A BVB holder planning a further trip applies for a new one directly, without reverting to a BVA.
Who does not need one
- Offshore 309 applicants — you applied from outside Australia and are not on a bridging visa.
- Holders of another substantive visa — a student, work or visitor visa carries its own travel rights.
- Anyone with no travel plans — a BVB is not a free upgrade. Apply when you actually need it.
- Permanent residents — an 801 or 100 comes with a five-year travel facility.
The substantial reasons test for a bridging visa B
A BVB is granted where the decision-maker is satisfied you have substantial reasons for the proposed travel.
The term is not exhaustively defined, and there is no official list of approved purposes.
That cuts both ways, and the second half is the part most guides get wrong.
A holiday is not automatically disqualifying. Personal travel — a trip with your partner, a family visit, an anniversary, a wedding — is regularly granted.
What sinks applications is a reason stated vaguely and left unevidenced, not the reason itself.
So do not dress up a genuine purpose as something it is not.
Describing a holiday as “urgent business” is misrepresentation, which is a far worse problem than a refusal.
State what you are actually doing, say why it matters, and put a document behind it.
Reasons that are straightforward to evidence
- Family — a seriously ill relative, a funeral, a wedding, a milestone, or reconnecting with children or parents
- Work or business — a conference, employer-required travel, meetings for a business you run, or closing affairs in your home country
- Education — a graduation, an overseas component of an Australian course, or field research
- Compassionate — supporting a bereaved family member, or urgent legal or property matters
- Personal — a planned trip with your partner, or a long-postponed visit home
What weakens an application
“I want to travel.” No dates, no destination, no documents.
A reason that does not match the period requested, or a claim with nothing attached to support it.
Millennium Migration spends most of the time on a BVB getting the statement specific, not finding a better reason.
What a bridging visa B costs in 2026
The BVB charge rose from $190 to $575 on 1 July 2026.
That is a 203% increase, and one of the sharpest in that year’s round.
| Period | Charge | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Before 1 July 2026 | $190 | — |
| From 1 July 2026 | $575 | +203% |
What the charge covers
The $575 is charged per application, not per trip you take within one travel period.
Family members included in your partner visa application can generally be combined into a single bridging visa application.
Where they are combined, additional applicant charges are commonly nil.
So a family does not usually multiply $575 by the number of people travelling.
Check before you budget. Run your exact combination through the Department’s own pricing estimator.
Charges and the rules on combined applications change, and a reduced charge applies to citizens of certain Pacific countries.
Where the cost really adds up
Each separate trip outside an existing travel period needs its own application, at $575 each time.
Three trips across an 820/801 pathway is $1,725 in charges alone, where it would have been $570 before July.
That changes the maths on combining trips into fewer, longer absences rather than several short ones.
A card payment surcharge applies on top, at a rate that depends on the card type. Check the current rate at payment.
How long you can stay away
Your BVB specifies a travel period.
That is the window in which you can be outside Australia and still come back on it.
There is no standard length, and no entitlement to a particular one.
Grants in practice run from a few weeks to twelve months.
They are weighed against your reasons and the likely timing of your partner visa decision.
Asking for twelve months to attend a one-week wedding invites the obvious question. Match the period to the plan.
The date that matters
You must be back in Australia before the travel period ends.
Return in time and the bridging visa continues to hold your status here until the partner visa is decided.
Miss it and you generally cannot re-enter on that BVB.
Your way back then depends on whatever visa you can obtain from outside the country.
That is not always straightforward, and it is not always quick.
Multiple trips inside one period
A BVB generally allows more than one departure and return within its travel period.
So a six-month BVB can cover a trip in month one and another in month four, without a second application.
This is the practical argument for requesting a period that reflects your real plans rather than a single trip.
How to apply for a bridging visa B
The application is lodged online through ImmiAccount.
- Log in from inside Australia — there is no offshore lodgement
- Select the subclass 020 Bridging Visa B application
- Set out your travel period and your reasons for travel
- Attach the evidence behind those reasons
- Pay the charge
- Submit, and do not book anything non-refundable until you hold the grant
Evidence to attach
- Your itinerary or booking — a confirmed reservation is usually enough
- A short statement setting out the purpose and why the timing matters
- The document behind the reason — invitation, employer letter, enrolment, medical letter
- Evidence you are coming back — your lease, employment, family here, the partner visa itself
How long it takes
Processing varies, and no reliable published benchmark exists for this subclass.
Well-evidenced applications are often decided inside a week, and some within a day or two. Others run to several weeks.
Treat any site quoting a guaranteed turnaround with suspicion.
Lodge at least four weeks out. Not because it usually takes that long, but because a request for more information will eat a short runway.
Lodging the day before you fly is how people end up with a non-refundable ticket and no visa.
If a decision lands while you are overseas
This is the scenario worth thinking about before you book, not after.
If the partner visa is granted
You travel back on the newly granted visa. Nothing further is needed.
Check VEVO before you go to the airport so you know what you are flying on.
If the partner visa is refused
Your bridging visa does not vanish the instant the decision is made.
A bridging visa generally continues for a set period after you are taken to have received a refusal.
That period is commonly 35 days.
And if a valid review application is lodged in time, it generally continues through the review.
What you should not assume is that this gets you back into Australia.
Re-entry while a refused application sits behind you is a different question from remaining lawful here.
It is not something to gamble a flight on.
The review clock
Review deadlines after a refusal are short, and the Tribunal generally cannot extend them.
They also differ depending on where you are and whose review right it is, so no single number applies to every case.
Your refusal letter states the deadline that applies to you. That letter is the authority, not a figure from an article.
Running that clock from another country, in another time zone, with your documents in Australia, is the expensive part.
Why bridging visa B applications go wrong
A BVB is not an automatic grant. These are the patterns that cause problems.
The reason is vague
“Visiting family” with no event, no dates and no documents gives a decision-maker nothing to be satisfied about.
Name the thing. Say when. Attach the proof.
The evidence is missing
A wedding claimed with no invitation. Business travel with no letter. A medical reason with no documentation.
The period does not match the purpose
Twelve months requested for a short event reads as a plan to live overseas, not to travel.
The partner visa file has open issues
An outstanding request for information, a notified separation, or character questions can all bear on a BVB.
Sort the underlying file first where you can.
You did not come back last time
Compliance history is visible. A previous BVB travel period you overstayed makes the next application considerably harder.
A refusal is not the end. You can lodge again with better material.
But you have paid $575 twice, and you may have lost the trip.
Frequently asked questions
Applying and paying
Can I apply for a bridging visa B after I have left Australia?
No. You must be in Australia when the application is lodged. If you have already departed on a Bridging Visa A, that visa has ceased and a BVB is no longer available to you — you would need a new substantive visa to re-enter.
How much does a bridging visa B cost in 2026?
The charge is $575, up from $190 on 1 July 2026. It is charged per application rather than per trip, a card payment surcharge applies on top, and a reduced charge applies to citizens of certain Pacific countries. Confirm your own figure with the Department’s pricing estimator before budgeting.
Do my children each need to pay $575?
Usually not. Family members included in your partner visa application can generally be combined into one bridging visa application, and additional applicant charges for combined applications are commonly nil. Check the pricing estimator for your exact combination rather than assuming a per-person charge.
How long does a bridging visa B take to process?
There is no reliable published benchmark for this subclass. Well-evidenced applications are often decided within a week and sometimes within a day or two, while others run to several weeks. Lodge at least four weeks before you intend to travel so a request for more information does not cost you the trip.
Travelling on it
Does a holiday count as a substantial reason?
It is not automatically excluded. There is no fixed list of approved purposes, and personal travel such as a trip with your partner or a long-postponed visit home is regularly granted. What causes problems is a reason stated vaguely with nothing to support it. Describe the travel accurately rather than recasting it as something it is not.
How long a travel period will I get?
There is no standard period and no entitlement to a particular length. Grants in practice range from a few weeks to twelve months, assessed against your reasons for travel and the likely timing of your partner visa decision. Request a period that matches your actual plans.
Can I leave and return more than once on one bridging visa B?
Generally yes. A BVB allows more than one departure and return within its travel period, so a single grant can cover several trips. Each movement should still sit within the period and be consistent with the reasons the visa was granted for.
Can I extend my bridging visa B from overseas if I need longer?
No. A BVB cannot be extended from outside Australia. If you expect to need more time, return before the travel period ends and lodge a fresh application from inside Australia. You can apply for a new BVB while holding an existing one.
Can I work and study on a bridging visa B?
Generally yes. A BVB carries the conditions attached to the bridging visa it replaces, so partner visa applicants who had full work and study rights on a Bridging Visa A normally keep them. Check the grant letter for the conditions that apply to you.
When a decision arrives
What happens if my partner visa is granted while I am overseas?
You travel back on the newly granted visa and no further bridging visa is needed. Check VEVO before heading to the airport so you know which visa you are flying on.
What happens if my partner visa is refused while I am overseas?
A bridging visa does not cease the instant a refusal is made — it generally continues for a set period after you are taken to have received the decision, commonly 35 days, and generally continues through a review lodged in time. Re-entering Australia is a separate question and should not be assumed. Review deadlines are short and vary by case, so your refusal letter is the authority. Get advice before travelling close to a likely decision.
The bottom line
The bridging visa B exists because real life does not pause for a partner visa queue, and the system accepts that.
It is no longer cheap, though. At $575 an application, the planning matters more than it did.
Lodge four weeks out. Describe the travel honestly and attach the documents. Ask for a period that fits the plan.
And think hard about any trip booked late in the processing window.
That is where a manageable situation turns into an expensive one.
Prepare it properly, yourself
The Partner Visa Premium Toolkit — AUD $199
The interactive checklist we use on paid client files, tailored to your exact pathway — 820/801, 309/100 or 300. Step-by-step ImmiAccount walkthrough, form guides, a sample relationship statement, and progress tracking on every item. Built by a registered migration agent, not scraped from a forum.
- Interactive checklist for your subclass, with practitioner notes on every item
- ImmiAccount walkthrough, screen by screen
- Form guides, plus a sample relationship statement
- Police check and health examination sequencing
- Progress tracking and reminders across your devices
One-time payment · instant access via Gumroad · works on all your devices. The toolkit is a self-help resource and is general information only — it is not migration advice for your circumstances.
Take the free visa assessment to scope the evidence your BVB needs — or download the DIY Review Package and prepare it yourself.
Related reading
About the author
Sam lodges bridging visa B applications for partner visa clients regularly, and spends most of the work getting the travel statement specific and the evidence attached. Every BVB is sequenced against the partner visa timeline so clients are not booking flights against a decision they cannot see coming.
Sources
- Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth), Schedule 2, Subclass 020 — Bridging B, including the substantial reasons criterion and the specified travel period
- Migration Act 1958 (Cth), ss 66 and 82 — notification of decisions and when a bridging visa ceases
- Department of Home Affairs — Bridging visa B (subclass 020)
- Department of Home Affairs — Current visa pricing and the pricing estimator
- Department of Home Affairs — Travel while your visa is being processed
This article is general information only and is not immigration or legal advice for any particular person. Visa charges, processing times and policy change without notice — confirm current figures with the Department of Home Affairs before lodging or booking travel, and rely on your own grant or refusal letter for the dates and conditions that apply to you. For case-specific advice, take the Millennium Migration free assessment. Current as of October 2026.