Bridging visas for travel barred for protection visa applicants; training visas to lodge offshore
/The government has taken further steps to increase the integrity of Australia’s migration program beyond what was previously announced, with changes to discourage visa applications without merit.
Bridging visa B applications barred for protection visa applicants
From 1 November 2026, protection visa applicants will not be able to lodge an application for a Bridging visa B.
While bridging visas can be granted for a range of reasons, the most common is for a non-citizen who has lodged a visa application to remain in Australia lawfully until a decision is made on that application. There are some visa subclasses where this does not apply because that subclass cannot be approved if the visa applicant is in Australia, so an associated bridging visa is not granted.
While there are several bridging visas, only one allows the holder to leave and return to Australia: the subclass 020 – Bridging visa B.
Bridging visa Bs require an application, and applicants must be holders of either a Bridging visa A or Bridging visa B and must be in Australia at the time a Bridging visa B is lodged and approved, among other requirements.
New regulations now require that to validly lodge a Bridging visa B, the applicant must have:
lodged a substantive visa application, which is applying for a visa other than a bridging visa, a criminal justice visa, or an enforcement visa,
that substantive visa application has not been finally determined, which includes an application that has been refused and is awaiting a decision by the Administrative Review Tribunal (‘ART’), or proceedings have been lodged within time for judicial review which is also awaiting a decision, and
that substantive visa application was not a subclass 866 – Protection visa application.
This change is aimed at barring protection visa applicants who had their application refused but who are still in Australia and only holding a bridging visa, from the ability to leave Australia without foregoing their protection visa claim.
In this situation, protection visa applicants might want to leave Australia to lodge another substantive visa application. They cannot do this while in Australia because section 48 of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) and regulation 2.12 of the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth) only allow a select few applications to be made by non-citizens whose visa applications were refused in Australia and who do not hold a substantive visa.
Also, from 1 November 2026, protection visa applications to the ART will incur an upfront fee to validly lodge this application, which is $1863.50, 50 per cent of the standard fee. This is waived if they are in immigration detention or they combined this application. There are circumstances where the fee is refunded, such as if they are successful in their appeal.
Training visa applications must be lodged offshore from 12 November 2026
Another recent instrument will require subclass 407 – Training visa applications to be lodged when the applicant is outside Australia unless specified in an instrument not yet available.
This is a further measure to prevent onshore applicants from applying for this visa to prolong their stay in Australia beyond their original purpose. It seems to be overkill as it is a requirement that the nomination application must be approved for the visa applicant to validly lodge their corresponding application. The applicant’s suitability for a training visa is generally assessed as part of the nomination application.