Lodging a Bridging Visa A (010): Matching the Lodgement Channel to the Substantive Visa (2026)

If your substantive visa application went in through ImmiAccount, your Bridging visa A (BVA) (Subclass 010) has to go in through ImmiAccount. If it went in on a paper form, or if you have since applied for review of the decision on it, the BVA has to go in by webform using Form 1005. The Australian Department of Home Affairs states this on its official Bridging visa A (BVA) (Subclass 010) page as at the August 2026 version: "You must apply for the BVA in the same way you applied for your substantive visa." This article sets out those published rules for general reference only — it is not advice on any individual matter, and the operative text remains the Department's current page together with the Migration Regulations 1994.

Do you need a separate BVA application at all?

Usually not. Nearly all bridging visas are applied for automatically as part of applying for a substantive visa, and the Department says it will tell you when that happens. Before lodging anything, check in VEVO whether you already hold a BVA.

A separate application may be necessary where:

your substantive visa application did not also constitute an application for a BVA
you were granted a BVA or a Bridging visa B (BVB) that 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

A bridging visa cannot be used to wait out a citizenship application.

Which channel matches how your substantive visa was lodged?

How the substantive visa application was lodged	Channel for the BVA	What is lodged
Online through ImmiAccount	ImmiAccount	Online BVA application
By paper form	Webform	Form 1005
Refused, and you have applied for merits review	Webform	Form 1005
Judicial review of the refusal	Webform only	Form 1005

The channel follows the substantive application, not your preference and not the office that happens to be handling your file.

Is the channel a formal requirement, or just a routing preference?

It is a requirement. The Department's instruction is expressed as "must", and the same page repeats it twice: ImmiAccount for online substantive applications, webform for paper applications and for anyone who has applied for review of a decision on a substantive visa application.

At the regulatory level, the subclass 010 criteria in clause 010.211 of the Migration Regulations 1994 sit behind that instruction — including the requirement that the substantive application was made in Australia, is of a kind that can be granted while the applicant is in Australia, has not been finally determined, and that the applicant held a substantive visa when it was made. Departmental procedural guidance treats the Schedule 1 validity items (form, place of lodgement, identity, substantive visa status, cancellation history, detention status) as the first checkpoint in a BVA decision, and lists failure to meet those validity requirements among the most common refusal grounds. Read together, that is why a mismatched channel is a defect in the application rather than an administrative inconvenience.

The practical cost is timing. The Department does not give updates on application processing times, so an applicant waits to be contacted. A channel problem that only surfaces after the last substantive visa has ceased is the expensive kind.

Why does the webform give you only one chance to attach documents?

Because the two channels behave differently after submission. If you apply through ImmiAccount and did not attach all documents when you applied, the Department says to attach them as soon as possible in ImmiAccount. If you apply by webform, you must attach all documents before you submit — you cannot attach extra documents afterwards.

That asymmetry means the webform package has to be complete at the moment of submission. The documents the Department asks for include:

colour copies of the pages of your current passport showing your photo, personal details, and passport issue and expiry dates
a national identity card, if you have one
proof of change of name, where relevant — a marriage or divorce certificate, change of name documents from an Australian Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages or the relevant overseas authority, or documents showing other names you have been known by
proof of hardship, where you are asking for a change to your visa conditions; departmental procedural guidance describes financial evidence such as bank statements, debt records and household expenses being assessed against a claim that you need to work

Assume an applicant lodges by webform seeking a BVA without work restrictions and leaves the financial evidence out, expecting to send it later. On the published rules there is no later: the submission is final as to attachments, and the only remaining route for further material is a request from the Department, which should be answered in the manner set out in the request letter. If you later discover an error in what you did submit, the mechanism is Form 1023 Notification of incorrect answers.

Must everyone be in Australia, and at which points?

At two points. You and anyone included in your application must be in Australia when you lodge the BVA application, and you and anyone included must be in Australia when the decision is made. Being offshore at either moment defeats the application.

Family members need separate checking rather than assumption. If you applied together for a substantive visa in Australia, you might also have applied together for a BVA — check each family member in VEVO. If you apply separately for a BVA, you can include members of the family unit in your BVA application if they are included in your substantive visa application, and the Department will assess each member and decide which bridging visa they can be granted. Departmental guidance also flags lodging the wrong bridging class — a BVA where a Bridging visa C was the applicable class — as a recurring defect.

What changes once the substantive visa has been refused?

The channel moves to webform and stays there. If you have applied for merits review of the decision on your substantive visa application, the BVA goes in by webform. If the tribunal upholds the refusal and you move to judicial review, you still need a bridging visa to remain lawful during those proceedings, and the Department's page states that a person who has applied for judicial review can only apply for a bridging visa by webform. Procedural guidance adds that a BVA or BVB must be held when the judicial review application is made, and refers to a 35-day period for filing after the tribunal decision; the current text of the regulations and any applicable court orders govern that.

The cease dates matter to anyone planning around a refusal. For a BVA granted on or after 19 November 2016, the visa ceases 35 calendar days after the refusal decision or an Administrative Appeals Tribunal decision on the associated substantive application, a determination that the application or review application is invalid, or withdrawal of the substantive application or review application. It ceases 28 calendar days after a judicial review body upholds the refusal, or after withdrawal of a related judicial review application. For BVAs granted before 19 November 2016, the Department lists 28 days across the equivalent events. The BVA does not support return travel: leaving Australia while it is in effect ends it, and returning during substantive processing requires a BVB granted before departure.

Who may be paid to help with this application?

The visa itself is free — the Department records the cost as "Free". Help is the part that can cost money, and it is regulated. Only some people can give immigration assistance for a visa application: a registered migration agent, a legal practitioner, or an exempt person. Anyone at all can be appointed to receive documents on your behalf about your visa matter.

Appointment is done on paper forms. Form 956A appoints or withdraws an authorised recipient; Form 956 appoints a registered migration agent, legal practitioner or exempt person. These are uploaded to ImmiAccount where the substantive visa was applied for online; where the substantive application was made on paper, documents go to the office assessing that application, which is identified in the acknowledgement letter. The Department's own advice is to read its who-can-help information before paying anyone.

What should you expect after lodging?

The Department will tell you when it has received the application and documents, and will not give processing-time updates in the interim. Submitting early is what protects your lawful status, since you must hold a valid visa while both the bridging visa and the substantive visa application are processed.

Certain changes have to be reported after lodgement — changes to phone number, email, address or passport, the birth of a child, and any decision to withdraw the application. If the visa is granted, there is no passport label: the visa is digitally linked to the passport, and the grant email carries the visa grant number, start date and any conditions, so a copy should be kept with you in Australia.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I lodge a BVA in ImmiAccount if my substantive visa was lodged on a paper form?

No. Where the substantive visa application was made by paper form, the BVA application must be submitted by webform using Form 1005. The Department's rule is that the BVA is applied for in the same way the substantive visa was applied for.

Can I add documents to a webform BVA application after submitting it?

No. Documents must all be attached before the webform application is submitted, and extra documents cannot be attached afterwards. The ImmiAccount route is different: documents not attached at lodgement should be attached as soon as possible in ImmiAccount.

Do I need to apply for a BVA separately from my substantive visa?

Usually not, because nearly all bridging visas are applied for automatically as part of the substantive visa application and the Department tells you when that happens. A separate application may be needed where the substantive application did not also constitute a BVA application, a previous BVA or BVB ceased, you are seeking a BVA without work restrictions, or you have applied for judicial review.

Does everyone included have to be in Australia?

Yes, at two points — when the BVA application is lodged and when the decision is made. Members of the family unit included in the substantive visa application can be included in a separate BVA application, and each is assessed individually for which bridging visa can be granted.

How long does a BVA last after the substantive visa is refused?

For a BVA granted on or after 19 November 2016, it ceases 35 calendar days after the refusal decision, an Administrative Appeals Tribunal decision on the associated application, a determination that the application or review application is invalid, or withdrawal of the substantive or review application. It ceases 28 calendar days after a judicial review body upholds the refusal or a related judicial review application is withdrawn.

Can I travel overseas on a BVA and come back on it?

No. A BVA in effect ceases on departure from Australia and does not support return travel. Travelling and returning while the substantive visa application is processed requires a Bridging visa B granted before you leave.