Australia Publishes 2 Conditions Visitors Must Meet to Extend Their Stay in the Country
- The Australian Department of Home Affairs published guidance on how visitors can legally extend their stay in the country
- Visitors who apply for a new visa before their current one expires may automatically receive a Bridging Visa A to cover the gap period
- Work rights on a Bridging Visa A depend on specific conditions, and applicants may need to prove financial hardship to access them
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The Australian Department of Home Affairs has published guidance outlining the steps and conditions that visitors must follow if they want to remain in Australia beyond their current visa's expiry date.
The guidance, available on the official Home Affairs immigration portal, covers bridging visas, expression of interest processes, and the work rights available to people waiting on a new visa decision.
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How to stay lawfully in Australia while awaiting a decision
Visitors who submit a new visa application before their existing substantive visa runs out will generally be issued a Bridging Visa A (BVA) automatically.
This visa activates the moment the current visa expires and keeps the holder in the country legally while authorities process the new application.
The department warned that cancelling a current visa does not bring a bridging visa into effect. Doing so will instead cancel the bridging visa and leave the person without legal status in Australia.
The conditions under which a bridging visa lets a person remain in Australia are:
1. Their current substantive visa has expired.
2. A decision on their new visa application has not yet been made.
Visitors must continue to meet all the conditions of their current visa until the bridging visa takes over.
Australia: Expression of Interest is not a visa application
For skilled visa categories that require an Expression of Interest (EOI), the department clarified that submitting an EOI does not count as a visa application and will not trigger the grant of a bridging visa. Eligibility for a bridging visa is only assessed once a valid visa application has been formally lodged.
Anyone whose visa is likely to expire before they receive an invitation to apply for a skilled visa must apply for a separate visa in the meantime. If no suitable visa option exists, the person must leave Australia before their current visa expires.
Australia: Work rights on a Bridging Visa
Whether a BVA holder can work in Australia depends on the conditions stated in their grant letter. Holders can also check their work restrictions through the Visa Entitlement Verification Online (VEVO) system.
If a BVA does not permit work, or places restrictions on it, the holder can apply for a new BVA with work rights. The following conditions apply:
1. The applicant must show they are experiencing financial hardship.
2. Applicants whose BVA was granted because they applied for judicial review of a substantive visa decision cannot apply for work rights.
3. Applicants who have applied for a protection visa cannot be granted work rights on a bridging visa.
4. Protection visa applicants seeking a bridging visa through judicial review who hold condition 8101 are not eligible to apply for work rights.
If the department finds the applicant does not meet the work requirement but remains eligible for a BVA, it will grant a new BVA carrying the same work restriction as the previous one.
Legit.ng reported that Australia listed five categories of people who can skip taking an English test while applying for the subclass 192 visa.
In a related story, Legit.ng reported that Australia had set the minimum English test score for foreigners seeking the subclass 192 visa.
Age limit for Australia subclass 192 visa
Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that Australia had shared the age limit for foreigners eligible to apply for its subclass 192 visa.
According to guidance published by the Australian Government Department of Home Affairs, applicants must be aged between 18 and 46 inclusive at the time of applying.
Anyone outside that range is not eligible to apply for the visa.
Source: Legit.ng
