Head to head · Checked 30 October 2026
Bridging Visa A vs Bridging Visa C
Both keep you lawful while a visa application is decided; what you held on the day you lodged decides which one you get. Lodge while a substantive visa is in effect and the Bridging Visa A follows, carrying the conditions of the visa you held, usually with work rights, and with a Bridging Visa B available for travel. Lodge after your visa has expired and the Bridging Visa C follows, with no work rights unless you apply and show financial hardship, no travel facility at all, and a record of having been unlawful that the next application reads. The difference is the reason to lodge before the visa ends, not after.
By Keshab Chapagain, registered migration agent (MARN 1576536) since 2015 · WIDEN, Sydney · Reviewed 30 October 2026
Keshab Chapagain · MARN 1576536 · Registered since 2015 - When granted
- A valid onshore application lodged while a substantive visa is held · A valid onshore application lodged while unlawful, or while holding only a BVC or BVE
- Comes into effect
- When the substantive visa ends · On grant, in the ordinary case
- Work
- Usually the work rights of the visa held; a no-work condition can be lifted on hardship · No work rights unless granted on an application showing financial hardship
- Travel
- Apply for a Bridging Visa B ($575) before leaving; return on it · None; leaving Australia ends the visa and there is no return on it
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About the CPD →Side by side
| Bridging Visa A | Bridging Visa C | |
|---|---|---|
| When granted | A valid onshore application lodged while a substantive visa is held | A valid onshore application lodged while unlawful, or while holding only a BVC or BVE |
| Comes into effect | When the substantive visa ends | On grant, in the ordinary case |
| Work | Usually the work rights of the visa held; a no-work condition can be lifted on hardship | No work rights unless granted on an application showing financial hardship |
| Travel | Apply for a Bridging Visa B ($575) before leaving; return on it | None; leaving Australia ends the visa and there is no return on it |
| Ends | 35 days after a refusal if no review; otherwise with the review or on grant | 35 days after a refusal if no review; otherwise with the review or on grant |
| Section 48 | Not affected: you held a substantive visa when you applied | Section 48 may already apply, limiting what you could lodge |
| Watch out | The conditions it inherits, including 8503 where the earlier visa carried it | The unlawful period before it, which every later application asks about |
Charges are the current government application charges (from 1 July 2026, main applicant) — see the fee calculator for your family's total. Checked 30 October 2026.
The honest verdict
Both keep you lawful while a visa application is decided; what you held on the day you lodged decides which one you get. Lodge while a substantive visa is in effect and the Bridging Visa A follows, carrying the conditions of the visa you held, usually with work rights, and with a Bridging Visa B available for travel. Lodge after your visa has expired and the Bridging Visa C follows, with no work rights unless you apply and show financial hardship, no travel facility at all, and a record of having been unlawful that the next application reads. The difference is the reason to lodge before the visa ends, not after.
Which side of that line you fall on depends on facts a table cannot hold — your age, score, occupation's lists, and what evidence you can actually assemble. That is consultation territory, not guesswork territory.
More head-to-heads: 482 vs 494 · 190 vs 491 · 189 vs 190 · 482 vs 186
General information only, not migration advice. Settings shown are the general rules; exemptions and stream variations exist. Migration advice is provided by Keshab Chapagain (MARN 1576536) after a paid consultation under the Migration Agents Code of Conduct.
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Questions we get asked first
Bridging Visa A or Bridging Visa C — which is better?
Both keep you lawful while a visa application is decided; what you held on the day you lodged decides which one you get. Lodge while a substantive visa is in effect and the Bridging Visa A follows, carrying the conditions of the visa you held, usually with work rights, and with a Bridging Visa B available for travel. Lodge after your visa has expired and the Bridging Visa C follows, with no work rights unless you apply and show financial hardship, no travel facility at all, and a record of having been unlawful that the next application reads. The difference is the reason to lodge before the visa ends, not after.
What is the main difference between the Bridging Visa A and the Bridging Visa C?
When granted: Bridging Visa A — A valid onshore application lodged while a substantive visa is held; Bridging Visa C — A valid onshore application lodged while unlawful, or while holding only a BVC or BVE. Comes into effect: Bridging Visa A — When the substantive visa ends; Bridging Visa C — On grant, in the ordinary case. Work: Bridging Visa A — Usually the work rights of the visa held; a no-work condition can be lifted on hardship; Bridging Visa C — No work rights unless granted on an application showing financial hardship.
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