Status · Unlawful non-citizen
Unlawful in Australia — Bridging Visa E, the s48 Bar and the Way Back
Being in Australia without a visa is a status, not a crime, but every day it continues narrows the options and strengthens the consequences. There is a lawful way to deal with it in almost every case, and the first step is the same for everyone: come forward on a Bridging Visa E before being located. This page explains what being unlawful means, which visas can still be applied for onshore, the exclusion periods, and how to choose between regularising and departing.
By Keshab Chapagain, registered migration agent (MARN 1576536) since 2015 · WIDEN, Sydney · Reviewed October 2026
Keshab Chapagain · MARN 1576536 · Registered since 2015 - First step
- Bridging Visa E — before being located
- Applying onshore after refusal or cancellation
- s48 bar, with limited exceptions
- Unlawful for more than 28 days then departing
- 3-year exclusion from most temporary visas
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In the extended consultation I establish how and when you became unlawful, whether any visa can still be applied for in Australia, what the exclusion consequences of departing would be, and set the sequence: bridging visa, application or departure, and the way back. The sooner it is done, the more that is open.
What it costs. $550 inc. GST for 60 minutes by video with Keshab Chapagain (MARN 1576536), credited in full against our professional fee if you engage WIDEN. Advice confirmed in writing after the call. There is no free consultation or free assessment.
Do not wait to be found. A person who comes forward and applies for a Bridging Visa E is treated differently, in law and in practice, from a person located by the Department. Detention and removal follow location; a bridging visa and time to deal with the situation follow coming forward.
What unlawful means
A non-citizen in Australia without a visa in effect is an unlawful non-citizen. It happens when a visa expires without a new application having been lodged, when a visa is cancelled, when a bridging visa associated with a refused application ends, or when a person entered without a visa. An unlawful non-citizen is liable to detention and removal, cannot work lawfully, and faces consequences that depend on how long the status lasts and how it ends.
Bridging Visa E
A Bridging Visa E (subclass 050) is the visa that makes an unlawful person lawful while they make arrangements to depart or to apply for a substantive visa. It is applied for in person or online, usually requires an interview, and is granted with conditions that may include reporting and no work. Work rights can be sought on financial hardship grounds. The BVE does not resolve the underlying problem; it buys lawful time to resolve it. Applying for it promptly is the single most important step, because it stops the clock on some consequences and changes how the Department deals with everything that follows.
The section 48 bar and its exceptions
Section 48 of the Migration Act 1958 bars a person who does not hold a substantive visa and who has had a visa refused or cancelled since last entering Australia from applying for most visas while in Australia. A person who simply overstayed, with no refusal or cancellation, is not barred by s48 and can apply for a substantive visa onshore, subject to Schedule 3 and other criteria. For a person who is barred, the exceptions are limited and specific: partner visas, protection visas, bridging visas, and a short list of others, each with its own criteria. Where no exception applies, the only way to apply is to depart and apply from outside Australia, which brings the exclusion periods into play.
Exclusion periods
A person who leaves Australia after being unlawful for more than 28 days faces a three-year exclusion from most temporary visas under Public Interest Criterion 4014, unless compelling or compassionate circumstances affecting an Australian citizen or resident, or Australia’s interests, are shown. A person whose visa was cancelled faces a three-year exclusion under PIC 4013 on the same terms. Neither criterion applies to permanent visas such as a partner visa, which is why the choice of the next visa shapes whether the exclusion matters. A person who departs within 28 days of becoming unlawful, on a bridging visa, avoids PIC 4014.
Regularise or depart?
If a substantive visa can be applied for onshore, with real prospects, regularising from the BVE is usually better: there is no exclusion, work rights may follow, and the person stays with family. If no onshore application is open, departing on a Bridging Visa E within the window that avoids PIC 4014, and applying from outside for a visa that is not subject to the exclusion, is often the right plan. The wrong plan is doing nothing: the status continues, the 28 days pass, and the person is eventually located.
Partner visas and Schedule 3
A person who is unlawful or holds only a bridging visa and applies for an onshore partner visa must meet the Schedule 3 criteria or have them waived for compelling reasons. The criteria are strict, the waiver is discretionary, and the evidence required is substantial: the relationship, the circumstances that led to the status, and the reasons the Department should not require the applicant to leave and apply from outside Australia. See partner visa Schedule 3.
General information only, current at October 2026; not advice on your own case. Outcomes depend on the Department’s assessment of each application; no registered migration agent can guarantee a result (Code of Conduct, Migration Agents Regulations). Keshab Chapagain, MARN 1576536.
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Is overstaying a visa a criminal offence in Australia?
No. Being an unlawful non-citizen is an immigration status with immigration consequences: liability to detention and removal, no work rights, exclusion periods and the s48 bar in some cases. It is not a criminal conviction.
What is a Bridging Visa E?
A bridging visa that makes an unlawful person lawful while they arrange to depart or apply for a substantive visa. It is the first step for anyone unlawful, applied for before being located.
Can I apply for another visa in Australia if I have overstayed?
If you have not had a visa refused or cancelled since you last entered, section 48 does not bar you, and an onshore application may be possible subject to Schedule 3 and the visa’s own criteria. If you have had a refusal or cancellation, only the s48 exceptions, including partner and protection visas, are open onshore.
What is the three-year ban?
Public Interest Criterion 4014 excludes a person who departed after being unlawful for more than 28 days from most temporary visas for three years, and PIC 4013 does the same after a cancellation, unless compelling circumstances are shown. Neither applies to permanent visas.
If I leave voluntarily will it be better?
Usually, and particularly if you leave on a Bridging Visa E within 28 days of becoming unlawful, which avoids the PIC 4014 exclusion. Leaving after removal or after long overstay carries the exclusion and is disclosed in every future application.
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