Bridging visa E Form 1008: a part-by-part guide, including Part E (permission to work)
Updated 3 October 2026
Form 1008 is the paper application for a Bridging visa E, used when you cannot apply in ImmiAccount, and it must be posted or handed over, never faxed or emailed.
Form 1008, design date 09/24, on the Home Affairs website has 11 parts, A to K, and 28 questions; Part E (questions 15 to 19) asks about different conditions, including permission to work. Complete it in English: type into the fields, or print it and use a pen and block letters. The form requires a residential address in Australia, not a post office box; leaving it out makes the application invalid. Every applicant aged 18 or over signs the declaration in Part K, question 28.
This guide covers Form 1008 for a Bridging visa E (subclass 050 or 051): when to use paper, what each part asks, what Part E’s questions ask, and where to lodge it.
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At a glance
| Label | Details |
|---|---|
| Form | Home Affairs Form 1008, “Application for Bridging E visa”, design date 09/24 |
| Parts | A to K, questions 1 to 28, in Form 1008 |
| Charge | A$0 as at 1 July 2026, under item 1305 of Schedule 1 to the Migration Regulations 1994 |
| Fax or email | Not accepted since 31 July 2024 under section 7 of LIN 21/045 |
| Online version | Form 1008 (Internet) in ImmiAccount, approved under LIN 21/045 only if no other Bridging visa E application of yours is pending |
Form 1008 part by part
The following table follows Form 1008, design date 09/24, on the Home Affairs website.
| Part | What it asks | Who fills it in |
|---|---|---|
| Part A — Personal details, questions 1–4 | Name, date of birth, whether you or anyone included is in immigration detention, and residential address in Australia. A post office box is not accepted; without a residential address, the application is invalid. | Main applicant |
| Part B — Contact details, questions 5–7 | Correspondence address, telephone numbers, and whether you agree to fax, email or other electronic contact. This is consent to receive contact, not permission to lodge by email. | Main applicant |
| Part C — Passport or travel document, question 8 | Passport or travel document details. | Main applicant |
| Part D — Application details, questions 9–14 | Choose one ground and answer its question: substantive visa application (10), Ministerial intervention (11), judicial review—review by a court (12), review of a visa cancellation (13), or departure arrangements (14). Question 14 asks about departure date, method, destination, passport and ticket, open court or tribunal matters, any waiver sought, and any earlier departure bridging visa and why you did not leave. | Main applicant |
| Part E — Change of Bridging visa conditions, questions 15–19 | Whether you want different conditions, permission to work, financial details, a protection application delay explanation, or another condition change. | Applicants seeking different conditions |
| Part F — Additional applicants, questions 20–21 | Family members included and whether all applicants rely on the same grounds. | Main applicant lists family members |
| Part G — Additional information, question 22 | Outstanding visa applications, merits review, judicial review, Ministerial intervention requests and other steps to resolve your status. The note says you must satisfy the Department you will comply with conditions and, if asked, lodge a security (bond). | Main applicant |
| Part H — Assistance with this form, questions 23–25 | Whether someone helped, their details, whether that person is a legal practitioner or an exempt person, and whether you paid them or gave a gift. | Main applicant |
| Part I — Options for receiving written communications, question 26 | Communications to yourself, an authorised recipient using form 956A, or a legal practitioner or exempt person using form 956. | Main applicant |
| Part J — Character, question 27 | Charges, convictions, family or domestic violence orders, warrants, security matters, people smuggling, removal or deportation, overstays in any country, and Australian Government debts. Give details and court documents for any “yes” answer. | Main applicant gives every applicant’s answers |
| Part K — Declaration, question 28 | Accuracy, the privacy notice in form 1442i, possible conditions and forfeiture of a security, and the declaration about becoming unlawful when the visa ceases. | Every applicant aged 18 or over signs and dates it |
The information page in Form 1008 refers to “Part G – Options for receiving written communications”, but the form itself puts this in Part I, question 26; Part G is “Additional information”. Follow the question numbers.
Paper lodgement
Section 7 of the Migration (Arrangements for Bridging visa applications) Instrument 2021 (LIN 21/045), as replaced from 31 July 2024, specifies these methods.
| Lodging method | Where or how |
|---|---|
| By post | An office of Immigration in Australia |
| In immigration detention | Hand it to an officer |
| In person | At an interview with an officer |
| Fax or email | Not accepted |
When do you use Form 1008 instead of ImmiAccount?
- You cannot apply through ImmiAccount. Form 1008, design date 09/24, says to use the paper form if you “cannot make the application using your ImmiAccount”.
- Another Bridging visa E application of yours is pending. Under section 4(4)–(5) of LIN 21/045, Form 1008 (Internet) is not then an approved form, so use paper. “Pending” means the application was made, is not invalid or withdrawn, and has not been granted or refused.
- You are applying from immigration detention or at an interview with an officer. Section 7 of LIN 21/045 provides for handing the paper form to an officer in detention, or applying in person at an interview outside immigration clearance.
Home Affairs’ Bridging visa E (subclass 050) page calls online application “the preferred method”.
What does each part of Form 1008 ask?
Use the full walkthrough above alongside Form 1008, design date 09/24, on the Home Affairs website. This question-number guide helps you find the relevant fields.
| Part | What it asks | Who fills it in |
|---|---|---|
| A, questions 1–4 | Personal details and residential address | Main applicant |
| B, questions 5–7 | Contact details and electronic contact consent | Main applicant |
| C, question 8 | Passport or travel document | Main applicant |
| D, questions 9–14 | The ground for applying and related details | Main applicant |
| E, questions 15–19 | Different conditions, including permission to work | Applicants seeking different conditions |
| F, questions 20–21 | Additional family applicants and shared grounds | Main applicant |
| G, question 22 | Additional information about resolving immigration status | Main applicant |
| H, questions 23–25 | Help received in completing the form | Main applicant |
| I, question 26 | Who receives written communications | Main applicant |
| J, question 27 | Every applicant’s character answers | Main applicant |
| K, question 28 | Declaration and signatures | Every applicant aged 18 or over |
Part E of the BVE form: what questions 15 to 19 ask
A Bridging visa E’s conditions are not varied on the visa you hold. Form 1008 Part E is how you apply for a new Bridging visa E with different conditions.
The following questions are from Form 1008, design date 09/24, on the Home Affairs website.
| Question | What it asks | Who answers it |
|---|---|---|
| 15 | Are you applying for a bridging visa with different conditions? If no, go to question 20. | Anyone who holds a Bridging visa E and wants new conditions |
| 16 | Are you seeking permission to work on the basis of financial hardship? If no, go to question 19. | An applicant asking to work |
| 17 | Savings available in A$; how you have supported yourself; regular overseas income; whether you or a family member currently work; weekly family income and total weekly expenses in A$; and family in Australia not included, with reasons they cannot support you. It asks for weekly-expense evidence, such as receipts, bills and bank statements, “even if you have given the information to the Department previously”. It warns: “The person who decides your application may have only this information to consider.” | Applicants who answered yes at question 16 |
| 18 | Whether you hold a Bridging visa E and seek work permission because you have an “acceptable reason for delay” in lodging your protection application; when the claim arose; and why you did not apply when you first arrived, covering arrival to application. | Protection visa applicants |
| 19 | Which conditions other than permission to work you want changed, and why. The form’s information page gives examples: changed departure arrangements, an intention to lodge a visa application, or a changed period for obtaining and presenting a travel document. You must also show you will comply with the conditions requested. | Anyone seeking another condition change |
How to show financial hardship, and what it means, are explained under Bridging visa E work rights.
Question 18 concerns a protection applicant holding a subclass 050 visa with a work restriction; it does not identify eligibility for subclass 051, so check Who gets subclass 051.
Adding family members to Form 1008
- Include family members seeking the same criteria in Part F, question 20. Form 1008 has spaces for applicants 2 to 6, each with a residential address. Question 21 asks whether everyone relies on the same grounds; a family member relying on different criteria completes a separate Form 1008. The form refers to form 1496i for “member of the family unit”, and each adult signs Part K. Item 1305(3)(d) of Schedule 1 to the Migration Regulations 1994 allows family-unit members to apply together.
- Do not lodge a Form 1008 for the birth of a child in Australia to a Bridging visa E holder. Under section 78 of the Migration Act 1958, the child is taken to have been granted the same visa on the same conditions.
Where do you lodge the paper BVE form?
- By post to an office of Immigration in Australia. Home Affairs’ Bridging visa E (subclass 050) page says to use the nearest Visa and Citizenship Office “as you might need to attend an interview”. Find the office through Home Affairs’ offices and locations page.
- In immigration detention, hand it to an officer. This is a paper-lodgement method under section 7 of LIN 21/045.
- In person, at an interview with an officer. Section 7 of LIN 21/045 allows this method, but not in immigration clearance.
Never lodge it by fax or email. Section 7 of the Migration (Arrangements for Bridging visa applications) Instrument 2021 (LIN 21/045), as replaced by LIN 24/045 from 31 July 2024, excludes both methods.
If you are in immigration detention, a detention review officer for your State or Territory must have been informed of the application under item 1305(3)(c) of Schedule 1 to the Migration Regulations 1994.
Other questions about completing the form
Is Form 1005 a Bridging visa E form?
No. Home Affairs Form 1005 is for a Bridging visa A, B or C; the Bridging visa E form is Form 1008.
Can I fill in Form 1008 by hand?
Yes. Form 1008 says to complete it in English, either by typing or using a pen and block letters. If you need more space, attach a separate signed sheet.
Can I give a post office box as my address?
No. Form 1008 requires your residential address in Australia; without one, the application is invalid. You can give separate correspondence details in Part B.
Which version of Form 1008 should I use?
Use the version with design date 09/24, published on the Home Affairs form listing and checked on 3 October 2026.
Form 1008 or the online Bridging visa E application
Form 1008 (Internet) is the Bridging visa E application made in ImmiAccount, approved since LIN 21/045 commenced on 1 July 2021, provided no other BVE application of yours is pending. Paper Form 1008 is for the situations explained above: inability to apply in ImmiAccount, another pending BVE application, detention or an interview with an officer.
Home Affairs’ Form 1005, design date 09/24, is the application for a Bridging visa A, B or C, not a Bridging visa E.
Both routes are compared in the guide to the Bridging visa E application. For the wider visa context, see the Bridging Visa E Guide.
This is general information, not personal legal advice. This guide is not a government site or a law practice.
Before lodgement, an Australian migration lawyer can check your Part E figures against the supporting documents and identify missing or inconsistent information. Form 1008 warns that the decision-maker “may have only this information to consider”, so submit complete figures and supporting receipts with the application rather than relying on a later request. A lawyer can also check that the ground selected in Part D fits your circumstances, because the applicable condition rules in the Migration Regulations 1994 depend on the basis for the new BVE.