Bridging visa C (subclass 030), and when a Bridging visa E replaces it
Information checked against the supplied primary-source register on 3 October 2026.
A Bridging visa C, subclass 030, keeps eligible applicants lawful, excluding anyone who held a BVE since their last substantive visa, except a regulation 2.24A grant. The Migration Regulations 1994 and Home Affairs’ Bridging visa C page describe valid onshore applications made without a substantive visa.
A substantive visa excludes bridging, criminal justice and enforcement visas under the Migration Act 1958.
The BVC application charge is A$0 under Schedule 1 to the Migration Regulations 1994, checked against the charges effective from 1 July 2026.
Home Affairs’ Bridging visa C page says initial work rights are usually restricted, with exceptions for listed skilled/business applications; other work-rights eligibility requires financial hardship.
Home Affairs’ Bridging visa C page states that the BVC does not provide return travel.
Check your application, visa history and work restriction before relying on a BVC.
Bridging visa C at a glance
Who gets a Bridging visa C, its work and travel rules, and when a Bridging visa E replaces it.
| Full label | Details |
|---|---|
| Subclass | 030, in Class WC. |
| For | A person who made a valid onshore substantive visa application without holding a substantive visa, subject to the other eligibility requirements. |
| Application charge | A$0, checked against charges effective from 1 July 2026 and pricing retrieved on 24 September 2026. |
| Travel | No return travel. Departure ends a remain-only visa; departing on a BVC is a PIC 4014 risk factor, subject to exceptions. |
| Work | Usually no initial work rights, except for listed skilled/business applications. Other work-rights eligibility requires financial hardship. |
| Not available | Generally excluded after holding a Bridging visa E since the last substantive visa, except a BVE granted under regulation 2.24A. |
This card draws on Home Affairs’ Bridging visa C (subclass 030) page, dated 20 June 2025, the Migration Regulations 1994 and the Migration Act 1958. Eligibility, charge and departure rules have different source dates: the Regulations compilation used took effect on 1 July 2026, pricing was checked on 24 September 2026, and departure exceptions were checked against the 1 July 2026 text. Later amendments must be read alongside that Regulations compilation; it is not an unqualified statement of the law on 3 October 2026.
Who can get a Bridging visa C?
Bridging visa C eligibility depends on your substantive visa application, visa history, immigration clearance and detention status, according to Home Affairs’ Bridging visa C page and the Migration Regulations 1994.
The Migration Regulations 1994 set out these four eligibility checks:
- Substantive visa application. A valid onshore substantive visa application made without holding a substantive visa.
- Bridging visa E history. No BVE held since last holding a substantive visa, except a BVE granted under regulation 2.24A.
- Immigration clearance. Immigration cleared, or within the regulation 2.20(6) category.
- Detention status. Not in immigration detention and not escaped from detention.
“Immigration cleared” means having completed the immigration clearance process; it is a separate eligibility check under the Migration Regulations 1994. The regulation 2.20(6) category is an alternative specified in the BVC rule, not a general exemption from the other requirements.
Does a partner or protection application change the BVC rule?
Applying for subclass 820 or subclass 866 does not remove the BVC-history test under the Migration Regulations 1994, or guarantee a BVC or work rights. For a subclass 820 applicant without a substantive visa, clause 820.211(2)(d)(ii) also requires Schedule 3 criteria unless the Minister is satisfied there are compelling reasons not to apply them.
Bridging visa C work rights
No, if your BVC carries condition 8101 (no work), which prohibits work in Australia under Schedule 8 to the Migration Regulations 1994.
Home Affairs’ Bridging visa C page identifies initial work-rights exceptions for listed skilled/business applications. Other work-rights eligibility requires financial hardship, so not every BVC holder is prohibited from working.
How do you apply for BVC work rights?
Home Affairs’ Bridging visa C page says a holder with no work permission or a work restriction can apply for another BVC allowing work. The Department assesses financial-hardship evidence; if the work requirement is not met but BVC eligibility remains, the new BVC can retain the existing work restriction.
Home Affairs’ Form 1005, “Application for a Bridging visa A, B or C”, covers requests for different or nil conditions. Its instructions require a BVC holder seeking work permission to show a compelling need to work through financial hardship.
Home Affairs’ BVC application instructions say to apply in ImmiAccount if the substantive application was made there. For a paper substantive application or a bridging request following review, complete Form 1005 and upload it through the BVA/BVB/BVC webform.
How long does a BVC work-rights application take?
This guide does not have a verified BVC work-rights processing-time figure to quote.
What does a BVC with no conditions mean?
If condition 8101 is absent, that particular no-work prohibition under Schedule 8 to the Migration Regulations 1994 is absent. “No conditions” does not turn a BVC into a return-travel visa or permanent residence, and does not itself establish Medicare or Centrelink entitlement.
Home Affairs’ VEVO for organisations page explains that employers can check work entitlements with the visa holder’s permission. Employers should check the actual entitlement rather than assume it from the BVC label.
For the wider distinction between a visa’s work restriction and a request for different conditions, see permission to work on a bridging visa.
Can you travel on a Bridging visa C?
No, a Bridging visa C does not provide return travel, according to Home Affairs’ Bridging visa C page.
Leaving Australia is not prohibited, but the BVC is not a return visa. Under section 82(8) of the Migration Act 1958, a remain-only visa ends when its holder leaves Australia.
Can a BVC holder get a Bridging visa B?
No, holding a BVC alone does not meet the existing-visa requirement. Clause 020.211 of the Migration Regulations 1994 requires a Bridging visa B applicant to hold a BVA or BVB.
Does leaving on a BVC trigger a three-year exclusion?
A three-year PIC 4014 issue can arise after departure on a BVC, but only for later visa applications requiring that criterion. Under Schedule 4, PIC 4014 of the Migration Regulations 1994, departure as a BVC holder is a risk factor unless an exception applies.
Where the risk factor applies, PIC 4014 requires the later application to be made more than three years after departure, unless the Minister is satisfied that specified circumstances justify grant within that period. These are compelling circumstances affecting Australia’s interests, or compassionate or compelling circumstances affecting an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen.
PIC 4014(5) of the Migration Regulations 1994 excludes the departure risk factor where:
- the person left Australia within 28 days after a substantive visa held by them ceased;
- a bridging visa held at departure was granted within 28 days after a substantive visa held by them ceased; or
- a bridging visa held at departure was granted while the person held another bridging visa, and that earlier visa was granted while they held a substantive visa or within 28 days after a substantive visa held by them ceased.
PIC 4014 is not universal under the Migration Regulations 1994. In particular, it does not apply to partner subclasses 309, 820, 100 or 801.
How do you apply for a Bridging visa C?
Check the underlying eligibility before choosing the lodgement route. Home Affairs’ Bridging visa C page and Form 1005 identify the separate BVC application process; lodging a substantive application should not be treated as proof that a BVC has been granted.
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Firstly, check the underlying application and visa history. Check that the substantive application is valid and onshore. Review the BVE-history exclusion and regulation 2.24A exception against the Migration Regulations 1994.
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Secondly, use the route for your substantive application. Home Affairs says to apply for the BVC in ImmiAccount if that application was made there. For a paper substantive application or a review-stage bridging request, complete Form 1005, “Application for a Bridging visa A, B or C”, and upload it through the BVA/BVB/BVC webform; do not use BVE Form 1008.
How long does a Bridging visa C application take?
This guide does not have a verified BVC application processing-time figure to quote.
Other Bridging visa C questions
Is Class WC the same as subclass 030?
Yes. Under the Migration Regulations 1994, Class WC is the visa class containing Bridging visa C, subclass 030.
Does holding a BVC qualify you for Medicare?
Not by itself. Under the Health Insurance Act 1973, the relevant permanent-visa-applicant route also requires an application that has not been withdrawn or finally determined, is subject to parent-visa and other statutory exclusions, and requires either work authority or an Australian-citizen or permanent-resident spouse, parent or child.
Does holding a BVC qualify you for Centrelink?
This guide has not verified BVC-specific Centrelink eligibility. Services Australia’s Special Benefit page requires an approved temporary visa and other eligibility tests, including financial hardship and income and assets tests; that general rule does not settle subclass 030’s position.
What study rights does a BVC provide?
This guide has not verified a BVC-specific study-condition rule. Check your actual visa conditions before enrolment rather than relying on a rule for another bridging visa.
Bridging visa C or Bridging visa E: which applies to you?
Home Affairs’ Bridging visa C and subclass 050 Bridging visa E pages, together with the Migration Regulations 1994, distinguish these situations. The table gives decision context, not an eligibility determination.
| Situation | BVC position | BVE position or next check |
|---|---|---|
| Valid onshore substantive application made without a substantive visa; no disqualifying BVE history | BVC eligibility is relevant, subject to all other requirements. | Do not assume a BVE is necessary merely because no substantive visa was held when applying. |
| BVE held since the last substantive visa, other than a regulation 2.24A grant | The BVC rule excludes this history. | Assess the BVE application-status and situation requirements; there is no automatic replacement grant. |
| Only intervening BVE was granted under regulation 2.24A | That grant is excepted from the BVC-history exclusion. | The exception does not establish every other BVC requirement. |
| Person currently holds a substantive visa | The BVC is not the usual route for a new application made while holding that visa. | Home Affairs says a BVE application cannot be made in anticipation of becoming unlawful. |
| BVC has ended and no other visa is held | The person has no continuing lawful status from that BVC. | Check BVE eligibility and act promptly; an application is not itself a grant. |
The Migration Regulations 1994 require both an eligible application status and a qualifying situation for subclass 050. Sections 13–14 of the Migration Act 1958 mean that, if the BVC has ended and no other visa is held, the person is unlawful; selecting a BVE route does not itself restore lawful status.
Once you have held a Bridging visa E
Holding a BVE since your last substantive visa generally excludes a later BVC, except a regulation 2.24A grant, under the Migration Regulations 1994.
In that disqualifying-history situation, a BVE is the relevant bridging-visa route for a later substantive application. The Migration Regulations 1994 still require the applicant to meet the BVE application-status and situation requirements: choosing that route does not establish eligibility or produce an automatic replacement grant.
If your history includes a refusal, read the separate guidance on whether you can apply again after a visa refusal.
If your concern is an expired visa or a period without lawful status, see Visa expired or overstayed in Australia.
After checking the BVE eligibility requirements, use the application guidance to apply for a Bridging visa E.
If you are unsure which visa your documents identify, start with Which bridging visa do you hold.
For the broader BVE information and situation routes, return to Bridging Visa E Guide.
Before a later substantive visa application, an Australian migration lawyer can check your visa history against the BVC exclusion and regulation 2.24A exception in the Migration Regulations 1994.
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