Bridging visa R (subclass 070) and how it differs from a Bridging visa E

A Bridging visa R, subclass 070, is granted by the Minister, by invitation or without an application, to a person whose removal from Australia is not reasonably practicable.

Under the Migration Regulations 1994, BVR holders and certain former holders cannot validly apply for a Bridging visa E from 12 December 2025.

BVR means Bridging visa R; BVE means Bridging visa E. “Certain former holders” means people who became unlawful after holding a BVR and remained in the “migration zone”—the legal term used in regulation 2.08H of the Migration Regulations 1994. The restriction does not cover every person who has ever held a BVR.

Firstly, check your visa subclass and grant notice.

A written invitation must be accepted within 7 days under regulation 2.20A of the Migration Regulations 1994.

Regulation 2.08H also covers people who became unlawful after a BVR and remained in the migration zone.

Home Affairs’ Community Protection page, dated 1 October 2026, says the BVR framework has no power to impose curfew or electronic monitoring.

The comparison below separates BVR rules from Bridging visa E rules.

Information checked against the supplied primary sources on 3 October 2026.

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Bridging visa R and Bridging visa E.

The Migration Regulations 1994 provide the visa rules, alongside Home Affairs’ subclass summaries and dated Community Protection account. The Social Security (Special Benefit – Class of Visas) Determination 2025 provides the Special Benefit visa list. Medicare is governed separately by the Health Insurance Act 1973 and applicable orders, including the Health Insurance (Eligible persons and holders of Removal Pending Bridging visa) Order 2017.

Bridging visa R at a glance

The panel draws on the Migration Regulations 1994 and Home Affairs’ Community Protection page, dated 1 October 2026.

Who gets a Bridging visa R?

Eligible people receive a BVR through a written invitation or a grant without application, rather than an unrestricted public application process. Regulation 2.20 and Part 070 of the Migration Regulations 1994 cover relevant eligible classes, including people whose removal is not reasonably practicable and people with no real prospect of removal in the reasonably foreseeable future.

1. Written invitation. Under regulation 2.20A of the Migration Regulations 1994, a written Minister’s invitation must be accepted within 7 days. Clause 070.411 requires detention at grant for the ordinary Part 070 route.

2. Grant without application. Regulations 2.25AA and 2.25AB of the Migration Regulations 1994 provide applicable no-application grant routes. Section 195A of the Migration Act 1958 also allows the Minister personally to grant a detainee a visa in the public interest, without a duty to consider doing so. The detention-at-grant exception in clause 070.411 concerns the regulation 2.25AA/2.25AB routes; the routes do not all have identical criteria.

A written BVR invitation must be accepted within 7 days under regulation 2.20A of the Migration Regulations 1994.

Bridging visa R conditions

BVR conditions come from Part 070 of the Migration Regulations 1994 and depend partly on the grant route. These are six explanatory groups, not six conditions that universally apply to every holder.

1. Community conduct. Under Schedule 8 of the Migration Regulations 1994, condition 8303 (community conduct) states: “The holder must not become involved in activities disruptive to, or violence threatening harm to, the Australian community or a group within the Australian community.”

2. Reporting. Condition 8401 (reporting) in the Migration Regulations 1994 requires reporting at the times, places or in the manner specified by the Minister, orally or in writing. Part 070 contains an exception linked to condition 8621 (electronic monitoring), but that wording must be read alongside Home Affairs’ dated account of the court position. Electronic monitoring should not be treated as a currently available substitute for reporting.

3. Residential address. Condition 8513 (residential address notification) in the Migration Regulations 1994 requires notifying Immigration of the residential address within 5 working days of grant.

4. Grant circumstances. Condition 8514 (no material change in grant circumstances) in the Migration Regulations 1994 requires that, during the visa period, there be no material change in the circumstances on which the visa was granted.

5. Other mandatory and grant-route conditions. Part 070 of the Migration Regulations 1994 identifies additional BVR condition 8541, additional BVR condition 8542 and additional BVR condition 8543. For section 195A/regulation 2.25AA/regulation 2.25AB grants, it also identifies additional conditions in the 8551–8563 range, condition 8564 (no criminal conduct), additional BVR condition 8614, additional BVR condition 8616 and additional BVR condition 8625. This page does not explain every duty attached to these codes; check the actual grant notice rather than inferring an obligation from a code alone.

6. Community-protection conditions and court limits. Clause 070.612A of the Migration Regulations 1994 contains wording concerning condition 8620 (curfew) and condition 8621 (electronic monitoring). Home Affairs’ Community Protection page, dated 1 October 2026, says that following EGH19 there is no power under the BVR framework to impose either condition.

What did the High Court decide about Bridging visa R conditions?

The three developments concern different questions: detention, the earlier condition framework, and the later power to impose curfew or monitoring. They should not be read as one ruling.

1. NZYQ — orders made 8 November 2023. Home Affairs’ Community Protection material and government explanatory statements report that NZYQ v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs [2023] HCA 37 established that detention for removal cannot continue once there is no real prospect of removal becoming practicable in the reasonably foreseeable future. The date 8 November 2023 is the date of the orders, not a stated date of published reasons.

2. YBFZ — 6 November 2024. The explanatory statement for the Migration Amendment (Bridging Visa Conditions) Regulations 2024 describes YBFZ v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs [2024] HCA 40. It reports that the earlier curfew and electronic-monitoring provisions were “prima facie punitive” and could not be justified. The regulatory response on 7 November 2024 introduced a community-protection test; that response is historical law, not the final current position.

3. EGH19 — 18 March 2026, as reported by Home Affairs on 1 October 2026. Home Affairs’ Community Protection page reports EGH19 v Commonwealth of Australia and says the BVR framework has no power to impose condition 8620 (curfew) or condition 8621 (electronic monitoring).

Compilation 288 of the Migration Regulations 1994 still contains the relevant curfew and monitoring wording, while Home Affairs’ Community Protection page reports that EGH19 prevents its use. This account relies on the dated government report, not a direct reading of the EGH19 judgment. The printed wording alone should not be treated as present authority to impose those conditions.

When does a Bridging visa R end?

A Bridging visa R ends on the events specified in clause 070.511 of the Migration Regulations 1994.

1. The Minister gives notice that removal is reasonably practicable.
2. The Minister gives notice of a condition breach.
3. A new BVR is granted.

These are the clause 070.511 events in the Migration Regulations 1994, not an exhaustive account of every general visa-cessation power.

Bridging visa R or Bridging visa E: how do they differ?

Bridging visa R and Bridging visa E.

The Migration Regulations 1994 provide the grant, application and condition rules. The Social Security (Special Benefit – Class of Visas) Determination 2025 provides the limited visa-class comparison. The Health Insurance Act 1973 and the Health Insurance (Eligible persons and holders of Removal Pending Bridging visa) Order 2017 govern the separate Medicare pathways, alongside applicable BVE ministerial orders. Home Affairs’ Community Protection page supplies the dated curfew and monitoring account.

Home Affairs’ subclass 050 page, updated 8 August 2025, describes status resolution and departure arrangements. Its subclass 051 page, updated 27 March 2026, describes limited eligible protection-application situations. Neither summary makes those subclasses available to every person.

The Special Benefit determination, made 15 September 2025, lists subclass 070 but not subclasses 050 or 051. That list does not establish an individual’s payment entitlement or answer eligibility questions about other Centrelink payments.

For a BVE holder, the Health Insurance Act 1973 includes a permanent-visa-application pathway, subject to its requirements. These include an application that has not been withdrawn or finally determined, relevant exclusions, and either a qualifying family connection or authority to work. Applicable ministerial orders provide separate pathways; BVE Medicare eligibility is not confined to those orders.

The regulation 2.25AB change of 12 April 2024 removed the requirement to already hold a BVR for that no-application grant power. Under the Migration Regulations 1994, a BVE holder receiving a BVR through an applicable power is not equivalent to applying for a BVR in the ordinary way. A grant power and the validity of an application are separate questions.

Can a Bridging visa R holder apply for a BVE?

No—a Bridging visa R holder cannot validly apply for a BVE under regulation 2.08H of the Migration Regulations 1994 from 12 December 2025.

The restriction, introduced by the Migration Amendment (2025 Measures No. 1) Regulations 2025, also covers a person who became unlawful after holding a BVR and remained in the migration zone. It is not a blanket restriction on every former BVR holder.

Under regulation 2.08H of the Migration Regulations 1994, the permitted application classes for the covered groups are protection visas and BVRs. Permission under this rule does not guarantee validity under every other requirement, eligibility or grant.

What this means for a Bridging visa E holder

1. Do not import BVR restrictions into a BVE. The BVR-specific conditions identified here do not appear in the Part 050/051 condition lists of the Migration Regulations 1994. Home Affairs’ subclass 050 page directs holders to their grant letter and Visa Entitlement Verification Online (VEVO) for their actual conditions.

2. Check the direction of the visa change. Under regulation 2.25AB of the Migration Regulations 1994, a BVE holder is not automatically barred from a BVR grant through that applicable no-application power. A current BVR holder, or the specified unlawful former-holder group, faces the separate regulation 2.08H application restriction.

Is there a BVR application charge?

A$0: Schedule 1 item 1307 of the Migration Regulations 1994 sets a nil application charge. A nil charge does not create access to the written-invitation application route.

Are the February 2026 BVR figures current?

No. Home Affairs’ February 2026 Community Protection Summary recorded 342 holders, including 78 with electronic monitoring and 41 with curfew; those are historical figures preceding the EGH19 decision reported on its Community Protection page.

Is holding a BVR the same as community detention?

No. Under sections 197AB and 197AC of the Migration Act 1958, a residence determination leaves the person legally detained; holding a BVR is a visa arrangement.

For further reading about the BVE detention pathway, see Applying for a Bridging visa E from immigration detention. Do not assume that pathway is available to every BVR holder.

For dated BVE developments, read what changed for Bridging visa E holders in 2026.

For the broader visa types, see What is a bridging visa.

For the main BVE overview, return to Bridging Visa E Guide.

An Australian migration lawyer can check your current visa and BVR history against regulation 2.08H of the Migration Regulations 1994 before you lodge a BVE application. This checks whether the application restriction applies to you.