BVE / STATUS GUIDEBridging Visa E Guide
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Leaving Australia on a Bridging visa E and the 3-year re-entry ban (PIC 4014)

Updated 3 October 2026

Leaving Australia ends a Bridging visa E at once, and PIC 4014's 3-year re-entry ban then applies to visas that include it, unless a 28-day exception fits or the ban is waived. Under Schedule 4, PIC 4014(1) of the Migration Regulations 1994, the period runs from departure to the new application: unless an exception or waiver applies, that application must be made more than 3 years after departure. Schedule 2 includes PIC 4014 in 19 temporary visa subclasses, but no permanent visa. Home Affairs’ Bridging visa E subclass 050 page and section 82(8) of the Migration Act 1958 confirm that departure ends the BVE immediately.

A departure gate with an outward floor arrow and small stages

Under PIC 4014(5), leaving within 28 days after a substantive visa ends, or leaving holding a BVE granted within those 28 days, avoids this exclusion. A BVE gives no return travel, and clause 020.211 of the Migration Regulations 1994 makes a Bridging visa B unavailable to a BVE holder. Home Affairs’ Re-entry ban page says it does not remove the re-entry ban, but can set it aside if your new application explains qualifying compassionate or compelling circumstances. Removal is different: Schedule 5 special return criterion 5002 generally requires an application more than 12 months after removal for visas that include it, unless its waiver test is met. Start by finding when your last substantive visa ended and counting 28 days.

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Does the 3-year re-entry ban (PIC 4014) apply to you?

This table applies Schedule 4, PIC 4014(4)–(5) of the Migration Regulations 1994.

When you leave Bridging visa held PIC 4014 applies?
Within 28 days after a substantive visa ended Any bridging visa, or none No — PIC 4014(5)(a)
More than 28 days after A Bridging visa E granted within those 28 days No — PIC 4014(5)(b)(i)
More than 28 days after A Bridging visa E granted while you held a Bridging visa A that was granted while you held a substantive visa or within 28 days after one ended No — PIC 4014(5)(b)(ii)
More than 28 days after A Bridging visa E granted later, with neither grant-date exception above satisfied Yes, unless waived
More than 28 days after No visa: you leave as an unlawful non-citizen Yes, unless waived

PIC 4014(5) says “a substantive visa held by the person”, not “the last”. Your last visa’s end date is a useful starting point, but earlier visa and bridging visa grants may matter.

Day-count timeline: Day your substantive visa ends (day 0) → Day 28 (last day for the 28-day exceptions) → Day you leave Australia (your Bridging visa E ends) → 3 years after you leave (an application made after this point is outside PIC 4014).

This illustrates departure after day 28; departure can occur earlier. Under PIC 4014(1), it is the application date, not the decision date, that must be more than 3 years after departure.

At a glance

Label Value As at
Bridging visa E on departure Ends at once; no return travel — Migration Act 1958, s 82(8) Home Affairs subclass 050 page, 8 August 2025
Re-entry ban PIC 4014: 3 years from departure to the new application Schedule 4, 1 July 2026
28-day exceptions Leave within 28 days, or hold a BVE granted within that period; qualifying earlier bridging visa grants also count PIC 4014(5), 1 July 2026
Visas affected 19 temporary subclasses; no permanent visa Schedule 2, 1 July 2026
Waiver Ask in writing with the new application or before decision Home Affairs Re-entry ban, 25 September 2026
After removal Apply more than 12 months after removal, unless waived Special return criterion 5002, 1 July 2026

Day-28 cut-off: Under PIC 4014(5), leave Australia by day 28 after a substantive visa ends, or leave holding a Bridging visa E granted by then, and PIC 4014’s 3-year re-entry ban does not apply.

Can you travel on a Bridging visa E?

No — not for a trip with return travel on that visa. Home Affairs’ Bridging visa E subclass 050 page says it “will end immediately if you leave Australia” and you cannot return unless you have another substantive visa; section 82(8) of the Migration Act 1958 gives the remain-only visa cessation rule.

You cannot get a Bridging visa B while holding a BVE, because clause 020.211 of the Migration Regulations 1994 requires a BVB applicant to hold a Bridging visa A or B.

If you stay after your BVE ends without another visa, sections 13–14 of the Migration Act 1958 make you an unlawful non-citizen, and section 189 requires an officer who knows or reasonably suspects that status to detain you.

PIC 4014 after a BVE: who gets the 3-year re-entry ban?

Schedule 4, PIC 4014(1) and (4) of the Migration Regulations 1994 identifies:

  1. People who left as unlawful non-citizens — meaning they did not hold a visa in effect.
  2. People who left holding a Bridging visa C, D or E, unless a PIC 4014(5) exception applies.
  3. For either group, applications for visas containing PIC 4014: grant requires an application more than 3 years after departure, or the Minister’s satisfaction that the waiver circumstances justify earlier grant.

Home Affairs’ Re-entry ban page, updated 25 September 2026, says an exclusion period “may last for up to 3 years, although some people can be permanently excluded”, and may apply “if you overstay your visa by more than 28 days”. That summary is not the whole BVE rule: departure on a BVE can itself trigger PIC 4014 unless an exception fits; PIC 4014 governs.

Schedule 4, PIC 4013 is a separate 3-year exclusion after certain cancellations, including for having “worked without authority”, applying to the same 19 subclasses.

PIC 4020 is a different public interest criterion and is not covered on this page.

“Exclusion period” here means the PIC 4014 period, not a school or childcare exclusion.

The 2026 arrival control determinations under sections 84A to 84D of the Migration Act 1958 suspend temporary visas held by specified classes of people because of an event outside Australia, do not apply to anyone in the migration zone when a determination commences, and are not the PIC 4014 3-year re-entry ban.

The arrival control law is one of the dated Bridging visa E new rules this guide lists.

Which 28-day exceptions apply?

Schedule 4, PIC 4014(5) of the Migration Regulations 1994 provides three exceptions:

Exception Exact words of PIC 4014(5) What it means if you leave on a Bridging visa E
(a): departure within 28 days “the person left Australia within 28 days after a substantive visa held by the person ceased to be in effect” You left by day 28; no PIC 4014 exclusion, whatever bridging visa you held.
(b)(i): bridging visa grant within 28 days “a bridging visa held by the person at the time of departure was granted: (i) within 28 days after a substantive visa held by the person ceased to be in effect” Your BVE was granted, not just applied for, by day 28.
(b)(ii): qualifying earlier bridging visa “…(ii) while the person held another bridging visa granted: (A) while the person held a substantive visa; or (B) within 28 days after a substantive visa held by the person ceased to be in effect” Your BVE was granted while you held, for example, a Bridging visa A obtained in time.

Applying for a BVE before day 28 is not enough for PIC 4014(5)(b)(i): the exception looks at the grant date.

For what to do in the first days after expiry, see Visa expired or overstayed in Australia.

Which visas does the 3-year re-entry ban affect?

Schedule 2 of the Migration Regulations 1994 includes PIC 4014 in these 19 temporary subclasses:

  1. Subclass 400 — Temporary Work (Short Stay Specialist)
  2. Subclass 403 — Temporary Work (International Relations)
  3. Subclass 405 — Investor Retirement
  4. Subclass 407 — Training
  5. Subclass 408 — Temporary Activity
  6. Subclass 410 — Retirement
  7. Subclass 417 — Working Holiday
  8. Subclass 461 — New Zealand Citizen Family Relationship (Temporary)
  9. Subclass 462 — Work and Holiday
  10. Subclass 482 — Skills in Demand
  11. Subclass 500 — Student
  12. Subclass 590 — Student Guardian
  13. Subclass 600 — Visitor
  14. Subclass 601 — Electronic Travel Authority
  15. Subclass 602 — Medical Treatment, except where clauses 602.212(6)–(8) apply
  16. Subclass 651 — eVisitor
  17. Subclass 771 — Transit
  18. Subclass 773 — Border, except persons in clause 773.213(1)(d)(i)(A)–(B)
  19. Subclass 988 — Maritime Crew

Schedule 2 does not include PIC 4014 for subclass 995, whose Part requires only PIC 4021, any permanent visa, or partner subclasses 309, 100, 820 or 801. Home Affairs’ Re-entry ban page, updated 25 September 2026, nevertheless says for permanent applications: “We will consider your immigration history”.

The PIC 4014 re-entry ban therefore does not stop “any visa”; it affects visas whose criteria include it.

How do you ask for a waiver of the 3-year re-entry ban?

Under Schedule 4, PIC 4014(4) of the Migration Regulations 1994, earlier grant may be justified by:

  • compelling circumstances affecting Australia’s interests; or
  • compassionate or compelling circumstances affecting the interests of an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen.

The Minister must be satisfied that those circumstances justify grant within the 3 years.

Home Affairs’ Re-entry ban page, updated 25 September 2026, says: “We will not remove a re-entry ban, but you can ask us to set it aside (waive it)”. Its process is:

  1. Apply for the visa you want. Ask for the waiver within that application, rather than through a separate waiver form.
  2. Explain the circumstances in writing. Identify whose interests are affected and provide supporting evidence.
  3. Provide the explanation with the application or before decision. Home Affairs states: “Failure to provide this information will result in your visa being refused.”

A waiver case may be why you need a Bridging visa E lawyer. An Australian migration lawyer can check whether the written explanation addresses the legal test, matches the evidence and leaves out no essential documents.

How you leave: departure conditions and help to leave Australia

  1. A Bridging visa E for leaving. Clause 050.212(2) of the Migration Regulations 1994 allows a BVE for someone making, or the subject of, acceptable departure arrangements.

    Under Schedule 8, condition 8509 requires, within 5 working days after grant, a valid substantive visa application or showing an officer a ticket to a country the Minister is satisfied will admit you. Condition 8510 requires showing a passport in force, or making satisfactory arrangements to obtain one, within the Minister’s specified time. Condition 8511 requires showing an officer an acceptable outward ticket within the specified time. Condition 8512 requires leaving Australia by the date the Minister specifies.

    These departure requirements sit alongside the other Bridging visa E conditions; check which appear on your grant notice.

  2. Help to leave through the Status Resolution Service. Home Affairs’ Help to leave page, updated 24 April 2025, describes confidential Return and Reintegration Assistance Program (RRAP) counselling, help with travel documents or a passport, flight bookings and possible reintegration help. It says departure counselling “does not affect any ongoing immigration matters”.

  3. Leaving voluntarily or being removed. If your BVE ends without another visa, sections 13–14 and 189 of the Migration Act 1958 establish unlawful status and mandatory detention; section 198 requires removal as soon as reasonably practicable in its specified cases. Home Affairs’ If you don’t have a valid visa page says it can bill you for removal costs.

After removal or deportation: when you can come back

More than 12 months after removal is the application timing required by Schedule 5, special return criterion 5002 of the Migration Regulations 1994 for visas containing it, after removal under sections 198, 199 or 205. Its compelling or compassionate circumstances exception can permit earlier grant.

PIC 4014’s 3-year rule can also apply to the 19 temporary subclasses because removal as an unlawful non-citizen is a qualifying departure, subject to PIC 4014(5)’s exceptions. Schedule 4, PIC 4004 requires no outstanding Commonwealth debts unless payment arrangements are made, and section 210 of the Migration Act 1958 makes removed people liable for removal costs.

Removal after an overstay is distinct from deportation: a person deported under a deportation order faces a permanent bar under Schedule 5, special return criterion 5001.

Frequently asked questions

Does PIC 4014 stop a partner visa application made from outside Australia?

No. Schedule 2 of the Migration Regulations 1994 does not include PIC 4014 for partner subclasses 309, 100, 820 or 801, though Home Affairs says it considers immigration history for permanent visas.

When do the 3 years start?

On the day you leave Australia. Under Schedule 4, PIC 4014(1), an application made more than 3 years after that departure is outside the period.

Does asking for help to leave affect my visa matter?

No. Home Affairs’ Help to leave page says RRAP departure counselling is independent and “does not affect any ongoing immigration matters”.

Leaving Australia and your next visa

  1. Check onshore options before departure. Before you leave, check whether you can apply for another visa while on a Bridging visa E. Section 76 of the Migration Act 1958 does not itself prevent another visa application because you hold a bridging visa, but other application restrictions can apply.

  2. Do not rely on a BVB as the travel route. The Bridging visa B (subclass 020) allows return travel, but clause 020.211 of the Migration Regulations 1994 requires a Bridging visa A or B holder, not a BVE holder.

  3. Check the dates and written evidence. This guide’s wider BVE information is available through the Bridging Visa E Guide.

An Australian migration lawyer can compare substantive visa end dates, bridging visa grant dates and your planned departure against PIC 4014(5). The grant date—not merely the application date—can determine whether an exception fits. For a waiver request, a lawyer can check the written explanation, evidence consistency and missing documents before lodgement: Home Affairs’ Re-entry ban page says failure to provide the required information will result in refusal.

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