Not every visa fits neatly into family, work or study. This page covers the visas people need for the situations in between. Visiting. Returning after a long absence. Staying lawfully while something else is being decided. Coming for medical treatment.
They have little in common with each other, but they share one thing. People tend to look at them late, when a date is already close.
For tourism, visiting family, or short business trips. The central question is whether you genuinely intend a temporary stay and will leave at the end of it. Applications are refused far more often than people expect, usually on that point rather than on paperwork.
For permanent residents who have been outside Australia and need to travel back, or whose travel facility has expired. What you need to show depends on how long you have been away and what ties you have kept to Australia.
If you are a permanent resident planning a long period overseas, this is worth understanding before you go rather than after.
Bridging visas keep you lawful while something else is being decided. There are several types, they carry different work and travel rights, and the differences matter a great deal in practice.
The one that catches people is travel. Some bridging visas allow you to leave and return. Others do not, and leaving means the application you are waiting on can be affected.
For recent graduates of Australian qualifications. It sits here as well as under study because many people reach it from a different direction.
For young people from eligible countries, allowing work and travel. Conditions apply to how long you can work for one employer, and specified work can extend the stay.
For young people from eligible countries, allowing work and travel. Conditions apply to how long you can work for one employer, and specified work can extend the stay.
For people coming to Australia for medical treatment or supporting someone who is. It is also used in some circumstances by people already here who need to stay for treatment.
Most of these visas turn on the same underlying question. Can you show that your intention matches what the visa is for, and that you will comply with its conditions.
That question is answered with evidence about your circumstances. Ties to your home country. Employment. Family. Property. Travel history. Financial capacity. None of these is decisive on its own, and a weakness in one area can often be offset by strength in another, provided it is addressed rather than ignored.
Applying too late. Several of these visas take longer than people assume.
Assuming a previous grant guarantees the next one. Each application is decided on its own facts, and circumstances change.
Travelling on the wrong bridging visa.
Treating a visitor visa application as a formality. It is a substantive application, and a refusal creates a record that affects later applications.
Letting a visa expire. Becoming unlawful, even briefly, has consequences that take real work to undo.
We advise on which of these visas fits, prepare the application, and deal with the department. Where something has gone wrong already, including a refusal, an expiry or a cancellation, we can advise on what options remain.
Come to us before a date passes rather than after. The options are almost always wider.
Call 1300 368 933 to talk through your situation with an immigration lawyer.
