BRIDGING VISA REVIEW – ISSUES PAPER.doc

BRIDGING VISAS – SOME FACTS What is a Bridging Visa? Bridging Visas are the means by which non-citizens who otherwise would not hold a visa can gain or maintain lawful status while a further visa application is under consideration, while they make arrangements to depart Australia, or in other circumstances where immigration detention is inappropriate. Bridging visas were introduced into Migration Legislation in 1994 in the context of mandatory detention. Under the Migration Act 1958, non-citizens in Australia without a valid visa are unlawful and must be detained if they are not granted a visa. The circumstances in which a bridging visa may be granted include where a non-citizen: has made an application for a substantive visa that has not been decided either by a delegate or a merits review tribunal; has applied for judicial review in relation to an application to refuse or cancel a substantive visa; is awaiting the outcome of a request for the exercise of the Minister’s intervention powers; or is making arrangements to depart Australia. Key Principles Two key principles underpin Bridging Visa policy: bridging visas are the means by which non-citizens can gain or maintain lawful status during the processing of an application or while making arrangements to depart Australia to prevent unnecessary detention, but otherwise they are not intended to bestow any other advantage on the non-citizen (ie by way of access to other visa categories, access to work rights, or other support and assistance); and that people who apply for another substantive visa whilst lawful will have access to a broader range of visa options, but those who are unlawful and/or detained/detected in the community can only access a restricted range of visa options with less generous conditions. Types of Bridging Visas There are seven different classes of Bridging Visas with different conditions based upon the class of visa applied for, the person’s immigration status at the time they apply for a f