Protection Visa Applicants Can No Longer Get a Bridging Visa B

Published 3 November 2026

From 1 November 2026, people who have applied for a Protection visa (subclass 866) can no longer apply for a Bridging visa B to travel overseas and return to Australia. Bridging visa B applications lodged before 1 November 2026 will continue to be processed.

EMC Australia graphic: from 1 November 2026, Protection visa applicants cannot get a Bridging visa B to travel and return

What changed

A Bridging visa B lets some people who are waiting for a visa decision travel overseas and come back to Australia. From 1 November 2026, people who have applied for a Protection visa (subclass 866) can no longer get a Bridging visa B for that purpose.

The Department of Home Affairs now says on its Bridging visa B page that from 1 November 2026, Protection visa applicants can no longer apply for a Bridging visa B to travel overseas and return to Australia.

Read the Home Affairs Bridging visa B page

What the law now says

The change was made by the Migration Amendment (2026 Measures No. 1) Regulations 2026, which amend the Migration Regulations 1994. They change both who can apply for a Bridging visa B and who can be granted one.

A Bridging visa B application now has to be connected to a valid application for a substantive visa other than a Protection visa, or to a court case about a decision on that kind of application. You cannot make a valid Bridging visa B application, or be granted one, while your Protection visa application has not been finally decided or withdrawn. That includes the time while a review of a refusal is under way. The same applies while a court case about a decision on your Protection visa application is still running.

The amending regulations say these changes apply to applications made on or after 1 November 2026.

Read the amending regulations on the Federal Register of Legislation

Bridging visa B applications already lodged

Home Affairs says Bridging visa B applications lodged before 1 November 2026 will continue to be processed.

If you already hold a Bridging visa B and its travel period has ended, Home Affairs says you cannot apply for another Bridging visa B or ask for further travel.

What if you leave Australia anyway?

The explanatory statement that accompanies the regulations is direct about the effect. It says that if a Permanent Protection visa applicant departs Australia, they will not be able to re-enter Australia.

It also says the change is not a ban on leaving Australia, although it may discourage applicants from leaving while their application is being decided.

Whether you can travel and return depends on the visas you hold and on where your application is up to, so get advice before you make any plans to travel.

Why the government made this change

The explanatory statement says restricting travel for this group is reasonable and necessary to reduce incentives to lodge Protection visa applications without merit, including as a way of keeping the flexibility to travel over a long period.

Practical steps

If you have a Protection visa application, a review or a related court case under way, do not book travel overseas until you have had advice. If you hold a Bridging visa B now, check when its travel period ends. Keep your contact details up to date with Home Affairs so you do not miss any letters or requests.

Home Affairs also says that applications for a Bridging visa A, B or C must be made online through ImmiAccount or the online webform.