Why Taking a Bridging Visa C over a Bridging visa E?

Brief overview of Bridging Visa C (BVC) and Bridging Visa E (BVE)

A Bridging Visa C (BVC) is a temporary visa granted if a valid application in Australia for a substantive visa is made (but you do not already hold a substantive visa).

BVC is automatically granted if you make a valid visa application while on a Bridging Visa A (BVA). However, a sperate application for a BVC can be made where:

you are seeking a further BVC without work restrictions
you have applied for judicial review

BVC cease one of the situations below:

your substantive visa application is refused or deemed invalid
your merits or judicial review is decided
you withdraw your application for the substantive visa, merits review or judicial review
a merits review tribunal tells you that it has no jurisdiction to consider your application for review

Depending on the reasons for the cessation of the BVC, it will cease 28 days or 35 days after a specific event occurs (this will not be elaborated further).

Whereas, Bridging Visa E (BVE) is utilised and granted to regularise your status in Australia; and there are 2 types of BVEs:

Bridging (General) visa (subclass 050) - generally if you are currently unlawful, the holder of a BVE 050 or the holder of a BVD 041
Bridging (Protection Visa Applicant) visa (subclass 051) - used in limited situations to allow certain eligible non-citizens (as specified by the Regulations) to remain lawfully in Australia while their protection visa application is being finalised.

Benefits of BVC over BVE

First and foremost, in what situation you will have a “choice” to opt in or out one of the two bridging visas; namely between BVC and BVE?

Most common situation is, for example, where your visa was cancelled, or you have been unlawful non-citizen for whatever reasons. Commonly one is advised by their legal practitioner or a migration agent to regularise their status by applying for a BVE. This is the right process in respect of regularising their status. However, that is all. What if you have one of the following situations (non-exhaustive list):

You are currently working (regardless of whether you have a work permit or not) and you wish to keep working for whatever reasons; and your remining option of applying for a visa in Australia is limited due to s 48 bar (that severely limits your ability to make a valid onshore visa application)
- In particular, for example, your only option to apply for is a protection visa.
You have been unlawful non-citizen and you wish to apply for a work visa and eventually, you wish to obtain a permanent residency in Australia.

If you apply for a BVE and is granted, the BVE cannot be “upgraded” to BVC.

What matters?

If you are on a BVE, you are not eligible to make a valid application for, for example, subclass 494, 491 and 191; whereas on a BVC, you can make a valid application for those subclass visas (provided you meet other requirements for a valid application for each subclass visa).