Bridging visas and Resident Return Visas both help you stay lawful, but they solve very different problems: bridging visas keep you legal while a new visa is being decided, whereas RRVs protect your right to re‑enter Australia as a permanent resident.

Bridging visas: BVA, BVB, BVC

• A bridging visa is a temporary visa that keeps you lawfully in Australia after your current substantive visa expires and while a new visa application or review is being processed.
  
• Bridging Visa A (BVA) is the most common; it is granted when you lodge a new visa onshore while holding a valid substantive visa, and it usually activates when that current visa ends.
  
• Bridging Visa B (BVB) adds limited travel rights so you can leave and re‑enter Australia during a specific window while waiting for a decision; it must be applied for separately and is the only bridging visa that permits international travel.
  
• Bridging Visa C (BVC) can be granted if you apply for a visa while you are in Australia but do not hold a substantive visa at that time (for example after becoming unlawful); it generally has stricter conditions and no travel facility.
  

All bridging visas cease when your new visa is granted, refused and appeal rights finish, or when a tribunal/ministerial review is finally decided.

Resident Return Visas (RRV): 155 and 157

• RRVs are for current or former Australian permanent residents who want to keep or regain their travel facility so they can leave and re‑enter Australia while maintaining their permanent status.
  
• Subclass 155 RRV can give up to 5 years of travel rights if you have spent at least 2 years in Australia as a permanent resident or citizen in the last 5 years; if you do not meet that test but have strong ties, you might receive a shorter 1‑year travel facility instead.
  
• Subclass 157 RRV is a 3‑month travel facility that may be granted in special cases, often where you have compelling reasons for long absences but need to return to or briefly leave Australia.
  

Evidence for RRVs can include bank and tax records, property ownership or leases, employment contracts or offers, and personal ties such as a spouse, children or parents in Australia, along with explanations for time spent overseas.

If you are unsure which bridging visa you hold, whether you can travel, or how to maintain your permanent residency travel rights with an RRV, SEA can arrange a consultation with MARA agent Jessica Yuen (MARN: 2117701) to review your situation and plan your next steps.