One of the most common questions I hear from clients who have been in Australia for years — sometimes a very long time — is whether the time they spent on bridging visas counts towards their citizenship residence requirement. It is a reasonable question, and the answer is: sometimes yes, sometimes no. Let me break it down clearly.
What Is the Citizenship Residence Requirement?
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To apply for Australian citizenship by conferral, you generally need to have been lawfully residing in Australia for at least four years immediately before applying. Within that four-year period, you must have held permanent residency for at least 12 months. You also cannot have been absent from Australia for more than 12 months in total during that four years, with no more than 90 days of absence in the 12 months before applying.
That is the basic rule. But the residency calculation gets complicated when bridging visas are involved.
What Is a Bridging Visa?
A bridging visa is a temporary visa that allows you to remain lawfully in Australia while you are waiting for a decision on a substantive visa application — typically a permanent residency application. There are several types (A, B, C, D, E, and R), each with slightly different conditions. The key word is lawfully. Bridging visas keep you lawful. But lawful residence and permanent residence are not the same thing under the Australian Citizenship Act 2007.
Does Bridging Visa Time Count?
For the overall four-year lawful residence period
Yes. Time spent on a bridging visa — where you are living lawfully in Australia — generally counts toward the four-year total. If you have been in Australia continuously on a temporary visa or bridging visa, that time contributes to your overall period of lawful residence.
For the 12-month permanent residency requirement
No. Time on a bridging visa does not count as time spent as a permanent resident. You need to hold a permanent visa — such as a subclass 187, 186, 820/801, or 189/190 — for at least 12 months before you can apply for citizenship. A bridging visa, even if attached to a pending permanent visa application, is not a permanent visa.
A Common Scenario
Here is a situation I see regularly: a client arrives in Australia on a subclass 482, transitions to a 186 nomination, lodges their permanent residency application, and then waits 18 months on a Bridging Visa A while the 186 is processed. They have been in Australia for four years continuously. Do they qualify for citizenship as soon as the 186 is granted?
Not immediately. They will need to hold the permanent visa for 12 months after grant before they can apply for citizenship. But all those years on temporary and bridging visas still count toward the four-year total — they just need to add 12 months of permanent residency on top.
What About Permanent Bridging Visas?
The Bridging Visa R (BVR) is a special case. It is designed for people who have been in Australia for a very long time without resolution of their immigration status. In exceptional cases, the Minister has discretion to determine that time on certain bridging visas can count toward the permanent residency requirement — but this is not available to most applicants.
Absences and Bridging Visas
Another common source of confusion: what happens if you leave Australia while on a bridging visa? A standard Bridging Visa A does not permit re-entry if you leave. You need a Bridging Visa B to travel and return. If you leave on a BVA and your underlying permanent visa application is still pending, your BVA ceases on departure.
For citizenship purposes, any time spent outside Australia counts as an absence regardless of what visa you held. Keep your absences under 12 months in the four-year window, and under 90 days in the 12 months before applying.
When Can You Apply for Citizenship?
To summarise the key eligibility criteria:
- You must have held a permanent visa for at least 12 months
- You must have been lawfully in Australia for at least four years before applying (this includes time on temporary and bridging visas)
- Your absences must meet the limits above
- You must not have been in immigration detention during the four-year period
- You must pass the citizenship test and interview
Once You Meet the Residence Requirement
Once you have confirmed you meet the residence requirement, the next major step is the citizenship test. The test covers Australian values, history, and government, and while many applicants underestimate it, structured preparation makes a significant difference. Resources like CitizenshipPrep offer practice questions based on the official resource booklet, which can help you walk into the test room feeling ready rather than anxious.
Is It Worth Getting Advice First?
Bridging visas are often a frustrating limbo — you are in Australia, you are lawful, but you do not yet have the certainty of permanent residency. The good news is that the Australian Citizenship Act does recognise this time as part of your residence history. You just need to be clear on which requirement each period of time counts toward. If you are unsure whether your particular residence history qualifies, a consultation with a registered migration agent can save you from lodging too early and receiving a refusal — or from waiting unnecessarily when you were already eligible.
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Reviewed by VisaTasker Migration Services
MARA Registered Migration Agent · MARN 2318017
This article is written and reviewed by VisaTasker Migration Services, a MARA-registered migration agency based in Australia. As registered agents, we are bound by the Migration Agents Code of Conduct and required to provide accurate, up-to-date advice based on Australian migration legislation. Information is reviewed against the latest Department of Home Affairs policy.
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