Can My Partner Work While Waiting for PR in Australia?
Yes. Most partners who are in Australia and listed on a PR application can keep working while the Department of Home Affairs decides the case. The key is the bridging visa your partner receives and the conditions that come with it.
PR processing can take months or even years. For most families, a second income during that wait is not a luxury. It pays rent, school fees and visa costs. That is why this is one of the most common questions we hear from skilled, employer sponsored and partner visa applicants.
- Your partner gets a Bridging Visa A (BVA). It usually keeps the same work rights as the visa they held when you applied.
- If their old visa had a limit (such as 48 hours per fortnight on a student visa), the BVA keeps that limit. They can apply for a new BVA with no work limit, but they must show a strong need to work, usually financial hardship.
- Onshore partner visa (820/801) applicants usually get a BVA with full work rights.
- A partner who is offshore gets no bridging visa and cannot work in Australia until the PR is granted.
- Always check VEVO. Condition 8101 means no work. Working outside your conditions can put your PR at risk.
- Once your partner has PR applied for and permission to work, they can usually enrol in Medicare.
How Bridging Visa Work Rights Work for Partners
When you apply for PR from inside Australia, every family member on the application who is also in Australia is usually granted a bridging visa. Your partner is a secondary applicant, so they get their own bridging visa with their own conditions.
Three simple rules decide whether your partner can work:
- Which bridging visa they hold. A BVA or BVB is the most common. A BVC is given when someone was unlawful at the time of applying.
- Which conditions it carries. A bridging visa usually copies the work conditions of the visa your partner held when the PR application was lodged.
- When it comes into effect. A BVA only starts when your partner’s current visa expires. Until then, the rules of the current visa still apply.
Bridging Visa A Work Rights: What Your Partner Keeps
The simplest way to predict your partner’s bridging visa A work rights is to look at the visa they hold today. The table below shows the usual outcome.
| Visa / Situation | Usual Work Rights | Can Work Rights Be Changed? |
|---|---|---|
| Partner's visa when PR was lodged | Usually BVA work rights | Can they ask for more? Yes, by applying for a new BVA and showing a compelling need to work. |
| Student Visa (500) or Student Dependant | Limited to 48 hours per fortnight during study periods | Yes, by applying for a new BVA and showing a compelling need to work. |
| Skills in Demand or TSS (482) Family Member | Usually no work limit | Not needed |
| Temporary Graduate (485) Family Member | Usually no work limit | Not needed |
| Skilled Work Regional (491) Family Member | Usually no work limit, but regional living and work conditions can carry over | Get advice before moving city |
| Working Holiday (417/462) | Six-month limit with one employer can carry over (condition 8547) | Yes, a new BVA can remove it if there is a compelling need |
| Visitor Visa (600) with no work condition | No work (condition 8101) | Yes, but hard to get without a compelling need; partner visa applicants are the main exception |
| Onshore Partner Visa (820/801) Applicant | Usually full work rights | Not needed |
Partner Visa Bridging Visa Work Rights (820/801 and 309/100)
If you are an Australian citizen or permanent resident and your partner applied onshore for the Partner visa (subclass 820/801), their Bridging Visa A usually comes with full work rights. They can work full time for any employer while the case is processed.
If your partner applied offshore for the Partner visa (subclass 309/100), there is no bridging visa. They cannot work in Australia until the 309 visa is granted. After the 309 is granted, they can live, work and study here while waiting for the permanent 100 stage.
Read more in our Partner Visa Australia guide
482 and 186 Bridging Visa Work Rights for Partners
Many families apply for the Employer Nomination Scheme visa (subclass 186) while the main applicant is on a 482 visa. Partners on a 482 family visa usually already have unrestricted work rights, so their bridging visa keeps them.
The main applicant is different. Their BVA usually keeps the rule that they must work for their sponsor. This rule applies to the sponsored worker only. It does not limit the partner.
See our 186 visa guide to understand the full employer sponsored pathway.
189, 190 and 491 Secondary Applicant Work Rights
For skilled PR visas such as the Skilled Independent 189 visa and the Skilled Nominated 190 visa, your partner’s secondary applicant work rights depend on their current visa. Here are the three most common situations:
- Partner on a 485 or 482 family visa: usually full work rights continue on the BVA.
- Partner on a student or student dependant visa: the 48 hour per fortnight limit usually continues on the BVA.
- Partner outside Australia: no bridging visa, so no Australian work rights until PR is granted.
The 491 visa is a provisional visa, not PR. Partners on a 491 can work, but they must follow the regional conditions. The PR step comes later through the 191 visa.
How to Apply for Work Rights on a Bridging Visa A
If your partner’s bridging visa limits their work, they can ask for a new one. Here is the simple process:
- Check the current conditions in VEVO. Look for 8101 (no work), 8104 or 8105 (limited hours) or 8547 (six months per employer).
- Confirm the case for a compelling need to work. This usually means financial hardship, such as rent, bills and savings that cannot cover the wait.
- Gather evidence. Bank statements, lease or mortgage papers, bills, a household budget and a short personal statement.
- Lodge a new bridging visa application through ImmiAccount, or with Form 1005 if the PR was lodged on paper.
- Wait for the decision before working more hours. The old limit stays in place until the new BVA is granted.
A refused request does not usually harm the PR application itself, but it does keep the old limit. A registered migration agent can help you build a stronger hardship case.
Common Mistakes That Put Your Partner's Work Rights at Risk
- Assuming the BVA gives full work rights without checking VEVO.
- Working over 48 hours per fortnight on a student linked BVA.
- Leaving Australia on a BVA without first getting a BVB.
- Letting the current visa expire before lodging PR, which can lead to a BVC with no work rights.
- Not including the partner in the PR application at all.
FAQs
Our PR Is Lodged but the BVA Is "Not in Effect". Which Rules Apply?
The rules of the current visa apply. A BVA only switches on when the current substantive visa expires. If your partner holds a 485 with full work rights that runs for another year, they keep those rights for that year, then move onto the BVA.
I Got My PR Invitation but My Partner Is Overseas. Can They Come and Work?
No. A partner outside Australia does not receive a bridging visa. They cannot enter and work on the strength of your PR application alone. They could visit on a visitor visa, but that visa does not allow work. Once PR is granted, they can move and work without limits.
Will Working Extra Hours Hurt Our PR Application?
It can. Working beyond your bridging visa conditions is a breach. It can lead to visa cancellation and can seriously damage the PR case. If your partner needs more hours, apply for a new bridging visa first.
Can My Partner Change Jobs on a Bridging Visa?
Usually yes, if their conditions allow work. A partner without an employer tied condition can change jobs freely. Working holiday makers are the exception. Their six month per employer rule can carry over to the bridging visa.
Bridging Visa A Medicare: Can Your Partner Enrol?
Often yes. Services Australia says a person who has applied for PR and lives in Australia can enrol in Medicare if they have permission to work. If they do not have permission to work, they can still enrol if their partner, parent or child in Australia is a citizen or permanent resident. Parent visa applicants are excluded.
In practice, this means your partner can often get a Medicare card once they hold a bridging visa with work rights.
Travelling on a Bridging Visa: Does a BVB Keep Work Rights?
If your partner leaves Australia on a BVA, the BVA ends. To travel and return, they need a Bridging Visa B (BVB) before leaving. A BVB keeps the same work conditions as the BVA, so work rights do not change when they come back within the travel period.
Can my partner work while waiting for PR in Australia?
Yes, in most cases. If your partner is in Australia and included in your PR application, they get a bridging visa that usually keeps the work rights of their current visa.
Can I work full time on Bridging Visa A?
Only if your BVA has no work limit. If it shows condition 8104 or 8105, you are limited to the hours stated until a new BVA without that condition is granted.
Can I work while waiting for a partner visa?
If you applied onshore for the 820/801 visa, your BVA usually has full work rights. If you applied offshore for the 309/100 visa, you cannot work in Australia until the 309 is granted.
Does a bridging visa give the same work rights as the previous visa?
Usually yes. A BVA or BVB normally carries over the work conditions of the visa held when the new application was lodged. Partner visa applicants are a common exception, as they usually get full work rights.
How do I check my partner's bridging visa work rights?
Use VEVO (Visa Entitlement Verification Online) with their passport and visa grant number. It lists every condition on the visa.