Refused or cancelled onshore and blocked from reapplying? The Section 48 bar has exemptions. Registered migration agents in Brisbane who find the way through.
The Section 48 bar stops many people from lodging a new visa onshore after a refusal or cancellation. In plain terms, if you’re in Australia without a substantive visa and you’ve had a visa application refused, or a visa cancelled, while you were here, section 48 of the Migration Act blocks you from applying for most, but not all, visa types until you leave. The key words are “most, but not all”. There are exemptions, and working out which ones apply to you is the whole game.
Our registered migration agents in Brisbane deal with Section 48 situations as part of our complex case and waiver work. If a refusal has left you feeling boxed in, this page explains how the bar works, which visas escape it, and what options remain.
Section 48 applies when two things are true at once. You’re in Australia and you don’t hold a substantive visa, meaning you’re on a bridging visa or unlawful. And while you were onshore, you had a visa application refused, or a visa cancelled. Once both are true, you generally can’t lodge a further application onshore except for the visa types that are specifically carved out.
A few points people get wrong:
It’s about a refusal or cancellation that happened while you were in Australia. An offshore refusal doesn’t trigger it in the same way.
Being on a bridging visa doesn’t lift the bar. A bridging visa isn’t a substantive visa.
The bar doesn’t last forever. It applies while you remain in Australia without a substantive visa. Leaving changes the picture.
This is where the path usually opens up. Certain visa classes can still be applied for onshore even when the Section 48 bar applies. The exemptions are set out in the regulations and have been expanded over time. The ones that matter most in practice include:
Partner visas. Following a change in the rules, many people affected by the Section 48 bar can now lodge an onshore partner visa even after an earlier refusal, subject to the requirements. This has been a significant shift for couples. See our partner visa page.
Protection visas, in the appropriate circumstances.
Certain bridging visas and a small number of other specified subclasses.
Some medical treatment and other specified visas.
Because these carve-outs change, and because your eligibility depends on your exact history, the safe move is to have someone check the current list against your situation rather than assume you’re stuck.
Section 48 applies while you stay onshore without a substantive visa. For some people the cleanest route is to leave Australia and apply for the right visa from offshore, which the bar doesn’t restrict in the same way. That sounds simple, but it carries real risks. Leaving can trigger other problems, from re-entry issues to a period you can’t come back, and it can affect a relationship case or a pending review. It’s a decision to make with advice, not on impulse.
If your onshore option is a partner visa, you may clear the Section 48 hurdle only to meet Schedule 3, which affects onshore applicants who don’t hold a substantive visa. They’re separate problems, and the order you deal with them in matters. Our Schedule 3 waiver page explains that side.
A refusal that caused the bar can sometimes still be reviewed at the Administrative Review Tribunal, and the deadlines are strict and short. Review is separate from the bar, and pursuing it can keep options open. Meanwhile a bridging visa usually keeps you lawful while things are sorted, though it doesn’t lift the bar itself. See our bridging visa and visa refusal and appeal pages.
We confirm whether the bar actually applies to you, because sometimes people assume it does when it doesn’t.
We check the current exemptions against your history and find the visas you can still lodge onshore.
We weigh the onshore exemption route against leaving and reapplying, with the risks of each laid out.
We handle any Schedule 3 issue that comes with an onshore partner application.
We keep your bridging visa in order and pursue review where it’s open and worthwhile.
We won’t pretend every case has a solution. Some don’t, and we’ll tell you that plainly. Many more have a path that isn’t obvious until someone reads the file properly.
It’s a rule in the Migration Act that stops a person who is onshore without a substantive visa from applying for most visa types after a visa refusal or cancellation that happened while they were in Australia. Some visas are exempt.
Yes, it can. A bridging visa isn’t a substantive visa, so being on one doesn’t lift the bar. What matters is that you don’t hold a substantive visa and have had an onshore refusal or cancellation.
The exemptions include partner visas in many cases, protection visas, certain bridging visas, and some specified subclasses. The list changes, so we’ll check the current position against your circumstances.
Following a rule change, many people affected by the bar can now lodge an onshore partner visa after an earlier refusal, subject to the requirements. Schedule 3 may also apply, so it’s worth getting advice first.
The bar restricts onshore applications while you remain here without a substantive visa. Applying from offshore isn’t restricted in the same way, but leaving carries its own risks and needs careful thought before you act.
It applies while you stay in Australia without a substantive visa. It isn’t a fixed time penalty. Your circumstances, not a set number of years, decide how long it affects you.
Sometimes. Review at the Administrative Review Tribunal may be available, with strict, short deadlines. Review is separate from the bar and can keep options open, so don’t sit on a refusal letter.
The bar and your bridging visa are different things. A bridging visa can keep you lawful while matters are resolved, though it doesn’t lift the bar. We’ll sort your status as part of the plan.
Maybe, but not always. Leaving is one option, not the only one, and the onshore exemptions may give you a better path. A second opinion from a registered agent is worth it before you make an irreversible move.
