Section 48 Bar After a Visa Refusal: Can You Apply for Another Visa in Australia?
Section 48 bar after a visa refusal: the important question is not simply whether you qualify for another Australian visa. It is whether the Migration Act permits you to make that particular application while you remain in Australia.
This distinction catches applicants by surprise.
A person may appear to meet the requirements for a student, skilled, employer-sponsored or family visa but still be unable to make a valid onshore application because:
- they are in Australia;
- they no longer hold a substantive visa;
- a relevant refusal or cancellation occurred after their last entry; and
- the proposed visa class is not one of the classes prescribed for Section 48 purposes.
Equally, a visa class may be prescribed under Section 48, but the application may still be invalid or unsuccessful because another application requirement or visa criterion is not satisfied.
Simon’s Principle
Section 48 does not determine whether you qualify for another visa.
It determines whether an application for that visa class can be made while you remain in Australia. Application validity, visa eligibility, immigration status and overall strategy must then be assessed separately.
What Section 48 Actually Does
Section 48 is an application restriction.
Where it applies, a person may apply in Australia only for a visa of a class prescribed in regulation 2.12 of the Migration Regulations.
The person cannot validly apply onshore for a visa of another class merely because:
- they satisfy the substantive visa criteria;
- an employer is willing to sponsor them;
- they have received favourable advice about their occupation;
- they have commenced another course;
- they have an Australian partner;
- they have lodged ART review; or
- their bridging visa remains in effect.
Section 48 Is Not a Visa Refusal Ground
Section 48 does not ordinarily determine whether the applicant meets the criteria for the proposed visa.
It operates earlier in the process.
A visa application that cannot validly be made does not proceed to the ordinary assessment of whether the visa should be granted.
That is why applicants can receive advice that they appear eligible for a visa but still be unable to lodge it from their present position.
Lawful Status Does Not Mean Open Application Options
A person may be lawfully present on a bridging visa and still be affected by Section 48.
A bridging visa is not a substantive visa.
The questions are therefore different:
- Lawful status: which visa is currently in effect?
- Conditions: what work, study and travel rights apply?
- Section 48: which visa classes can be applied for onshore?
- Visa validity: are the separate application requirements satisfied?
- Visa eligibility: can the grant criteria ultimately be met?
For the visa-status analysis, see:
Bridging Visa After a Visa Refusal: What Happens to Your Status?
.
The Five-Part Section 48 Test
A useful practical framework is:
Location → Visa Status → Refusal or Cancellation → Prescribed Class → Separate Validity Requirements
1. Is the Person in the Migration Zone?
Section 48 concerns applications made while the person is in the migration zone.
For most applicants, the practical question is whether they are physically in Australia when attempting to make the application.
2. Does the Person Hold a Substantive Visa?
Section 48 applies where the person does not hold a substantive visa.
A person holding only a bridging visa should not assume that lawful presence prevents Section 48 from applying.
Check:
- the current VEVO record;
- the original substantive-visa grant notice;
- its cessation date and conditions;
- all bridging-visa grant notices; and
- whether another substantive visa has since been granted.
3. Was There a Relevant Refusal or Cancellation After the Last Entry?
The Act covers specified refusals and cancellations occurring after the person last entered Australia.
For refusal cases, Section 48 generally concerns refusal of a visa for which the person applied, other than:
- refusal of a bridging visa; or
- certain character-based refusal decisions dealt with under separate provisions.
The Act also identifies particular cancellation powers that can engage Section 48.
The exact decision should be checked rather than relying on the broad statement that every refusal or cancellation has the same effect.
4. Is the Proposed Visa Class Prescribed?
Regulation 2.12 contains the classes that a Section 48-affected person may apply for while in Australia.
The list is specific. It is not an open discretion to permit any application considered deserving.
5. Are All the Other Application Requirements Satisfied?
Being included in regulation 2.12 removes only the Section 48 obstacle.
It does not remove:
- location requirements;
- visa-status requirements;
- invitation requirements;
- nomination or sponsorship requirements;
- time limits;
- approved-form and lodgement requirements;
- Schedule 3 criteria;
- No Further Stay conditions;
- health, character or integrity criteria; or
- any other statutory bar or application restriction.
Prescribed Does Not Mean Eligible
A visa appearing in regulation 2.12 means Section 48 does not itself prevent an application for that class. It does not mean the application is automatically valid, that the applicant meets its criteria or that the visa will be granted.
Why the Section 48 Restriction May Arise Later
Section 48 may not restrict a person immediately when a refusal occurs.
Suppose:
- a person holds a substantive visa;
- they lodge another visa application;
- the new application is refused; and
- their existing substantive visa remains in effect.
While the substantive visa continues, the person does not satisfy the requirement that they hold no substantive visa.
However, the refusal remains part of the Section 48 analysis.
If the substantive visa later ceases and the person remains in Australia, Section 48 may then restrict new onshore applications because:
- the person is still in Australia;
- they no longer hold a substantive visa; and
- the earlier refusal occurred after their last entry.
This is why the period before a substantive visa ceases can be strategically important.
The applicant may still need to consider:
- whether another valid application can be made before cessation;
- whether the refusal is reviewable;
- whether departure is required for another pathway;
- whether withdrawal of another pending application is relevant;
- whether a prescribed visa class may later be available; and
- what bridging-visa position will follow.
Where an application remains undecided, see:
Further Assessment in Australian Visa Applications
.
Withdrawal Before a Decision
A properly completed withdrawal ordinarily ends an undecided application without a refusal decision being made on that application.
That does not mean withdrawal is automatically the correct strategy.
Withdrawal may:
- end any chance of grant from the existing application;
- affect a bridging visa connected with the application;
- leave another existing refusal relevant to Section 48;
- create the need for departure;
- affect review rights; or
- fail to solve the problem the applicant expected it to solve.
Which Visa Classes Are Prescribed Under Section 48?
As at the current compilation of the Migration Regulations, regulation 2.12 prescribes the following classes:
- Partner (Temporary) (Class UK);
- Partner (Residence) (Class BS);
- protection visas;
- Medical Treatment (Visitor) (Class UB);
- Territorial Asylum (Residence) (Class BE);
- Border (Temporary) (Class TA);
- Special Category (Temporary) (Class TY);
- Bridging A (Class WA);
- Bridging B (Class WB);
- Bridging C (Class WC);
- Bridging D (Class WD);
- Bridging E (Class WE);
- Bridging F (Class WF);
- Bridging R (Class WR);
- Resolution of Status (Class CD);
- Child (Residence) (Class BT);
- Retirement (Temporary) (Class TQ);
- Investor Retirement (Class UY);
- Skilled—Nominated (Permanent) (Class SN);
- Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) (Class PS); and
- Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) (Class PE).
Some of these classes are highly specialised, historic or relevant only to narrow groups.
The classes most commonly relevant in current private migration practice include:
- onshore Partner visas;
- certain Child visas;
- Medical Treatment visas;
- Protection visas, subject to any separate protection-application bar;
- bridging visas;
- subclass 190 Skilled—Nominated visas;
- subclass 491 Skilled Work Regional visas; and
- subclass 494 Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional visas.
The legislation and Regulations can change. The prescribed list and the separate application requirements should be checked at the time of lodgement.
Section 48 and Onshore Partner Visas
Partner visa classes are prescribed under regulation 2.12.
This means Section 48 does not necessarily prevent a person from making an application for the relevant onshore Partner visa class.
But this is where applicants frequently confuse validity with grant eligibility.
A person may be able to lodge the Partner visa application and still face a separate Schedule 3 problem because they did not hold a substantive visa at the relevant time.
Section 48 and Schedule 3 Are Different Problems
Section 48 asks:
Can this visa class be applied for while the person remains in Australia?
Schedule 3 may ask:
Can the visa be granted despite the applicant’s immigration status and circumstances?
An applicant should therefore examine:
- whether a valid onshore Partner application can be made;
- whether the relationship requirements are satisfied;
- which Schedule 3 criteria apply;
- whether compelling reasons need to be established;
- when those circumstances must exist;
- current visa and bridging-visa status;
- work and travel implications;
- the refusal and immigration history; and
- whether an offshore Partner pathway should also be compared.
Being Allowed to Lodge Is Not the Same as Being Able to Win
A Section 48-affected applicant should not lodge an onshore Partner visa merely because the class appears in regulation 2.12. The Schedule 3 position should be assessed before the application is used as a supposed solution.
See:
Onshore Partner Visa Australia
and:
How Schedule 3 for Partner Visas Actually Works
.
Section 48 and Subclasses 190, 491 and 494
The classes corresponding with subclasses 190, 491 and 494 are currently prescribed under regulation 2.12.
This can be strategically important, but it should not be reduced to:
“Section 48 does not matter because I can apply for a 190, 491 or 494.”
Each pathway has substantial additional requirements.
Subclass 190
A subclass 190 applicant ordinarily requires:
- a valid invitation to apply;
- state or territory nomination;
- an eligible nominated occupation;
- a suitable skills assessment;
- the required points and age position;
- the necessary English result; and
- compliance with all application-validity requirements.
Subclass 491
A subclass 491 applicant may require:
- a valid invitation;
- state or territory nomination or qualifying family sponsorship;
- an eligible occupation and skills assessment;
- the required points, age and English position;
- an intention to live, work and study in a designated regional area; and
- compliance with the separate application requirements.
Subclass 494
A subclass 494 application may involve:
- an eligible regional employer;
- an approved nomination;
- an eligible occupation;
- skills, work-experience and English requirements;
- age requirements or an available concession;
- regional requirements;
- the correct stream; and
- specific visa-status requirements for an applicant applying in Australia.
For example, the current Schedule 1 requirements for the subclass 494 class restrict which visas an applicant in Australia may hold at the time of application.
A person holding a Bridging E visa should therefore not assume that the class being prescribed under Section 48 automatically makes an onshore subclass 494 application valid.
The Skilled Exceptions Reward Preparation, Not Desperation
A person cannot usually create a subclass 190, 491 or 494 pathway immediately after refusal merely because those classes are prescribed. Invitations, nominations, sponsorships, skills assessments and other requirements may need to have been developed well before the refusal occurred.
Is There a Section 48 Waiver?
There is no general discretionary “Section 48 waiver” allowing Home Affairs to ignore Section 48 whenever an applicant has compelling circumstances.
This is often confused with other provisions.
Section 48B Is Not a Waiver of Section 48
Section 48A concerns restrictions on making a further Protection visa application after an earlier Protection visa refusal or cancellation.
Section 48B gives the Minister a personal power to determine that Section 48A does not apply to a particular person.
It does not operate as a general waiver of the ordinary Section 48 restriction for student, visitor, skilled, Partner or employer-sponsored applications.
No Further Stay Waivers Are Also Different
Visa conditions such as condition 8503, 8534 or 8535 may independently restrict onshore applications.
In some circumstances, a No Further Stay condition may be waived.
That does not automatically remove Section 48.
An applicant can therefore face:
- a No Further Stay condition;
- Section 48;
- Schedule 3;
- another statutory application bar; or
- more than one restriction at the same time.
Each must be analysed separately.
Does ART Review Remove the Section 48 Bar?
No general rule says that lodging ART review switches Section 48 off.
ART review, Section 48 and bridging-visa status are separate legal questions.
A person may:
- have validly lodged ART review;
- remain lawfully in Australia on a bridging visa;
- have permission to work under particular conditions; and
- still be restricted by Section 48 from making most new onshore visa applications.
ART review may be important because it can:
- challenge the underlying refusal on its merits;
- affect the operation or duration of a bridging visa;
- preserve a possible route back to the original visa application; and
- provide time during which another lawful strategy may develop.
But it does not create a general right to lodge every other visa while review is pending.
See:
Visa Refusal, Cancellation and ART Review in Australia
.
The ART deadline must also be identified from the actual decision notification:
How Long Do You Have to Apply for ART Review?
.
Does Leaving Australia Remove the Section 48 Restriction?
Section 48 restricts applications made while the person is in the migration zone.
A person outside Australia may be able to make an offshore application for a visa whose application rules permit it.
That does not mean departure automatically solves the overall problem.
Before leaving, consider:
- whether the current bridging visa permits travel;
- whether the bridging visa will cease on departure;
- whether an ART review continues or is affected;
- whether the proposed visa can be applied for offshore;
- whether the proposed visa can be granted while the person is offshore;
- the effect of the previous refusal;
- any exclusion periods or re-entry concerns;
- whether the person will be able to obtain another visa to return; and
- the practical consequences of waiting outside Australia.
Travel on a Bridging Visa Does Not Necessarily Reset Section 48
The Migration Act specifically provides that a person who leaves and re-enters the migration zone while holding a bridging visa is treated as having remained continuously in the migration zone for Section 48 purposes.
A short trip on a Bridging Visa B should therefore not be treated as a way of erasing the earlier refusal or creating a new “last entry” for Section 48.
Departure Is a Strategy, Not a Reset Button
Leaving Australia may open an offshore application pathway, but it can also end bridging status and leave the applicant unable to return unless another visa is granted. The offshore application should usually be assessed before departure rather than improvised afterwards.
Fictional Worked Example: Four Possible Visas, Only Two Real Options
This example is fictional and is included to demonstrate the Section 48 framework.
Priya applied for a student visa while holding another substantive visa.
The student application was refused. Her earlier substantive visa remained valid for another three months, so Section 48 did not immediately prevent new applications.
Priya did nothing because she assumed the refusal had no practical effect while her existing visa remained valid.
Three months later:
- the substantive visa ceased;
- Priya remained in Australia on a bridging visa;
- the student refusal had occurred after her last entry; and
- Section 48 now restricted which new applications she could make onshore.
Priya identifies four possible pathways:
- another Student visa;
- an onshore Partner visa based on her Australian partner;
- a subclass 491 visa following possible state nomination; and
- a subclass 494 visa through a regional employer.
Student Visa
The Student visa class is not prescribed under regulation 2.12.
Priya cannot simply lodge another onshore Student visa while Section 48 applies.
Partner Visa
The relevant Partner visa class is prescribed.
That means Section 48 may not prevent lodgement, but Priya must still examine:
- the validity of the Partner application;
- the relationship evidence;
- Schedule 3;
- the circumstances said to justify grant;
- her present visa status; and
- whether an offshore Partner application should be compared.
Subclass 491
The subclass 491 class is prescribed.
However, Priya does not yet have:
- a suitable skills assessment;
- state nomination;
- an invitation to apply; or
- evidence that she can satisfy the remaining requirements.
The fact that the class is prescribed does not create a present visa pathway.
Subclass 494
Priya’s proposed regional employer may be interested in sponsoring her.
Before treating subclass 494 as available, she must check:
- the employer and nomination position;
- the proposed occupation;
- skills and work-experience requirements;
- the relevant stream;
- her current visa type; and
- the separate Schedule 1 application-validity requirements.
ART Review
Priya must also check whether the student refusal is reviewable and the actual deadline stated in the decision.
ART review does not automatically allow her to lodge another Student visa or remove Section 48.
The Real Strategy
Priya’s strategy is not determined by counting four visa names.
It requires comparison of:
- which applications are legally permitted;
- which are presently valid;
- which grant criteria can realistically be met;
- which deadlines apply;
- whether ART review should be lodged;
- whether departure is necessary; and
- which sequence preserves the strongest options.
The most important opportunity may have existed during the three months before Priya’s substantive visa ceased—not after Section 48 began restricting her choices.
Simon’s Perspective
The mistake I see most often is not that applicants fail to find a visa name.
It is that they treat every visa name as an immediately available application.
They say:
- “I have an Australian partner, so I can lodge a Partner visa.”
- “My occupation is eligible, so I can apply for a 491.”
- “My employer will sponsor me, so Section 48 does not matter.”
- “I have ART review, so my status is protected.”
- “I will leave for a week and come back, so the refusal will be before my last entry.”
Each statement takes one possibly relevant fact and turns it into a complete strategy.
Migration law does not operate that way.
The Partner class may be prescribed, but Schedule 3 may be decisive.
The 491 class may be prescribed, but the person may have no invitation.
The 494 class may be prescribed, but the applicant’s bridging visa may not satisfy the separate application requirements.
ART review may be validly lodged, but Section 48 may continue to restrict other applications.
Travel on a bridging visa may not create a new last entry for Section 48 purposes.
The correct analysis is sequential:
- confirm current visa status;
- identify the relevant refusal or cancellation;
- determine whether Section 48 applies;
- identify any prescribed class;
- check every separate validity requirement;
- assess the actual grant criteria;
- check ART rights and deadlines;
- compare onshore and offshore pathways; and
- decide the safest order of moves.
Section 48 problems are rarely solved by one clever exception. They are solved by understanding how several separate legal rules interact before an irreversible step is taken.
Strategic Question
Which applications are legally open to you now, which only appear open, and what sequence preserves the greatest number of realistic pathways?
Official Section 48 Resources
About Simon Mander
Simon Mander is a Registered Migration Agent (MARN 0318058) with more than 23 years of experience in Australian migration law.
His work includes visa-refusal strategy, Section 48 analysis, ART review assessment, bridging-visa issues and the sequencing of alternative visa pathways.
Get a Visa Refusal Strategy Assessment
A Section 48 assessment should examine the refusal or cancellation, current visa status, ART rights, prescribed visa classes and every separate application requirement.
The paid Visa Refusal Strategy Assessment provides written advice identifying the immediate restrictions, available pathways and the order in which the realistic options should be considered.
The assessment does not lodge an ART review or visa application and does not guarantee that a prescribed visa class will be valid or successful in your circumstances.
Section 48 Bar: Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Section 48 bar?
Section 48 restricts the visa classes that certain people can apply for while they are in Australia without a substantive visa after a relevant refusal or cancellation occurring after their last entry.
Does every visa refusal trigger Section 48?
No. The statutory conditions must be satisfied. The person must be in the migration zone, must not hold a substantive visa and must have experienced a refusal or cancellation covered by the provision after the relevant last entry.
Does a bridging visa prevent Section 48 from applying?
No. A bridging visa is not a substantive visa. A person can be lawfully present on a bridging visa while still being restricted by Section 48.
Can I lodge an onshore Partner visa while Section 48 applies?
The relevant Partner visa classes are prescribed under regulation 2.12, but the application must still satisfy all separate validity and grant requirements. Schedule 3 may create an additional and substantial issue.
Can I apply for a subclass 190, 491 or 494 visa?
The classes corresponding with subclasses 190, 491 and 494 are prescribed. However, invitation, nomination, sponsorship, occupation, skills, visa-status and other application requirements must still be satisfied.
Is there a Section 48 waiver?
There is no general discretionary waiver of ordinary Section 48. Section 48B concerns the separate Section 48A restriction on repeat Protection visa applications and should not be confused with a general waiver.
Does lodging ART review remove Section 48?
No general rule provides that ART review removes Section 48. Review rights, bridging-visa status and the validity of another visa application must be analysed separately.
Does leaving Australia reset Section 48?
Section 48 restricts applications made in the migration zone, so an offshore application may become possible where the proposed visa allows it. However, travel while holding a bridging visa does not necessarily create a new last entry for Section 48 purposes, and departure can end bridging status or make return dependent on another visa grant.
How long does the Section 48 bar last?
There is no fixed number of months or years. Its operation depends on the person’s location, current visa status, immigration history and whether a later substantive visa or departure changes the legal position.
Can I lodge another Student visa after refusal?
The Student visa class is not presently included in regulation 2.12. A person affected by Section 48 should not assume that another onshore Student visa application can validly be made.
This information is general in nature and does not constitute migration advice for your individual circumstances. Australian migration law and policy can change, and eligibility should be assessed based on the circumstances existing at the time of application.