BVB granted on Sunday - subclass 186 secondary applicant
Hi everyone,
I just wanted to share my BVB experience in case it helps someone.
I am a secondary applicant on a pending subclass 186 visa application. I applied for a BVB because I wanted to travel to France to visit my family.
My first BVB application was lodged by my agent on 11 May, for a planned departure on 18 May. At that time, we did not include an explanation letter.
As I had no update, I submitted another BVB application myself on Friday 15 May through this Home Affairs page.
I used the same payment receipt from the first application. This time, I added a short explanation letter. I explained that I wanted to visit my family in France, that I had not seen them for about two years, and that I would return to Australia before the end of the travel period granted.
My BVB was granted on Sunday at around 5 pm.
I don’t know if the second application helped or not. I also see many people still waiting after several weeks, so it is hard to know how Home Affairs prioritises BVB applications.
My feeling is that they may sometimes wait until close to the planned departure date to grant BVBs, even if you applied earlier. But this is only my personal feeling based on my experience, not a rule.
If you apply last minute, I would personally be careful about buying flights before getting the BVB grant, unless you are ready to take the risk and handle the stress.