In South Australia, bridging visa holders hit by Section 48 bar will not be nominated for Subclass 491 visa if the application for state-nomination is submitted on or after 21 April 2020. Accordingly, the applicants are advised to submit the nomination application only when they “are able to lodge a valid visa application offshore”.
The 491 applicants who are on bridging visa and had a visa refused or cancelled must notify Immigration SA of such refusals or cancellations if they have received invitation to lodge the visa application. Under these circumstances, the applicant is probably hit by Section 48 bar and accordingly is not eligible to lodge their state nominated visa application from Australia. Usually, the applicants would leave Australia to lodge their visa application from outside Australia and then return to Australia. However, due to current travel restrictions during COVID-19 pandemic, it is not possible for applicants who are temporary visa holders to return to Australia for the time being. Thus, they are not eligible to lodge the visa application.
For nomination filed before 21 April 2020, Immigration SA will hold such applications until 30 June 2020, however, you must notify Immigration SA if you are unable to travel offshore to lodge a valid visa application.
