Bridging Visa R and NZYQ affected cohort

The Migration Amendment (Bridging Visas) Regulations 2024 amend the Migration Regulations 1994 to clarify the circumstances in which the Minister may grant a Bridging R (Class WR) visa (BVR) to the cohort affected by the High Court judgment in NZYQ v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs
[2023] HCA 37.

The instrument amends regulation 2.04 to clarify that, while the circumstances in which a visa may be granted are generally set out in Schedule 2 to the Regulations, this is subject to other provisions of the Regulations that may deal with the circumstances applicable to grant (such as sub regulation 2.25AB(2).

The instrument amends regulation 2.25AB to remove the requirement to hold a BVR to be eligible for grant of a further BVR under this regulation, and replaces this with a requirement for the Minister to be satisfied that the non‑citizen does not hold a substantive visa, a criminal justice visa or an enforcement visa to be eligible for grant of a BVR under this regulation. The effect of this amendment is to make regulation 2.25AB available to grant either an initial or subsequent BVR to an NZYQ-affected non-citizen, so long as they are not the holder of a substantive visa, criminal justice visa or an enforcement visa.