Gig workers or someone who works as an independent contractor in Australia is not only dominated by Australian citizens. Some of them are temporary visa holders as well as international students who work during their studies.
The most popular gig economy jobs among them are rideshare services such as Uber, Didi, Ola. Apart from that, the majority of them also work as on-demand delivery drivers on several platforms such as Uber Eats, Menulog, DoorDash, etc. Both of these jobs became popular because it’s easy to apply, work at any time they want and earn good money.
If you are a temporary visa holder working in Australia, needless to say, you need a visa with a valid working right to be able to sign up and be activated on this platform. But what if your visa is about to expire?
The moment your visa has expired or it’s getting close to its expiry date, it’s likely Uber and some other similar platforms may tell you to update your visa requirement. Uber might temporarily hold or limit your driver account access if you are unable to provide them with a new valid visa. You will be asked to do a VEVO check again, just like when you signed up.
Depending on the condition of your visa, you may be allowed to apply for a new visa while your substantive visa is valid and it doesn’t have a condition that prevents further stay. You can apply for a bridging visa that let you stay in Australia legally while your immigration status is resolved.
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Can I Using a bridging visa for Uber?
You can still use your bridging visa (BVA) to reactivate your Uber rideshare or Uber eats account. Not only for that company, but you can also use it on other platforms such as Didi, Ola, Menulog, DoorDash and others.
As experienced by some of the driver and delivery partners out there, Uber driver’s account might unable to take a trip when the visa is about to expire. And they are required to request another VEVO check to verify their visa status and work rights.
Once activated your bridging visa usually have the same work rights as your previously expired visa. To ensure that, you can check your bridging visa details and conditions using the VEVO system.
Update visa with a bridging visa on Uber
When your current visa is about to expire you may get a notification to update or upload your latest VEVO requirements. You can do this by checking your own bridging visa details online then upload it. However, uploading your doc may apply to other platforms, but it doesn’t seem to work for Uber.
Even though the driver app allows you to upload a VEVO doc, but it isn’t the right way. Uber decided to use a service from the National Crime Check / NCC to carry out this check.
So, to be able to request another check, you are required to log in to the official NCC website, your Uber login credential, just like when registering as a new driver. To do this self VEVO check, you will be charged around $2.2. Learn more about updating the VEVO check requirement on our other posts.
When I can use the bridging visa?
Several drivers we met said that they couldn’t get their bridging visa details when checking through the Home Affairs website or through the myVEVO app. This prevents them from continuing the process of updating their visa requirements.
Based on the experiences of several drivers who have experienced this, it turns out that this is because their bridging visas are not yet active. As you can only check your visa status only when your current visa is actually expired.
Not only that, but some drivers also advise you to wait a few hours or up to a day after your bridging visa is active and you can start a new check. Since it’s might take time for your visa details to appear in the Home Affairs’ VEVO system.
Bridging visa rejected by Uber
There are several reasons why some companies, in this case Uber, to refuse the bridging visa that you’ve provided to them.
One of the reasons we hear often is that driver-partners directly uploaded their VEVO check via the Uber app or website. As explained earlier, Uber does not accept VEVO check directly from drivers, the driver has to complete it via a specific (selfVEVO) link and will forward it to the NCC website, with small fees of course.
The next reason is that you request a VEVO check for your bridging visa before your substantive visa expires and your bridging isn’t yet active on the system. As we’ve mentioned earlier, some drivers who have experienced it, recommend you to wait a little extra time.
While we haven’t found this case yet, your bridging visa might not eligible because Uber didn’t find a working right in the visa condition. You can clarify it to NCC by getting in touch with their support team or you can self VEVO check directly from DHA’s website or myVEVO app to take a look at your bridging conditions.
FYI, bridging visa (BVA) in Australia
For your information, according to the Department of Home Affairs, a bridging visa is a temporary visa that allows the international visa holder to stay in Australia lawfully while their immigration status is resolved or while your new substantive visa application is being processed.
This visa also allows it’s holder to work, as long as they meet the requirements for work in the country, the holder should read their grant letter which will explain more about these conditions. If a bridging visa does not lets its holder to work, or has some restrictions, they can apply for another visa that lets them work.
The bridging visa is free of cost and can’t be extended to stay longer in the country. It doesn’t say how long it will take to get this kind of visa, but processing times can be faster when you fill your application correctly, include every doc required and there’s no difficulty when verifying your information.
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