The Department of Home Affairs has enacted rules that prevent most temporary visa holders in Australia from lodging a Student visa (subclass 500) or Student Guardian visa (subclass 590) application onshore. The changes, which took effect on 2 October 2026, also strip the ability for student visa applicants to include family members in most new applications and for current student visa holders to add dependants after grant. The Department published the new settings in a fact sheet on student visa application changes.
Onshore applications restricted for most temporary visa holders
Under the previous framework, many people on temporary visas in Australia — including student visa dependants who wanted to become primary applicants — could switch to a student visa without leaving the country. From 2 October, most will need to be outside Australia both when they lodge and when the visa is granted. The restriction does not affect a person's current student visa, but it does apply to existing student visa holders who are seeking a further student visa onshore.
Current student guardian visa (subclass 590) holders are not affected and can continue to lodge further student guardian applications while in Australia.
Exemptions for current student visa holders applying onshore
The Department has set out a series of exemptions that allow existing student visa holders to lodge a further student visa application onshore. The list includes students who need up to 12 additional months beyond their original course end date to complete studies with the same provider; those progressing from a completed Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) course to a higher AQF level; PhD applicants; primary and secondary school students; and applicants sponsored by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) or Defence. Students whose education provider has defaulted may also apply onshore. A higher-education graduate moving to a further student visa must be enrolling in another higher-education course delivered by a higher-education provider.
Family members excluded from most student visa applications
Student visa applicants can no longer include a partner or dependent children in their application unless an exemption applies. The restriction extends to people lodging a further student visa. Current student visa holders have also lost the ability to add family members as subsequent entrants after the visa is granted, and the Department states there are no exemptions to this rule.
Applicants may still include family members at lodgement if they are studying a PhD, hold DFAT or Defence sponsorship, receive a foreign government scholarship, or are an eligible student from a Pacific or ASEAN country. Those who already have family included on their current student visa may carry them into a further onshore application, provided the primary applicant and all dependants are in Australia when the application is lodged.
Student visa applications lodged before 2 October 2026, including those that included family members, will continue to be assessed under the rules in place at lodgement, the Department confirmed.
The student visa tightening is part of a broader migration reform package unveiled by Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke in September. As EOI Insights reported, Burke outlined reforms at the National Press Club targeting visa-hopping and overstayers while pledging to prioritise construction, healthcare and education workers. Prospective migrants who plan to transition from a student visa to a skilled migration pathway can track invitation-round updates and EOI pool trends on the EOI Insights dashboard.
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