Student visa changes from 2 October 2026: who can still apply in Australia

What changed on 2 October 2026

Amendments to the Migration Regulations 1994, and two legislative instruments made with them, commenced on 2 October 2026. They change where a Student visa (subclass 500) application can be made, who can switch to a Student visa from inside Australia, and when family members can be included.

They apply to applications made on or after 2 October 2026, including a family member’s later application to join a student.

They follow a wider package announced on 17 September 2026, covered in the September 2026 migration announcements.

Applying for a further Student visa from inside Australia

A person who already holds a Student visa and applies for another one as the main student must generally apply from outside Australia, and must also be outside Australia when the visa is granted.

The law specifies classes of main student who can still apply in Australia. They include:

• Defence and Foreign Affairs students
• School students
• Doctoral students
• Some students affected by a provider default
• Some students completing the highest-level course their visa was granted for
• Some students moving from that course to one further course

The last three classes carry conditions about timing and the course involved. A person who holds a Student visa as a dependant has no exemption when applying as the main student.

Completing the highest-level course

The class for students completing the highest-level course their visa was granted for is narrow. It covers a Student visa holder who:

• has started the highest-level course their visa was granted for, or a replacement for it with the same provider that does not conflict with the visa’s conditions
• has not yet finished that course
• will finish it within 12 months of the end date on the confirmation of enrolment for that course

A replacement for that course with a different provider is not in this class. Starting the highest-level course the visa was granted for, with the provider it was granted for, is not a replacement.

Moving to one further course

This class covers a Student visa holder who has completed the highest-level course their visa was granted for, or a replacement that did not conflict with the visa’s conditions, and is enrolled in no more than one further course. Where the completed course has a qualification level, the further course must be higher; after a higher education course, it must be a higher education course with a higher education provider. Other conditions apply where the completed course has none. There is no same-provider requirement.

Switching to a Student visa from another visa

Holders of many other temporary visas cannot apply for a Student visa while in Australia.

Other visas are on the list too. Whether the bar applies depends on the visa, and sometimes its stream, held when the application is made.

Partners and children

A family member can be included as a dependant on a Student visa only in limited circumstances. A family member’s application must be made at the same time and place as, and combined with, the student’s application.

Family members in Australia who held a Student visa as that student’s dependant when the change commenced are among those who can still apply.

What did not change

• The Temporary Graduate (subclass 485) visa’s own criteria are unchanged, and its announced dependant restriction is not law
• The Genuine Student criterion continues to apply to Student visa applications

Before a course or visa plan is locked in

Which of these rules applies turns on the visa held and the course involved at the time of application. A course change, a switch from another visa, or adding a family member is the point at which the location rules now matter most, and they are worth checking before an enrolment or an application is made. More on the visa itself is in Subclass 500: Student visa.

This article sets out general information about the law as it stands. It does not address any individual’s circumstances. Anyone whose plans are affected can book a consultation to have their own position assessed.

Common questions