Student visa rules changed on 2 October 2026, and most people who want a Student visa or Student Guardian visa now have to be outside Australia when they apply and when the visa is granted. The change also stops most applicants from including a partner or children, according to the Department of Home Affairs.
Home Affairs says Australia “continues to welcome international students” and that people can still apply if they meet the visa requirements. It urges applicants to check how the new rules affect them before making visa, study, travel or relocation plans.
Student visa rules now send most applicants offshore
Under the new Student visa rules, most temporary visa holders must be outside Australia when they lodge a Student (subclass 500) or Student Guardian (subclass 590) application. They must also be outside Australia when the visa is granted. For anyone holding another type of temporary visa that is affected, there are no exemptions.
Current Student visa holders face the same rule if they want to apply for another Student visa, unless they meet one of a limited set of exemptions. A student who holds a Student visa as a dependant and wants to become a primary applicant must apply from outside Australia, with no exemptions at all.
The students who can still lodge from inside Australia
A current Student visa holder may still be able to lodge in Australia if they:
- need up to 12 more months to finish their studies with the same education provider
- are sponsored by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade or Defence
- are applying to study a PhD
- are applying for primary or secondary school studies
- have finished their main course and are moving up to a course at a higher Australian Qualifications Framework level
- cannot continue because their education provider has defaulted
Those who rely on an exemption to the Student visa rules generally cannot package courses together, apart from school study, a PhD or a provider default. Home Affairs expects the next course to start in the first available intake, with a gap of no more than about two calendar months during the teaching year or four months between academic years.
Bringing a partner or children is now the exception
Under the Student visa rules, applicants can no longer include a partner or dependent children in their application unless an exemption applies. The exemptions cover PhD students, students sponsored by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade or Defence, foreign government scholarship recipients, and eligible students from Pacific and ASEAN countries.
People who already have family on their current visa may be able to include them in the next application if they need up to 12 more months to finish their main course, or if their provider has defaulted. Once a Student visa has been granted, family members cannot be added afterwards, and Home Affairs says there are no exemptions to that rule.
Visas already granted are left alone
The Student visa rules do not affect a visa a person already holds. Current Student Guardian visa holders can still lodge a further Student Guardian visa application while in Australia.
Related: Labor announces international student cap
Source: Department of Home Affairs, Changes to Student visa application rules (subclasses 500 and 590)
