Student visa reform from 2 October 2026: further student visas, family members and onshore applications

Three instruments were made and registered on 1 October 2026 and commence on 2 October 2026: the Migration Amendment (Student Visa Reform) Regulations 2026, the Migration (Student Visa Applications to Be Made from outside Australia) Instrument 2026 (LIN 26/102), and an amendment to LIN 20/158 (LIN 26/087). The amendments apply to a student visa application made on or after 2 October 2026. An application made before that date is decided under the rules that applied when it was made.

The explanatory statement gives the purpose as strengthening the integrity of the student visa program by reducing its use as a means for extending stay in Australia.

Applying for a further student visa while holding one

A person who holds a subclass 500 student visa and applies for another one as the student must be outside Australia when the application is made. This also applies to a person who holds a student visa as a family member and now applies as the student.

A student who holds the visa as the student can still apply in Australia if they are in one of these groups:

Students who may still apply for a further student visa in Australia

Group	What the instrument requires
Defence and Foreign Affairs students	As defined in the Regulations.
School students	As defined in clause 500.111.
Doctoral students	Enrolled in a course leading to a doctoral degree when the application is made.
Completing the current course	Has started the principal course the visa was granted for, or an alternative principal course with the same provider, has not finished it, and will finish it within 12 months of the end date on the confirmation of enrolment.
Progressing to a higher course	Has completed the principal course and is enrolled in no more than one further course, at a higher AQF level. After a higher education course, the next course must be a higher education course with a higher education provider.
Provider default	Could not complete a registered course because of provider default, was enrolled on the default day, applies within 12 months of it, and has not already applied because of the same default.

A person who had to apply from outside Australia must also be outside Australia when the visa is granted.

Seventeen visas that stop a student visa application in Australia

LIN 26/102 replaces the nine-visa list that took effect on 24 September 2026. A person in Australia who holds one of these visas cannot make a valid application for a subclass 500 student visa or a subclass 590 student guardian visa there.

Visas specified in LIN 26/102

Subclass	Stream
400 Temporary Work (Short Stay Specialist)	Any
403 Temporary Work (International Relations)	Domestic Worker (Diplomatic or Consular) only
407 Training	Any
408 Temporary Activity	Any
417 Working Holiday	Any
457 Temporary Work (Skilled)	Any
462 Work and Holiday	Any
482 Skills in Demand	Any
482 Temporary Skill Shortage	Any
485 Temporary Graduate	Any
600 Visitor	Any
601 Electronic Travel Authority	Any
602 Medical Treatment	Any
651 eVisitor	Any
771 Transit	Any
988 Maritime Crew	Any
995 Diplomatic (Temporary)	Granted on the primary criteria

The visas added from 2 October 2026 are the 400, 407, 408, 417, 457, 462 and both forms of the 482. The explanatory statement says the list was drawn up from data on onshore applications, to stop people who came to Australia for another purpose using a student visa to prolong their stay.

Family members

A family member can now apply for a student visa only in these cases:

• the student is a Defence student or a Foreign Affairs student;
• the student holds a passport from a Pacific regional country or one of the countries listed in the Regulations, which the explanatory statement describes as ASEAN member countries;
• the family member is in Australia and held a student visa as a family member of the same student on 2 October 2026, or had applied for one before that date and it was granted later;
• the family member is a child born in Australia on or after 2 October 2026 to a student who held, or had applied for, a student visa on that date;
• the student is a doctoral student, or is studying in a course fully funded by a foreign government;
• the student is completing the current course or is affected by provider default, and the family member already holds a student visa as that student's family member.

Family members must now apply at the same time and place as the student. A family member can no longer be added to a student visa after it is granted, which the explanatory statement calls a subsequent entrant application.

If this affects you

Whether a further application can be made in Australia now depends on the visa held, the course and the stage of study. Provide us with your visa grant notice and your current confirmation of enrolment, and we can check which rule applies before any course or application fee is paid.