Student Visa Changes: Who Must Apply Offshore
On 2 October 2026 the rules for Student visas in Australia changed. The course requirements, English, money and health rules are the same as before. What changed is where you have to be when you apply, and whether your partner and children can come with you.
We are Nationwide Migration and Education, a Brisbane migration agency. Here is the simple version.
The three big changes
1. Most people in Australia can no longer apply for a Student visa without leaving the country first.
2. Current students can only apply for another Student visa in Australia if they fit one of six exceptions.
3. Most students can no longer include a partner or children, and cannot add them later.
If you applied before 2 October 2026, none of this affects that application. It is assessed under the old rules.
Change 1: Who now has to leave Australia to apply
If you are in Australia on one of these visas, you can no longer apply for a Student visa onshore. You have to leave Australia, apply from overseas, and still be overseas when the visa is granted. There are no exceptions.
Temporary Graduate visa (485)
Working Holiday (417) and Work and Holiday (462)
Visitor visas (600, 601 and 651)
Skills in Demand / Temporary Skill Shortage (482) and the old 457
Training (407) and Temporary Activity (408)
Short-stay work visa (400)
A few less common ones: Medical Treatment (602), Transit (771), Maritime Crew (988), the Domestic Worker stream of the 403, and the main holder of a Diplomatic (995) visa
This applies whether you are the main holder of the visa or a family member on it.
The two groups this hits hardest:
485 graduates. Finishing a degree, taking a 485, then going back to study on a new Student visa without leaving Australia is no longer possible.
Visitors. Coming on a tourist visa, enrolling, and switching to a Student visa here is no longer possible.
Also, if you are in Australia as a dependant on someone else's Student visa and want your own Student visa, you must apply from overseas. No exceptions.
Change 2: Current students. The six exceptions
If you hold a Student visa as the main student, you can only apply for another Student visa in Australia if one of these fits you.
1. You need a bit more time to finish. You started your main course, have not finished it, and will finish within 12 months of the end date on your enrolment. You must still be with the same education provider.
2. You are sponsored by Defence or Foreign Affairs.
3. You are doing a PhD. A Master's by Research does not count.
4. You are a school student (primary or secondary school).
5. You have finished your course and are moving up a level. For example, from a Diploma to a Bachelor degree, or from a Bachelor to a Master's. Moving sideways does not count: a second Diploma, a second Master's, or English course to English course. If you finished a university-level course, your next course also has to be at a university-level provider, not a vocational college. And you can only apply for one further course at a time.
6. Your college shut down or stopped running your course.
If none of these fit you, do not apply in Australia. The application will be invalid, you will not get a bridging visa, and there is no appeal. If your visa has already expired by the time you find out, you may have no way to apply again from inside Australia.
Do I have to stay overseas the whole time?
If the rules required you to apply from overseas, you also have to be overseas on the day the visa is granted. Home Affairs says you can come back on another valid visa while you wait, but you must leave again before the decision, and you will not get a bridging visa. Check processing times before you book anything.
Change 3: Partners and children
Most students can no longer include a partner or children in a Student visa application. This applies whether you apply from inside or outside Australia.
Family can still be included if:
you are doing a PhD
you are sponsored by Defence or Foreign Affairs
your study is fully paid for by a foreign government scholarship
you hold a passport from a Pacific country (Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Nauru, Tuvalu, Palau, Marshall Islands, Micronesia) or an ASEAN country (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Brunei, Timor-Leste)
your family is already on your current Student visa and you are applying under the "more time to finish", "moving up a level" or "college shut down" exceptions
your child was born in Australia after 2 October 2026
If your family can be included, they must apply at the same time and from the same place as you.
The biggest change here: you can no longer add a partner or child to your Student visa after it has been granted. That option is gone for everyone, with no exceptions.
What has not changed
The usual requirements: a confirmed enrolment in a full-time course, being a genuine student, English, enough money, health insurance, health and character checks.
Your current Student visa. The new rules only matter when you apply for the next one.
Applications lodged before 2 October 2026, including any family you included.
Student Guardian visa (590) holders can still apply for another Student Guardian visa in Australia.
What this means for you
Finishing a course soon? Check whether your next course is a genuine step up, and whether it is at the right kind of provider. If not, you will need to plan to leave Australia to apply.
On a 485 and thinking about more study? You cannot apply from inside Australia. Talk to us about timing, and about whether study is really the best next step for you.
Have a partner or kids? Unless you fit one of the family exceptions, they cannot come on your Student visa and cannot join you later on it. Look at other visa options for them before you commit to a course.
Employers with 482 or 485 workers? They cannot switch to a Student visa from inside Australia. If you want to keep them, the conversation is about sponsorship, not study.
Bring us three things
1. Your current visa grant letter and your enrolment confirmation
2. The offer letter for the course you want to do next
3. Details of any family members you want to include
We are a Brisbane-based team of registered migration agents. We handle straightforward matters and the complex ones: refusals, cancellations, tribunal reviews, health and character issues. Book a consultation at nationwidemigration.com.au/services or call us in Brisbane on +61 7 3726 5183.
About the author
Suman Dua is the Director of Nationwide Migration and Education and a Registered Migration Agent (MARN 1800859). She is also a Licensed Immigration Adviser in New Zealand (IAA Licence 202600739), a TEDx speaker, and has been featured in Forbes. Suman and her Brisbane team have helped thousands of students, graduates and employers with Australian visas.
Disclaimer
General information only, current as at 7 October 2026. Not migration advice for your specific circumstances. Written by a Registered Migration Agent.
