Student visa changes from 2 October 2026: the onshore lodgement bar

Status in one place

- In force since 2 October 2026: offshore lodgement and offshore grant for most further Student visas.
- In force since 2 October 2026: 17 classes of temporary visa holder cannot lodge a Student (500) or Student Guardian (590) application in Australia.
- In force since 2 October 2026: the exemptions listed below.
- In force since 2 October 2026, covered on a separate page: limits on family members. See student-visa-family-members-changes-2026.
- Announced 17 September 2026, no law yet: the same family limits for the Temporary Graduate visa (485), and a mid-2027 requirement for a new visa before changing provider. See the related pages.
- Needs legislation, no bill introduced as at 12 October 2026: an expression-of-interest system to control student numbers.

The legal vehicles are the Migration Amendment (Student Visa Reform) Regulations 2026 (F2026L01347), the Migration (Student Visa Applications to Be Made from outside Australia) Instrument 2026, also called LIN 26/102 (F2026L01348), and the Migration (LIN 20/158) Amendment Instrument 2026, also called LIN 26/087 (F2026L01349). All three were made and registered on 1 October 2026 and commenced on 2 October 2026.

What changed for people who already hold a Student visa

Before 2 October, a person on a Student visa could generally lodge another Student visa application while still in Australia. The regulations now say that a person who holds a Student visa, as a primary or a secondary holder, and wants to apply as a primary applicant for a new one, must be outside Australia when they apply. The regulations also say the person must be outside Australia when the visa is granted.

Home Affairs puts it this way on its Student visa page: “From 2 October 2026, most Student visa applications must be lodged outside Australia.” It adds: “Most Student visa holders can no longer apply for a further Student visa in Australia.”

Two practical points come from Home Affairs. First, “You will not receive a Bridging visa linked to an application lodged outside Australia.” A person can come back to Australia on another valid visa while the application is processed, but must be offshore when the Student visa is granted. Second, an application lodged onshore when the rules require it to be offshore is not a valid application, and Home Affairs states: “Invalid decisions cannot be merits reviewed at the ART.”

The 28-day grace period has also gone. The old rules let a person lodge onshore within 28 days after their Student visa ceased. The explanatory statement to the regulations says that provision was repealed so the offshore rule could not be avoided by letting the visa expire. A narrower route remains for a person whose visa cancellation was set aside by the Administrative Review Tribunal within the previous 28 days.

The 17 classes of visa holder who cannot lodge onshore

LIN 26/102 lists the visa holders who can only make a valid Student (500) or Student Guardian (590) application from outside Australia. The table in the instrument has 17 entries:

- Subclass 400 (any stream)
- Subclass 403, Domestic Worker (Diplomatic or Consular) stream only
- Subclass 407
- Subclass 408
- Subclass 417 (Working Holiday)
- Subclass 457
- Subclass 462 (Work and Holiday)
- Subclass 482, Skills in Demand
- Subclass 482, Temporary Skill Shortage
- Subclass 485 (Temporary Graduate)
- Subclass 600 (Visitor)
- Subclass 601 (Electronic Travel Authority)
- Subclass 602 (Medical Treatment)
- Subclass 651 (eVisitor)
- Subclass 771
- Subclass 988
- Subclass 995, primary holders only

The instrument it replaced, LIN 26/068, listed nine of these (403, 485, 600, 601, 602, 651, 771, 988 and 995). The new additions are 400, 407, 408, 417, 457, 462 and both 482 streams. In practice that means working holiday makers and many sponsored workers lost the ability to lodge a Student visa application in Australia on 2 October 2026.

The explanatory statement gives the intent: to prevent certain temporary migrants who entered Australia for a purpose other than study from applying for a Student or Student Guardian visa to prolong their stay.

Home Affairs says of this list: “If you hold a visa as a primary or secondary holder on the list below you cannot apply for a student visa in Australia. There are no exemptions to this rule.” Note that the Home Affairs page gives this list a heading that reads “Eligible visas”, but the text describes the visas that are barred. The instrument is the better guide.

Who can still lodge a further Student visa in Australia

The regulations exempt some current Student visa holders from the offshore rule, and LIN 26/087 sets out more. Taken together, these groups can still lodge onshore:

- Defence students.
- Foreign Affairs students. Home Affairs describes these two groups as sponsored by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade or Defence.
- School students. Home Affairs lists primary and secondary school.
- Doctoral students. LIN 26/087 covers a person enrolled in a course leading to the award of a doctoral degree. Home Affairs adds: “You cannot apply under this exemption if you are applying to study a Master's by Research course.”
- Students affected by provider default. LIN 26/087 applies within 12 months of the provider default day.
- Students completing their course. The person holds a Student visa, has started the principal course (or an alternative principal course with the same provider), has not completed it, and will complete it within 12 months of the end date on the confirmation of enrolment. Home Affairs describes this as needing up to 12 more months after the original course end date, while continuing to study with the same provider.
- Students progressing to a higher level. The person has completed the principal course and is enrolled in no more than one further course. If the completed course had an Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) level, the further course must have a higher AQF level. If the completed course was higher education, the further course must also be higher education, delivered by a higher education provider.

Home Affairs also lists two movements involving courses outside the AQF: a school student moving to a non-AQF course, and a non-AQF course moving to an AQF course.

Home Affairs gives examples. A move from an English language (ELICOS) course to a Bachelor degree is allowed onshore. A move from ELICOS to another ELICOS course is not. And “Students who have completed a Bachelor's Degree at a higher education provider cannot apply for a student visa in Australia if they want to study a Graduate Diploma course at a VET provider.”

Where an exemption does not apply, the further application must be made from outside Australia. The exemptions are a matter of fact about course dates, levels and providers, so whether a particular person fits one is a question for a registered agent.

What the Minister said, and where the law differs

In his National Press Club speech on 17 September 2026 the Minister for Home Affairs, Tony Burke, described three cases for students. On extensions he said: “You do a 12-month extension. That's unchanged.” On transfers he said a change “will require the application for a new visa, so we'll be able to test that it's legitimate”. On progression he said: “You can go up the qualification scale, but only up the qualification scale.”

The Home Affairs policy page says the changes “have begun to be implemented and will be progressively rolled out over the next 12 months”.

The speech and the regulations are not word for word the same. The speech presents a transfer between courses at the same level as workable through a new visa. Under the instruments, a further Student visa at the same level can be lodged onshore only through the exemption for up to 12 more months with the same provider. Otherwise it must be lodged from outside Australia. The speech also referred to family members being allowed for “certain courses, for example, PhD courses”. The law covers doctoral degrees and, on Home Affairs' wording, excludes Master's by Research. This page follows the legal instruments and Home Affairs' published pages.

Who is not affected

The rules apply to applications made on or after 2 October 2026. The regulations say so in their application provision (Schedule 13, Part 166, clause 16601). Home Affairs states: “Applications lodged before 2 October 2026 will continue to be assessed under the rules that were in place when they were lodged. This includes applications that included family members.” The explanatory statement adds that applications lodged before commencement and not yet finalised are not affected by the new criteria.

Other groups the sources say are outside the new lodgement bar:

- Current Student Guardian (590) holders. Home Affairs says they “can continue to lodge a further Student Guardian visa application while in Australia”.
- The exempt groups above.
- Someone who already holds a Student visa and does not need a further one. The rules govern new applications. They do not cancel visas already granted.

Student visa processing for offshore applicants is still under Ministerial Direction 111 (applications lodged before 14 November 2025) and Direction 115 (on or after that date), according to the Student visa page. The 17 September package did not change those directions.

The rules about family members, which started on the same day, are on a separate page: student-visa-family-members-changes-2026.

Other facts from the explanatory material

The explanatory statement says the reforms “will strengthen the integrity of Australia's student visa program by reducing its use as a means for extending stay in Australia”. It says the changes will narrow opportunities for people to “visa hop”, lodging several temporary visa applications in a row while staying in the country. It also says restricting onshore lodgement will reduce the number of Administrative Review Tribunal applications about Student visa refusals.

On consultation, it says the Department consulted the Department of Education and the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, and that non-governmental organisations were not consulted.

The regulations are disallowable in Parliament. No disallowance motion was found as at 12 October 2026.

What is not decided yet, and what to watch

Dated as at 12 October 2026.

- Student expression of interest. The Minister said in his speech that an expression-of-interest system would be one of the most effective tools, but “I can only do that part of it if we have legislation, and at this point we don't.” No bill had been found. On 11 October he said he had had no indication from the opposition that it was back at the table.
- Temporary Graduate (485) family limits. Announced, no instrument. See 485-graduate-visa-family-changes-2026.
- A new-visa requirement before changing provider, announced for mid-2027. See student-visa-change-provider-course-2026.
- Compilations. The Migration Regulations had no consolidated compilation including these changes when this page was written. Check legislation.gov.au for the compiled text.
- A drafting detail in LIN 26/087: some family exemption sections refer to subparagraph 1222(3)(d)(vi), while the amended regulations place the instrument power at 1222(3)(da)(vi). Watch whether it is corrected.
- Home Affairs pages. These were updated on 6 and 7 October and may change again.

This page will be updated as instruments or Home Affairs pages change. General information only. Whether any of this applies to your case is a question for a MARA-registered migration agent, who can assess your circumstances.

Can I still apply for another Student visa while I am in Australia?

Only in some cases. From 2 October 2026 most Student visa holders must lodge a further Student visa from outside Australia and be outside Australia when it is granted. Exemptions include doctoral students, Defence and Foreign Affairs students, school students, students affected by provider default, students needing up to 12 more months with the same provider, and some students progressing to a higher qualification level. A registered agent can check a particular case.

Which visa holders cannot lodge a Student visa application in Australia?

LIN 26/102 lists 17 classes: 400, 403 (Domestic Worker Diplomatic or Consular stream), 407, 408, 417, 457, 462, 482 (both streams), 485, 600, 601, 602, 651, 771, 988 and 995 (primary holders). Home Affairs says there are no exemptions for these holders.

Does this apply to applications I lodged before 2 October 2026?

No. Home Affairs says applications lodged before 2 October 2026 continue to be assessed under the rules in place when they were lodged. The regulations apply to applications made on or after the start date.

Will I get a bridging visa if I apply from outside Australia?

No. Home Affairs states that you will not receive a Bridging visa linked to an application lodged outside Australia. You must be outside Australia when the visa is granted.

Does the 28-day grace period after my Student visa ends still exist?

No. The regulations repealed the provision that let a person lodge onshore within 28 days after a Student visa ceased. A narrow exception remains where the Administrative Review Tribunal set aside a cancellation within the previous 28 days.

Are Student Guardian visa holders affected?

Home Affairs says current Student Guardian (590) holders can continue to lodge a further 590 application while in Australia. The 17-class bar applies to people holding other temporary visas who want to lodge a 500 or 590.

Is a Master's by Research course covered by the doctoral exemption?

Home Affairs says the doctoral exemption cannot be used if you are applying to study a Master's by Research course. The instrument refers to a course leading to a doctoral degree.

Is this law or only an announcement?

It is law. The regulations and two instruments were registered on 1 October 2026 and started on 2 October 2026. The student expression-of-interest system and the 485 family limits are not law as at 12 October 2026.