2026 Australian Student Visa Changes | Onshore Application Limits, Family Rules, Transfers and Fees from 2 October

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From 2 October 2026, Australia's Student visa (subclass 500) and Student Guardian visa (subclass 590) run under new rules. Most people in Australia on a temporary visa, including Work and Holiday (462), Working Holiday (417), Visitor (600), Skills in Demand (482) and Temporary Graduate (485) holders, can no longer apply for a Student visa onshore. Current students who need another Student visa must generally leave Australia to lodge it, and most applicants can no longer include a partner or children. Provider transfers are now locked for 12 months and the Student visa charge has risen to A$2,500. This guide summarises the official Department of Home Affairs and Study Australia announcements and explains what they mean for students from Latin America, South Africa and other countries outside the Pacific and ASEAN.

Contents

1. What changed at a glance
2. Visa holders who can no longer apply onshore
3. Six exemptions for current Student visa holders
4. Family members: the new rules and exemptions
5. Applying from outside Australia and bridging visas
6. The 12-month transfer restriction and the planned Transfer visa
7. Visa charges in 2026
8. Practical planning for international students
9. FAQ

1. What changed at a glance

The new rules apply to subclass 500 and 590 applications lodged on or after 2 October 2026. Applications lodged before that date, including those with family members, are assessed under the rules in place when they were lodged, and visas already granted are not affected.

Item	Before 2 Oct 2026	From 2 Oct 2026
Switching from a visitor, working holiday or work visa	Mostly possible onshore	Must apply and be granted offshore
Further Student visa for current students	Onshore	Onshore only under one of six exemptions
Including a partner or children under 18	At lodgement or later as subsequent entrants	Only under an exemption, and never after grant
Provider transfer restriction	6 months of the principal course	12 months (until 30 June 2027)
Student visa charge (primary applicant)	A$2,000	A$2,500 (from 1 July 2026)

2. Visa holders who can no longer apply onshore

Home Affairs lists the visas whose holders, whether primary or secondary, cannot lodge a Student visa in Australia. There are no exemptions to this list:

Subclass 462 Work and Holiday and subclass 417 Working Holiday (all streams)
Subclass 482 Skills in Demand / Temporary Skill Shortage (all streams) and subclass 457
Subclass 485 Temporary Graduate
Subclass 600 Visitor, 601 ETA, 651 eVisitor, 602 Medical Treatment, 771 Transit
Subclass 400 Temporary Work, 403 (Domestic Worker – Diplomatic/Consular stream), 407 Training, 408 Temporary Activity
Subclass 988 Maritime Crew and 995 Diplomatic (Temporary), primary holders only

This matters for Work and Holiday makers from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Peru and Uruguay, who could previously lodge a Student visa in Australia before their 462 visa expired. It also closes the common route of entering on a Visitor visa, choosing a course, and switching onshore. Separately, from 12 November 2026 the subclass 407 Training visa must also be applied for and granted offshore.

3. Six exemptions for current Student visa holders

If you hold a Student visa as the primary applicant, you can lodge another Student visa in Australia only if you meet one of these exemptions. Secondary (dependent) Student visa holders cannot apply onshore as a primary applicant. Home Affairs warns that an onshore application lodged without an exemption is invalid, cannot be reviewed at the ART, and may affect your status if your visa has already expired.

Course completion: you need up to 12 additional months from the original end date of your main course, with the same education provider (you may have changed course, but only to the same or a higher AQF level). If you changed providers or need more than 12 months, you must apply offshore.
DFAT or Defence sponsored students.
PhD applicants (a Master's by Research does not qualify).
Primary or secondary school studies.
Course progression: you completed your main course and are moving to a higher AQF level; if the completed course was higher education, the next one must also be higher education at a higher education provider. ELICOS to a Bachelor degree qualifies; ELICOS to another ELICOS course, or a Bachelor to a Graduate Diploma at a VET provider, does not. You cannot package courses, must hold only one future CoE, keep the gap between courses to about two months (four between academic years) and attach completion evidence.
Education provider default.

4. Family members: the new rules and exemptions

Most Student visa applicants, first-time or further, cannot include a partner or unmarried children under 18.
Once a Student visa is granted, family members cannot be added later as subsequent entrants in any circumstance. There are no exemptions.
Where an exemption applies, family members must apply at the same time and from the same location as you; family members in Australia must hold a visa that allows an onshore application.

The five exemptions for including family are:

PhD students (not Master's by Research).
DFAT or Defence sponsored students.
Recipients of a foreign government scholarship that fully funds the studies.
Nationals of 12 Pacific Island countries or of ASEAN member countries. Nationals of Latin American, African, European and other countries are not covered.
Family members already on your current Student visa, if you held or applied for a Student visa before 2 October 2026 and you qualify under the course completion or provider default exemption (onshore or offshore) or the course progression exemption (onshore only).

Note the flip side of point 5: if you must apply offshore because no onshore exemption applies, your new application cannot include your family, even if they are on your current Student visa, unless you meet a separate family exemption.

5. Applying from outside Australia and bridging visas

If you are excluded from applying onshore, you must be outside Australia both when you lodge and when the visa is granted.

No bridging visa is issued for an offshore application, so you cannot wait in Australia on a BVA as many applicants did before.
You may travel to Australia on another valid visa while waiting, but you must comply with its conditions, and Home Affairs may ask you to leave before the Student visa can be granted. Check ImmiAccount and your email regularly.
Students who lodge onshore under an exemption still receive a Bridging visa A, which ceases on departure; apply for a BVB before any overseas trip.
Priority processing: complete offshore applications from students with good progress who transferred or need more time for compulsory placements (for example nursing), or who transferred to a similar provider at the same level after progressing with their original provider, are targeted for decision within five business days. Students who transferred within 12 months of arrival, deferred repeatedly or showed limited progress are not prioritised.
A Visitor visa (subclass 600, up to three months of study) may help with urgent exams, but you cannot apply for a Student visa onshore while holding it, and it may affect 485 eligibility. Seek advice first.

Before you leave Australia, Home Affairs recommends: check your visa expiry and depart before it; get a current CoE and ask about studying online while you wait; use My Health Declarations to see if you need a health examination and complete it in Australia if so; use the Document Checklist Tool for financial, English and OSHC evidence; lodge through ImmiAccount as soon as you are offshore and do not book return flights until the visa is granted.

6. The 12-month transfer restriction and the planned Transfer visa

The Department of Education amended Standard 7 of the National Code 2018 (instrument F2026L01351, signed 30 September and registered 1 October 2026). From 2 October 2026 to 30 June 2027, a non-school provider cannot enrol a transferring overseas student until the student has completed 12 months of the principal course with the releasing provider (previously six months). From 1 July 2027 the period returns to six months. Exceptions apply where the releasing provider or course is deregistered or sanctioned, the provider agrees to release the student in PRISMS, or a government sponsor supports the move in writing.

The reason for the July 2027 reversion is a planned new Transfer stream within subclass 500: students changing provider would need to hold this visa before starting with the new provider, keeping their original visa end date and only for a course at the same or a higher level. This comes from Assistant Minister Julian Hill's media release and remarks on 2 October 2026, which flag a start from 1 July 2027; media reports estimate the charge at roughly half the standard Student visa charge. As at 5 November 2026 the exact fee, detailed rules and legislation have not been published; treat the details as pending official confirmation.

7. Visa charges in 2026

Standard charges per the Home Affairs visa pricing table (checked 5 November 2026, in effect since 1 July 2026):

Visa	Primary applicant	Additional applicant (18+ / under 18)
Student 500 (all other students)	A$2,500	A$1,530 / A$500
Student 500 (independent ELICOS, Non-Award)	A$2,050	A$1,255 / A$410
Student Guardian 590	A$2,500	— / A$500
485 Temporary Graduate (Post-VET, Post-Higher Education)	A$5,750	A$2,875 / A$1,450
485 Second Post-Higher Education	A$2,265	A$1,140 / A$575

A Subsequent Temporary Application Charge of A$700 may apply to onshore lodgements. Lower Student visa charges exist for eligible Pacific Island, Timor-Leste and ASEAN passport holders only; the 485 concession covers Pacific Island and Timor-Leste citizens only. The 485 charge rose from A$4,600 to A$5,750 on 1 July 2026, and Home Affairs has flagged future restrictions on including family in 485 applications, with no start date published as at 5 November 2026.

8. Practical planning for international students

On a Work and Holiday (462) or Visitor visa and want to study

Plan to return home to apply. Secure your CoE, financial evidence and English test results two to three months before your visa expires, lodge as soon as you are offshore and keep your return date open. Offshore applications can package ELICOS with a diploma or degree, which onshore exemptions do not allow, so map the whole pathway in one application.

Already studying and planning to continue

Design your pathway around the course completion (same provider, up to 12 months) or course progression (higher AQF level) exemptions so you can stay onshore with a BVA.
If you want to change provider, drop to the same or a lower level, or need more than 12 months, budget time and money for an offshore application, ideally during a semester break.
If your partner or children were added before 2 October 2026, make sure your next application uses an exemption that lets them stay on the visa.

Applying from your home country for the first time

Applicants from outside the Pacific and ASEAN have no family exemption. If you plan to bring a partner or children, consider a PhD or a fully funded government scholarship, or have family members look at visa options of their own. Plan the full progression (for example Diploma to Bachelor to Master) so each renewal fits the course progression exemption.

Not sure how this applies to you? Level Up Studies offers free consultations:

Melbourne Head Office: +61 3 8590 3229 | contactus@levelupstudies.com
1/105 Queen Street, Melbourne VIC 3000

9. FAQ

My Work and Holiday visa expires soon. Can I apply for a Student visa while in Australia?

No. From 2 October 2026, 462 and 417 holders cannot lodge a Student visa onshore and there is no exemption. Leave before your visa expires, lodge offshore and wait for the grant before returning.

I am finishing a Diploma and moving to a Bachelor degree. Do I have to leave?

Usually not. Progressing from a completed main course to a higher AQF level meets the course progression exemption, but you may apply for only one course, cannot package, and must attach completion evidence.

Can my partner join me later once my Student visa is granted?

No. Family members cannot be added as subsequent entrants after grant in any circumstance. Your partner would need to qualify for a visa in their own right.

Will the 12-month transfer rule stay?

It applies until 30 June 2027. From 1 July 2027 it returns to six months, and the government plans to manage transfers through a new Transfer stream, with details still to be published.