Student Visa Switches From Within Australia Blocked as Family Options Shrink

The Australian government has restricted rules governing the Student visa program, making it harder for students to renew their visas from inside Australia and to bring family members with them. The changes affect current Student visa holders as well as people holding several temporary work and training visas.

No start date for the changes has been announced.

Key facts

• Current Student visa holders must generally apply for a new Student visa from outside Australia.
• Holders of six named temporary work and training visas can no longer apply for a Student visa while in Australia.
• Applicants filing from outside Australia must also be outside the country when the visa is granted.
• Family members can now be included only in limited circumstances and generally must apply at the same time as the main applicant.
• Student visa holders can no longer add family members after their visa has been granted.

Who is affected?

The rules apply to current Student visa holders seeking a further Student visa and to people in Australia on selected temporary visas. The list of visa holders barred from applying for a Student visa while in Australia has been expanded to include Temporary Work (subclass 400), Training (subclass 407), Temporary Activity (subclass 408), Skills in Demand (subclass 482), Working Holiday (subclass 417) and Work and Holiday (subclass 462) visas.

Applicants who are required to file from outside Australia must also be outside Australia at the moment their Student visa is granted.

Are there exceptions?

Yes. Current Student visa holders may still be able to apply for a further Student visa from within Australia in certain cases, including students undertaking doctoral or school studies, students progressing to a higher-level course, those affected by an education provider's default, and those who need more time to complete their principal course.

Who can include family members now?

Student visa applicants may include family members only in limited circumstances. These include cases where the main applicant is a doctoral student, receives a foreign government scholarship, or is an eligible student from a Pacific country or one of the 11 Association of Southeast Asian Nations countries. Certain existing dependent Student visa holders and children born in Australia may also qualify.

Where family members are eligible, they generally must apply together with the primary applicant. Student visa holders can no longer add family members once their visa has been granted.

What this means for travellers

Students planning to extend their studies in Australia should check whether they fall into one of the exceptions before assuming they can apply from inside the country. Those who must apply from abroad will need to be outside Australia both when they file and when the visa is granted. Anyone hoping to travel with family members should confirm eligibility at the application stage, since additions after grant are no longer possible.

The announcement sets out the tightened rules but does not state when they take effect, so travellers should watch for a confirmed commencement date.