Ari the working holiday maker who wants to apply for his first Student visa
Ari is in Australia on a Work and Holiday (subclass 462) visa. He works in a plant nursery. He decides he wants to study horticulture in Australia as an international student.
Last year, a friend of Ari’s did the same thing. She applied for a Student (subclass 500) visa while she was still in Australia and had a few months left on her working holiday visa.
Ari wants to do the same. He visits the Home Affairs website and sees that the rules have changed since then. His Work and Holiday visa is an affected temporary visa. This means he now needs to leave Australia to apply for a Student visa. He must also be outside Australia when the visa is granted.
Ari checks how long Student visas take to process using the
global visa processing times page. He works out that he can apply for the visa when he lands in Asia to continue his travels. When he returns to his home country, he’ll work there to earn more money until he gets a decision about his visa. Then he’ll go back to Australia to start his course.
What this means for you: If you’re in Australia on an affected temporary visa and you want to apply for a Student visa, you need to leave Australia to apply. You also need to be outside Australia when the visa is granted.
Tami, Jai and Mira the business students who want to keep studying and need a new Student visa
Tami, Jai and Mira are in Australia on Student visas. They are all studying for a Bachelor of Business. This is at level 7 of the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF).
When she finishes her degree, Tami wants to study for a Certificate IV in Marketing (AQF level 4).
Jai plans to do a Graduate Diploma in Project Management and a Graduate Diploma in Accounting at a higher education provider. Both are at AQF level 8.
Mira wants to go on to a Master of Business Administration (AQF level 9) at a higher education provider.
They all visit the Home Affairs website. They read that there are new rules about who can apply for a new Student visa while they are still in Australia. The main change is that some students applying for another Student visa now need to apply from outside Australia. Those students must also be outside Australia when the visa is granted. However, there are some exemptions, and the new rules affect them differently.
Tami is moving to a vocational education and training (VET) course. This is at a lower AQF level than her bachelor degree. She will need to leave Australia to apply for a new Student visa. She must also be outside Australia when the visa is granted.
Jai is moving up an AQF level. But because he plans to study more than one course, he will also need to leave Australia to apply. He must also be outside Australia when his new Student visa is granted. If Jai wanted to study just the Graduate Diploma in Project Management he could apply from inside Australia.
Mira is going from a Bachelor degree (AQF level 7) to a Master’s degree (AQF level 9). She will keep studying at a higher education provider. Because she is moving up an AQF level, she can stay in Australia to apply for another Student visa.
Other exemptions cover school students, PhD students and some sponsored students. They also cover students who need extra time to finish their course or whose provider has defaulted.
What this means for you: If you hold a Student visa and want to apply for another one, you need to be outside Australia when you apply. You also need to be outside Australia when the visa is granted. This applies unless you meet an exemption.
Cristina the future student who wants to bring her partner
Cristina is from South America. She plans to study for a Bachelor degree in Australia on a Student visa. She has a partner at home. She is thinking about bringing him to Australia as a dependant (‘secondary applicant’) on her Student visa.
Cristina asks a registered migration agent about bringing her partner to Australia. The agent tells her that there are new rules. Dependants can no longer be included in Student visa applications unless the primary applicant is in an exempt category.
Exempt categories include students who are studying for a PhD or are on a foreign government scholarship. They also include students sponsored by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade or the Department of Defence. Eligible students from Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) or Pacific nations are also exempt.
Cristina is not in an exempt category. This means she can’t include her partner as a dependant on her Student visa application. If her partner wants to come too, he will need to apply for his own visa.
What this means for you: If you apply for a Student visa, you can no longer include family members in your application unless an exemption applies. No one can add family members after a Student visa has been granted.
Malakai the Pacific Island student who wants to bring his family
Malakai is from Tonga and plans to study in Australia on a Student visa. He has a partner and a 2-year-old daughter. He is thinking about bringing them to Australia as dependants (‘secondary applicants’) on his Student visa.
Malakai talks to an immigration lawyer about bringing his partner and daughter to Australia. The lawyer tells him that new rules normally stop dependants from being included on Student visas. However, there are some exemptions, including for Australia’s close Pacific and ASEAN neighbours.
Because Malakai is from an eligible Pacific nation, he can include his partner and daughter as dependants. He must include them when he applies for his visa. No one can add a dependant after a Student visa has been granted.
What this means for you: If you apply for a Student visa, you can no longer include family members in your application unless an exemption applies. No one can add family members after a Student visa has been granted.
Max, Kara and Raj the law students who want to include their partners in their next visa application
Max, Kara and Raj are in Australia on Student visas. They are about to finish their law degrees. Their main course is finishing and their visas will expire soon. So they want to apply for new Student visas to continue their studies.
All of them are studying a law degree (AQF level 7). They plan to go on to a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice (AQF level 8) at a higher education provider. They all meet an exemption to apply for another Student visa in Australia. However, their situations are different.
When they applied for their current visas in 2024, Max and Kara included their partners as dependants (‘secondary applicants’). Raj didn’t, but he would like to add his partner to his next visa.
Max’s university has given him an extra 6 months to complete his Bachelor course. This is because he had to return home last semester to look after a parent who was ill.
They’ve heard there are new rules about including family members in new Student visas, so they visit the Home Affairs website. Here is what the new rules mean for them.
Max can include his partner on his new Student visa. This is because he needs up to 12 months to finish his degree, and his partner is already included on his current Student visa.
Kara can also include her partner on her new visa. This is because her new course is at a higher AQF level, and her partner is already included on her current Student visa.
Raj can’t include his partner on his new visa. This is because his partner isn’t already included on his current visa.
What this means for you: If you apply for a Student visa, you can no longer include family members in your application unless an exemption applies. No one can add family members after a Student visa has been granted.
For more information, read about the
Student visa (subclass 500).
