Updated 7 October 2026. General information checked against the current legislation and Home Affairs guidance.
Student visa changes that commenced on 2 October 2026 affect where you can lodge a Subclass 500 application and whether family members can apply with you. Before paying for another course or arranging travel, check your current visa, your proposed course and each family member’s position.
Who can still apply onshore
Most current Student visa holders seeking another visa as the main student must apply offshore. Exceptions for primary Student visa holders include Defence, Foreign Affairs and school students, plus specified doctoral, provider-default, course-completion and course-progression cases. The new regulations and LIN 26/087 set the conditions.
These labels are only a starting point. Completion and provider-default cases have specific 12-month limits; course progression generally requires completion of the principal course and enrolment in no more than one further course meeting the qualification-level rules. Other application requirements still apply.
Holders of listed visas, including 417, 462, 407, 408, 482, 485 and visitor visas, cannot switch to a Student visa onshore. Check the full LIN 26/102 list, including its stream-specific limits.
Do not rely on the former 28-day pathway after a Student visa expires. Narrow non-substantive-visa exceptions need individual assessment.
Preparing your own application? Our Expert Application Review provides a pre-lodgement check of forms, evidence and readiness. It excludes preparation, lodgement and ongoing representation.
Check family eligibility separately
An onshore exception for the student does not automatically cover their partner or children. There are separate family exemptions and transitional protections, including for certain existing dependants and Australian-born children. Eligible family members must apply together with the student, at the same time and place. Subsequent-entrant applications are no longer available under the new rules. See the Home Affairs factsheet.
Three questions before you lodge
I applied before 2 October. Do these changes affect my application?
Applications lodged before 2 October 2026 continue under the rules applying when lodged, including applications with family members.
Can a Student visa dependant become the main student onshore?
No. A current secondary Subclass 500 holder applying as the main student must apply offshore; the primary-student exceptions do not cover that switch.
Can I apply offshore and wait in Australia?
A separate valid visa may permit a return, but applicants required to lodge offshore must also be offshore at grant. The offshore Student application does not provide a linked Bridging visa. Home Affairs explains the application and travel rules.
Use our visa guides for wider context, then ask Wisekangaroo to check your circumstances before committing to an application or travel plan.
This article is general information, not advice for your circumstances. Consult a registered migration agent about your eligibility. Meeting a lodgement exception does not guarantee a visa grant.
