Latest Changes Made in Australian Student Visa

August 10, 2024

Latest Changes Made in Australian Student Visa

If you’re considering applying for a student visa to Australia, you must now submit your application from overseas rather than within the country. This alteration impacts individuals with specific visas, such as Visitor and Temporary Graduate visas, who will be prohibited from seeking Student visas while living in Australia.  

Visitors, Temporary Graduate visa holders, and other specified visa holders currently in Australia cannot apply for Student visas under the new regulations. Nevertheless, student visa applications lodged within Australia prior to July 1, 2024, will continue unaffected by these fresh regulations. Furthermore, individuals holding Working Holiday Maker and Work and Holiday visas are not affected by these modifications, and their visa statuses will stay the same.

The Australian government has explicitly stated that temporary graduates must either depart the country once their visa expires or consider employment options that may result in obtaining employer-sponsored visas or permanent residency if they want to stay in Australia. As per the latest report “Graduates in Limbo” from the Grattan Institute, 32 percent of Temporary Graduate Visa holders are choosing to enroll in further studies to prolong their time in Australia after their visa expires.  

These adjustments align with additional reforms scheduled to be implemented on July 1 for Temporary Graduate visa holders. The changes will involve much shorter post-graduation work permits, lowering the age requirement from 50 to 35, and stricter English language skills criteria implemented in March.   

Future students have the choice to apply for their student visa from a different country and journey to Australia prior to receiving a final decision. Nevertheless, the applicants need to possess or acquire a visa that permits them to enter and stay in Australia for the duration of their stay. Offshore Student visa applicants cannot obtain a Bridging visa to remain in Australia during their application processing.  

Holders of visitor visas can now engage in studying for a maximum of three months within the duration of their visa under the updated regulations. Those intending to study beyond this timeframe need to obtain a student visa from a foreign country.  

Some visa holders in Australia, such as Temporary Graduate, Maritime Crew, and Visitor visa subclasses, are currently not allowed to request a student visa while in the country.  

The visa types that are particularly impacted are Subclass 485 (Temporary Graduate), Subclass 600 (Visitor), Subclass 601 (Electronic Travel Authority), Subclass 602 (Medical Treatment), Subclass 651 (eVisitor), and Subclass 988 (Maritime Crew). Moreover, individuals with Subclass 403 (Temporary Work) in the International Relations (Domestic Worker – Diplomatic or Consular) stream, Subclass 426 (Domestic Worker (Temporary) – Diplomatic or Consular), Subclass 771 (Transit), and Subclass 995 (Diplomatic Temporary – primary visa holders only) cannot apply for Student visas while in Australia.