Student Visa Changes Could Send 30,000 Bhutanese Students Home Under Migration Amendment

Australia began enforcing new student visa application rules on October 2, 2026, requiring most current Student (Subclass 500) holders who need another student visa to apply from outside the country. A report by Dechen Dolkar, a Kuensel reporter, cited unnamed industry experts and other sources estimating that 20,000 to 30,000 Bhutanese in Australia may need to return home to extend their visas.

The first group could face expiry deadlines in February and March 2027. The student visa changes do not automatically cancel visas already granted, but most affected applicants must remain offshore until a new visa is decided.

Bhutanese students who changed courses or education providers after arriving in Australia are considered especially exposed to the new restrictions. Each person’s position depends on their visa, study history and eligibility for an exemption.

Most repeat applicants must leave Australia before lodging

The rules generally bar Student visa holders from applying for another Student visa while they are in Australia. They also restrict other temporary visa holders, including people on Working Holiday Maker and Skills in Demand visas, from applying onshore.

Several groups are exempt. They include students sponsored by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, or the Department of Defence; students pursuing a doctoral degree or primary or secondary school studies; and students whose provider cannot deliver their course.

An exemption also covers a student who needs up to 12 additional months to finish a course with the same provider. Students who completed the main course on their current visa and are moving to a higher-level course may also qualify. The listed exemptions appear in the legislative instrument LIN 26/087.

Applicants who do not qualify can still seek a visa from overseas. They must remain outside Australia until the visa is granted, rather than briefly departing to lodge an application and then returning to wait for a decision.

The rules also close the 28-day workaround

The Migration Amendment (Student Visa Reform) Regulations 2026 changed the application rules in the Migration Regulations 1994. The Regulations were made on 1 October 2026 and took effect the next day, applying to applications made from commencement onward.

They amend item 1222 of Schedule 1 and clauses 500.311, 500.315 and 500.411 of Schedule 2. The provisions address who can apply for a Student visa, where applicants must be when they apply, and which family members can apply as secondary applicants. The Australian Government says the changes are intended to strengthen program integrity and keep the visa focused on temporary study.

The former 28-day window no longer lets a student wait for a visa to expire and then lodge a fresh onshore application. One narrow exception covers a former student visa holder whose cancellation, or decision not to revoke it, was set aside and substituted by the Administrative Review Tribunal after the visa had ceased. That person must apply within 28 days after receiving notice of the Tribunal’s decision.

The new restrictions also add eight temporary visa types to the list of visas that prevent an onshore Student visa application: Working Holiday 417, Work and Holiday 462, Skills in Demand 482, Temporary Skill Shortage 482, Temporary Work Skilled 457, Temporary Work Short Stay Specialist 400, Training 407 and Temporary Activity 408.

Tasman Visa says the list covers 16 subclasses, counting Subclass 482 twice for its separate streams, while Hannan Tew describes 17 specified temporary visas, including Working Holiday, Skills in Demand, Temporary Graduate and Visitor visas. LIN 26/102 sets out the location rule.

New applications face tighter family-member limits

Students generally cannot add family members to a first or subsequent Student visa application unless an exemption applies. Exempt groups include doctoral students, nationals of Pacific countries and Association of Southeast Asian Nations countries, fully funded foreign government scholarship recipients, and students sponsored by DFAT or Defence.

Family members must apply at the same time and place as the student. They cannot be added after the visa is granted, and the rules provide no exemption to that timing requirement. Some households already in Australia are protected: a student eligible to apply for another visa onshore may include the same family members who appeared in a visa or application before October 2.

The Regulations also protect certain secondary applicants who already held a Student visa when the rules began, people whose earlier application was lodged before commencement and approved afterward, and a child born in Australia on or after commencement to a primary applicant holding or seeking a Student visa.

Children generally must be unmarried and under 18 to qualify as dependants. Once a child turns 18, they may need to qualify for a visa independently and leave Australia to lodge a separate student application.

Student Guardian visa applications face the onshore restrictions too. Current Student Guardian (subclass 590) holders can still apply for another Student Guardian visa from within Australia.

Existing visas remain valid, but a sponsored job is no guarantee

The new rules do not automatically cancel existing Student visas. Holders may remain in Australia under their current visas, subject to the visa conditions and expiry dates.

Some education consultancies are examining whether affected students could qualify for a Skills in Demand visa, subclass 482. That route is not available simply because a student finds work: it generally requires an eligible employer able and willing to sponsor the worker, as well as the applicant meeting the visa requirements. A migration lawyer cautioned that it would not suit everyone.

The changes followed a migration reform package announced on 17 September 2026. The Australian Government said that package targeted use of student visas to extend a stay, as part of wider efforts to reduce net overseas migration. The May 2026 Federal Budget set targets of 245,000 by 2027 and 225,000 by 2028.

The government said the measures seek to uphold education quality and ensure the program serves its study purpose. It said the changes “will not affect the ability of genuine students to study in Australia.”

A provider-transfer stream is planned for 2027

Australia has also announced a Student visa Transfer stream for students changing education providers. The government plans to introduce it in 2027, but details are still being developed. The existing regulations apply to applications made on or after October 2, 2026.