Find simple answers to common Student visa questions and use our general checklist to understand whether an onshore pathway may be available. Check the October 2026 rules before enrolling, travelling or applying.
Updated 6 October 2026 | Global Consult | Education, Visa & Migration
Planning your next Student visa? Start with your current visa, completed study and proposed course. These simple questions explain the changes from 2 October 2026.
This is a general guide, not a final eligibility decision. Have your documents checked before paying for a new course, travelling or lodging.
Common questions, simple answers
1. What do onshore and offshore mean?
Onshore means applying while inside Australia. Offshore means applying while outside Australia.
Example: Living in Sydney does not automatically mean you can apply from Sydney.
2. When did the new rules start?
They apply to Student visa applications made on or after 2 October 2026. Earlier applications remain under the rules applying when lodged. The changes do not cancel your existing visa. [1, 2]
Example: A valid application lodged on 1 October is treated differently from one lodged on 3 October.
3. Can every current Student visa holder apply again onshore?
No. A current primary Student visa holder needs a qualifying exception. These include eligible course completion, course progression, provider default, doctoral study, school study, and Defence or Foreign Affairs students. All relevant conditions must be met. [1–3]
Example: Still studying does not automatically establish an exception.
4. Who cannot apply onshore because of their current visa?
The listed visas are 400, 407, 408, 417, 457, 462, both 482 visa types, 485, 600, 601, 602, 651, 771 and 988; also 403 Domestic Worker (Diplomatic or Consular) and 995 granted on primary criteria. [4]
Example: A 485 holder must apply offshore even if the proposed course is a Master’s.
5. I hold a Student visa as a dependant. Can I become the main student onshore?
The new rule requires a Student visa dependant applying as the main student to apply offshore. The primary-student exceptions do not remove that requirement. [2]
Example: A spouse holding a Student dependent visa cannot simply switch to the main student onshore.
6. I finished my bachelor’s. Can I apply onshore for a higher course?
Your main course is the highest-AQF course covered by your Student visa. Potentially, the course-progression exception requires a current subclass 500 visa, completion of the relevant main course or permitted alternative, and no more than one further course at a higher level. After higher education, that next course must also be higher education with a higher education provider. [3]
Example: Do not rely only on an older qualification unrelated to the current Student visa.
7. What are the qualification levels?
An ordinary bachelor’s is AQF 7; an honours bachelor’s, Graduate Certificate and Graduate Diploma are AQF 8; a Master’s is AQF 9. [5]
Example: Ordinary bachelor’s to Graduate Diploma increases the level. Honours bachelor’s to Graduate Diploma does not.
8. Can I move from a bachelor’s to a VET Graduate Diploma onshore?
VET means vocational education and training. Not under the course-progression exception. A VET course fails the higher education requirement, even if it is AQF 8. Unless another exception applies, an offshore application is needed. [3]
Example: Bachelor of IT to a VET Graduate Diploma: the higher qualification number alone is not enough.
9. What about a higher education Graduate Diploma or Master’s?
Either may be suitable for assessment if it is higher than the completed course and the other requirements are met. Course entry and visa approval are separate checks. [3, 5]
Example: An ordinary IT bachelor’s followed by one eligible higher education Master’s may qualify for onshore assessment.
10. Can I change from IT to social work?
The progression provision does not expressly require the same field. You must meet admission requirements and explain the change and career benefits under Genuine Student assessment. [3, 6]
Example: Relevant community experience and a researched career plan can help explain a genuine change of field.
11. Can I package a Graduate Diploma and Master’s?
Do not assume that qualifies. The progression exception permits no more than one further course. Two separate enrolments may fail that requirement. A single Master’s with an embedded exit award needs document review; this is a case-specific interpretation. [3]
Example: “Leading to a Master’s” on an advertisement is not enough to confirm eligibility.
12. I have not finished my main course. Can I get more time?
Potentially: current subclass 500, the original main course or a permitted alternative with the same provider, and completion within 12 months of the relevant CoE end date. [3]
Example: A failed subject requiring another semester at the same university may qualify. CoE means Confirmation of Enrolment.
13. I changed college after six months. Can I apply onshore?
Not automatically. Transfer permission and onshore application eligibility are separate. The unfinished-course exception has a same-provider requirement. [3]
Example: A permitted college transfer before completion may still require an offshore application unless another exception applies.
14. What if my provider stops delivering my course?
A provider-default exception may apply. It requires evidence of enrolment on the default day, an application within 12 months, and no earlier visa application for the same default, among other conditions. [3]
Example: Keep the provider notice and enrolment records for an individual assessment.
15. My visa expired or I hold a bridging visa. Can I apply?
Get an urgent individual assessment. The completion and progression exceptions require a current Student visa. Other application provisions, deadlines and bars need checking. [2, 3]
Example: An old Student visa grant does not prove that you still hold that visa.
16. If I apply offshore, can I come back before the decision?
Where these rules require an offshore application, you must also be outside Australia when the Student visa is granted. Any travel meanwhile depends on your visa and circumstances. [2]
Example: Do not assume you can return and receive the required offshore visa grant while in Australia.
17. Can I include my partner or children?
Only if a family exception applies. Some existing dependent-visa families have transitional protection. Other exceptions include qualifying Pacific/ASEAN passport holders, specified sponsored students, foreign-government-funded study and doctoral study. Family applications must accompany the main application at the same time and location. [1–3]
Example: A partner already covered by the transitional rules needs different checks from a new partner seeking to join.
18. Can my family apply later, after my Student visa is granted?
The new rules no longer allow a separate subsequent-entrant Student visa application after the main visa is granted. Check family eligibility before lodging. [1, 2]
Example: Do not plan to apply alone now and add your spouse through a later Student visa application.
19. If I meet an exception, is approval guaranteed?
No. The visa requirements still apply, including Genuine Student, and your individual immigration history and evidence matter. [6]
Example: A course offer, higher qualification or preliminary check is not a visa approval.
20. What should I send Global Consult for a check?
Your visa grant and expiry, all CoEs, study history, completion letter and transcript, new offers, and family details if relevant.
Example: Tell us whether the proposed Graduate Diploma is VET or higher education and whether you have one or several enrolments.
General eligibility check: where should I apply?
Use these questions to identify what needs checking. A possible onshore pathway is not confirmed eligibility. No personal information is collected by this checklist.
Check 1: Are you outside Australia?
Yes: prepare an offshore assessment. If you are inside Australia, continue below.
Check 2: What visa do you hold today?
A visa listed in FAQ 4: offshore application required while holding it. A Student dependent visa: see FAQ 5. A primary Student visa: continue. Another visa, bridging visa or no current visa: individual review; absence from the list is not automatic eligibility.
Check 3: Do you have a special exception?
Doctoral or school study, qualifying Defence/Foreign Affairs sponsorship, or provider default: ask us to check that exception’s conditions. Otherwise check completion or progression below.
Check 4: Are you still finishing your main course?
Check the same provider, permitted course, current Student visa and 12-month CoE deadline. If these are not met, do not assume the completion exception applies.
Check 5: Have you completed the relevant main course?
For progression, check a current Student visa, one further course and a higher AQF level. An unrelated old qualification is not enough.
Check 6: Was your completed course higher education?
Your next course must also be higher education with a higher education provider. Bachelor’s to VET Graduate Diploma fails this part of the progression check.
Check 7: Are there other issues to review?
Check expiry, visa conditions, refusals or cancellations, family eligibility, admission, Genuine Student and other visa requirements before deciding where to apply.
What does my result mean?
- Offshore required: your current visa or circumstances require an offshore application.
- Possible onshore pathway: an exception may apply, but all conditions need verification.
- Individual review needed: your visa, enrolments or history do not fit a simple answer.
Contact Global Consult for a document-based assessment.
Yogendra Poudel | Registered Migration Agent | MARN 1797600
Official sources
- [1] Home Affairs: Student visa changes
- [2] Student Visa Reform Regulations 2026
- [3] LIN 26/087: onshore exceptions
- [4] LIN 26/102: offshore application visa list
- [5] Australian Qualifications Framework
- [6] Home Affairs: Genuine Student
General information checked on 6 October 2026. Individual circumstances and later rule changes may affect the answer. Examples of bachelor’s progression assume an ordinary Australian higher education bachelor’s unless stated.
