Subclass 500 Subsequent Entrants: What Changed on 2 October 2026

Until 1 October 2026, the partner or child of an international student could apply to join them after the student's visa was granted. This was known as a subsequent entrant application, and many Brisbane students used it to bring a spouse to Australia once they had settled into their course.

For Student visa applications made on or after 2 October 2026, that pathway has closed, apart from a small number of exemptions. This article explains what changed, who is still able to include family, and what happens to applications already lodged.

What changed in the law

The Migration Amendment (Student Visa Reform) Regulations 2026 commenced on 2 October 2026. Two changes matter here.

• Clause 500.311 of the Migration Regulations now requires a family member applicant to be a member of the family unit of a person who satisfies the primary criteria for the visa. Previously it was enough to be a family member of a person who holds a Student visa. In practice, family members must now be included in the student's own application.
• Item 1222 of Schedule 1 now allows a family member to apply only if one of the listed exemptions applies (paragraph 1222(3)(da)).

The Department of Home Affairs factsheet confirms that current Student visa holders cannot add family members after the visa is granted, and that there is no exemption for this.

Who can still include family members

A family member can be included in a Student visa application made on or after 2 October 2026 only if an exemption applies, for example where:

• the student is a Defence student or a Foreign Affairs student;
• the student holds a passport from a Pacific-regional country or one of the listed ASEAN countries;
• the student is a doctoral (PhD) student;
• the student's course is fully funded by a foreign government;
• the student is affected by provider default, or is seeking to complete their current studies, in the circumstances set out in LIN 26/087;
• the family member is in Australia and already held a Student visa as a dependant of the same student on 2 October 2026, or applied before that date and was granted after it;
• the family member is a child born in Australia on or after 2 October 2026 to a student who held, or had applied for, a Student visa on that date.

Applications already lodged

Student visa applications lodged before 2 October 2026, including applications that included family members, continue to be assessed under the rules that applied when they were lodged. A subsequent entrant application lodged before that date is not affected by the change.

If your partner is overseas now

If you hold a Student visa and your partner did not apply with you, they cannot now apply as a subsequent entrant unless one of the exemptions above applies. Whether any other visa may be available to them depends entirely on their own circumstances, and is assessed on its own criteria.

Where Migration Star can help

Migration Star is a Brisbane-based registered migration practice, and our principal agent Rohit Sharma holds MARN 1797395. Which rules apply to you depends on the visa you hold, where you are, your course and your family circumstances, and we confirm this before anything is lodged. No agent can promise a visa outcome or a processing time.

Free written eligibility assessment: https://www.migrationstar.com.au/eligibility-assessment

Book a consultation (30 minutes AUD 165 or 1 hour AUD 330, incl GST, credited against our fees): https://www.migrationstar.com.au/book-a-consultation

General information current as at 2 October 2026. It is not advice for your circumstances. Migration Star, Rohit Sharma, Registered Migration Agent, MARN 1797395.

Sources

• Migration Amendment (Student Visa Reform) Regulations 2026 (F2026L01347)
• LIN 26/102, Student visa applications to be made from outside Australia (F2026L01348)
• LIN 26/087, classes of persons for Student visa applications (F2026L01349)
• Department of Home Affairs factsheet: Changes to Student visa application rules