Australia bars visitor and graduate visa holders from switching to student visas

On 1 July 2024, Australia ended the option for people holding visitor visas and Temporary Graduate visas (subclass 485, for recent graduates) to apply for a student visa without leaving the country. Anyone in those groups who wished to study had to apply from outside Australia.

The change was part of a wider package of measures by the Labor government to reduce net overseas migration, which had reached record levels after pandemic border restrictions were lifted. Ministers argued that some people were using study visas as a pathway to stay in Australia long term rather than to study, and that the so-called visa-hopping practice undermined the integrity of the system.

The rule took effect immediately for new applications, and the government also tightened other student visa settings around the same period. Universities and education agents warned that the changes could reduce international enrolments and create difficulties for people who had already made study plans. For some visitors, the rule meant extra costs, such as paying for flights and starting applications again from abroad.