Australia Releases List of 11 Countries Whose Citizens on Student Visas Can Bring Their Families
- Australia's Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke announced sweeping new restrictions on international student and working holiday visas
- Foreign students will no longer be able to bring family members to Australia, though several groups will be exempt from the new rule
- The changes form part of a broader government push to reduce net overseas migration to 225,000 people by 2028
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Australia has introduced some of its most significant immigration reforms in recent years, targeting international students, so-called visa hoppers, and backpackers in a bid to bring net overseas migration under tighter control.
Source: UGC
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke unveiled the measures on Thursday, September 18, 2026, framing immigration as a national strength that nonetheless required what he called "a high level of control."
Australia's new rules for international students
Under the new policy, international students arriving on student visas will no longer be permitted to bring their families to Australia.
Burke confirmed that existing students already in the country would be exempt, as would applicants from Pacific Island states and the ASEAN member nations: Singapore, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar.
PhD students will also retain the right to bring their families, given their distinct life circumstances compared to undergraduates.
The government also moved to clamp down on visa hopping, a practice where students complete one course and then enrol in a lower qualification, sometimes through providers of questionable legitimacy, to extend their stay.
Under the revised rules, students wishing to extend their visas must progress to a higher level of study, such as moving from a bachelor's degree to a master's programme.
The YouTube video below provides more details on Australia’s new student visa policy.
Australia: Working Holiday Visa ballot system introduced
The reforms also bring considerable changes for working holidaymakers aged 18 to 30. Australia currently allows these visa holders to extend their stay for a second and even a third year, provided they complete regional work requirements.
In the future, those eligible for a second-year extension will enter a ballot capped at 45,000 places, a reduction from the 57,000 who qualified last year. The third-year ballot will be limited to just 5,000, down sharply from 31,000 the previous year.
British nationals on working holiday visas will not be affected by these changes, owing to Australia's existing free trade agreement with the United Kingdom.
New figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics released on the same day showed Australia's population reached 27.9 million in the 12 months to March 2026, reflecting growth of 1.4%, with net overseas migration contributing 292,100 people to that figure.
Violet Roumeliotis, from Settlement Services International, an organisation that assists new arrivals in Australia, expressed concern that the debate around migration was being driven by "short-term politics rather than what is best for the country." She argued that restricting family visas for international students would damage Australia's ability to attract future global talent.
The announcement comes amid heightened political pressure over housing affordability, living costs, and the strain on public services linked to rapid population growth.
The right-wing One Nation party, which recently won its first lower house seat, had proposed cutting temporary migrant visas by 750,000 over three years and capping net overseas migration at 130,000, a suggestion Burke rejected as economically damaging.
Australia names 11 countries needing visa support
Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh previously reported that Australia had introduced an important visa documentation requirement affecting citizens of several countries.
The latest rules could determine whether some applicants could move forward with their Work and Holiday visa applications.
Travellers had also been given key warnings about visa validity, work rights and passport details.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
