Bringing family on a subclass 500 visa: the end of subsequent entrants

A partner or child can no longer apply to join a student in Australia after the student visa has been granted. For applications made on or after 2 October 2026, a family member can obtain a student visa only by applying together with the student, and only where the Migration Regulations 1994 allow that student’s family to be included. The change was made by the Migration Amendment (Student Visa Reform) Regulations 2026.

For many prospective students, this means the family cannot accompany them on a student visa at all. For families already in Australia, the Regulations preserve the existing position, on conditions.

What a subsequent entrant was

Before 2 October 2026, a member of the student’s family unit, generally a spouse or de facto partner and dependent children, could apply for a student visa in two ways. The family member could be included in the student’s own application, or could apply separately after the student’s visa had been granted. The second route was the subsequent entrant application.

Two amendments closed it. Paragraph 1222(3)(e) of Schedule 1 formerly said that a family member may apply at the same time and place as the student. It now says the family member must do so, in a combined application. And new paragraph 1222(3)(da) limits the circumstances in which a family member can apply at all.

Which students can still include family

A family member can apply only if one of the following is true of the student.

The first two rows are in the Regulations. The remaining four are specified in LIN 26/087, the Migration (LIN 20/158: Class of Persons for Student (Temporary) (Class TU) Visa Applications) Amendment Instrument 2026.

The explanatory statement gives the reason for the passport exception as Australia’s strategic interests and its educational links with Pacific and Southeast Asian partners. It notes that Timor-Leste is treated as a Pacific regional country for this purpose.

A student from any other country, enrolled in a bachelor degree, a masters by coursework or a vocational course at their own expense, cannot include a partner or child in a student visa application made on or after 2 October 2026, unless the family is protected by the rules for existing families.

Families already in Australia

The Regulations contain four protections for families who were already in the student visa program on 2 October 2026. Each requires the family member to be in Australia.

• Existing family visa holders. A family member who held a student visa as a family member on 2 October 2026 can be included in the student’s further application.
• Applications in progress. The same applies to a family member who had applied before 2 October 2026 and was granted the visa afterwards.
• Children born in Australia. A child born in Australia on or after 2 October 2026 can be included where the parent held a student visa in their own right on that date.
• Children of pending applicants. The same applies where the parent had applied before that date and was granted the visa afterwards.

The explanatory statement describes these provisions as intended to allow existing family units to remain together where they are eligible to make a further application from inside Australia. It also notes that a child born in Australia to a visa holder is, under section 78 of the Migration Act 1958, taken to have been granted a visa of the same kind as the parent at birth.

There is an important limit. These protections operate when the application is made in Australia, so they depend on the student being permitted to apply in Australia. Since 2 October 2026 a student visa holder can do that only within one of seven exceptions, which we set out in who can still apply for a student visa in Australia.

One application, one place

The combined application rule has consequences beyond the end of subsequent entrants.

Every applicant must apply at the same place. Where any one member of the family is outside Australia, or is required to apply from outside Australia, the whole family applies from outside Australia. A student who was required to apply offshore must also be outside Australia when the visa is granted.

The rule also fixes the family at the date of application. A partner from a relationship that begins after the grant, or a child born outside Australia after the grant, cannot be added to the visa.

What the changes do not do

The amendments do not cancel or shorten any visa already held. A family member who holds a student visa keeps it until it ends.

They do not prevent a family member from applying for a different visa in their own right. Which visa is appropriate depends on that person’s own circumstances and purpose. A visitor visa holder cannot apply for a student visa while in Australia, and a family member who wishes to study must meet the student visa criteria independently and, in most cases, apply from outside Australia.

The explanatory statement acknowledges that the measure limits family unity for prospective students who are outside the exceptions. That is the intended effect, not an oversight that a later application can correct.

Planning before the student applies

• Confirm the exception first. Whether family can be included turns on the student’s passport, course and funding. That should be checked before an offer of enrolment is accepted.
• Prepare the family’s evidence with the student’s. Relationship evidence, financial capacity for the whole family and health cover must be ready when the student lodges, because there is no later opportunity.
• Check where everyone will be. A family split between Australia and another country applies from outside Australia.
• Existing families should not let the position lapse. The protections depend on the family member being in Australia and on the student’s next application being one that can be made in Australia.

How Visa Plan Lawyers can help

The family position now has to be settled before the student’s application is lodged. Visa Plan Lawyers advises students and their families on student visa applications and on the options for family members of student visa holders. Contact our team to discuss your family’s circumstances before you apply.

General information only, current at the date shown. It is not legal advice on your situation. To get advice on your matter, book a consultation.