Australia to Limit Family Visas for International Students

The Australian government is preparing to implement stricter immigration rules for international students, which may limit their ability to bring family members such as spouses and children into the country. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke is set to outline these proposed changes on September 17, 2026, during a speech at the National Press Club in Canberra.

This initiative is part of a broader strategy to reduce net overseas migration from approximately 305,000 to about 225,000 over the next two years. The government aims to ensure that changes support the Australian economy while addressing concerns about visa overstays and the movement of individuals with expired visas into other categories.

The reforms may restrict secondary visas for family members primarily to higher-degree research students and specific groups such as Pacific islanders and government scholarship recipients. Additionally, the minimum salary threshold for employer-sponsored skilled visas has been raised to AUD 76,515 for applications lodged between July 1, 2025, and June 30, 2026.