Petition: Transitional Onshore Student Visa Extension for Students Near Completion
To: The Australian Government, Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Immigration
Allow Onshore Visa Extensions for Students Who Changed Providers Before 2 October 2026 and Are Near Graduation
We, the undersigned international students and supporters, respectfully request a transitional exemption allowing existing Student visa holders to apply for a further Student visa from within Australia where they changed education providers before 2 October 2026 and are now close to completing their qualification.
The new Student visa rules mean that students who transferred to a different education provider may be required to leave Australia and apply offshore, even when they only need a short extension to complete their studies.
This can seriously affect students who have already spent years studying in Australia, paid substantial tuition fees and completed most of their degree.
Many affected students may only have:
a final semester or one or two trimesters remaining;
compulsory work placement requirements;
a small number of remaining subjects; or
less than 12 months of study left.
For courses such as Community Services, Nursing, Social Work and other practical programs, compulsory placements may have fixed schedules or required gaps between placements. Students may therefore need only a few additional months, but their current visa may expire before they can complete these requirements.
Requiring these students to leave Australia while their course is still continuing could cause them to miss classes or placements. If their offshore visa application takes a long time or is refused, they may be unable to complete a qualification for which they have already invested significant time and money.
We are not asking for automatic visa approval.
Students should still be required to meet all Student visa requirements, including the Genuine Student requirement, financial capacity, health, character and enrolment requirements.
We are simply asking that genuine students who are already near completion be allowed to lodge their application onshore and have it assessed normally.
Our Request
We respectfully ask the Australian Government to introduce a transitional exemption for students who:
changed their education provider before 2 October 2026;
hold a valid CoE and are genuinely studying with their current provider;
have substantially completed their qualification;
require 12 months or less to finish; and
need additional time because of placements, final study periods or other genuine academic requirements.
This exemption could require evidence from the education provider confirming the student's progress, remaining study requirements and expected completion date.
Students who changed providers before the new rules were introduced made their study decisions under the previous system. Those who are now only months away from graduation should not have their education unnecessarily interrupted.
We respectfully ask the Australian Government to urgently consider a fair transitional arrangement that protects the integrity of the Student visa system while allowing genuine students near completion to finish their Australian qualification.
This request is not for guaranteed visas — only for the opportunity to apply onshore without disrupting the final stage of their education.