Indian graduates planning their next step in Australia need to review family arrangements before lodging a Temporary Graduate visa application. From 13 November 2026, new subclass 485 rules restrict which partners and children can apply and end separate subsequent entrant applications for new lodgements.
The Migration Amendment (Temporary Graduate Visa Reform) Regulations 2026, registered on 12 November, commence today. For Indian Australians supporting a graduate or relatives overseas, the crucial message is simple: do not assume an eligible partner can join later.
What changes from 13 November?
A family member applying as a secondary applicant must meet a permitted eligibility category and apply at the same time as, and combined with, the primary applicant. A family relationship alone is not enough.
The graduate must be in Australia, but not in immigration clearance, when applying. Eligible family members can apply from inside or outside Australia, also excluding immigration clearance. They do not have to be physically in the same country as the graduate.
These are requirements for making a valid application, not merely matters considered when deciding whether to grant a visa. The government’s explanatory statement says an application failing the Schedule 1 requirements is invalid and cannot be considered.
Which family members may qualify?
The legislation provides six alternatives. At least one must apply, alongside the other relevant visa and family-unit requirements:
- Qualifying Student visa history: the family member currently holds a Student visa as a secondary applicant linked to the same primary applicant, held that visa on 2 October 2026, or held it during the six months immediately before applying.
- Qualifying graduate visa history: the family member currently holds, or held during the preceding six months, a subclass 485 visa as a secondary applicant linked to the same primary applicant.
- Completed doctoral study: the graduate’s most recent Student visa was granted in relation to a doctoral degree that has been completed.
- Foreign-government-funded study: each course covered by the graduate’s most recent Student visa was fully funded by a foreign government.
- Specified passports: the primary applicant holds a passport from a Pacific-regional country or a country listed in the relevant ASEAN-country provision.
- A child born after the relevant visa grant: the child was born after the primary applicant was granted their most recent Student visa or subclass 485 visa.
An Indian passport, a master’s qualification or partial scholarship funding does not, by itself, establish an exception. Check the precise conditions rather than relying on broad descriptions such as “research student” or “scholarship holder”.
An exception does not mean “apply later”
Even when a family member meets one of these categories, the combined-application requirement still applies. For example, meeting the doctoral-study condition does not preserve a separate subsequent entrant pathway after the graduate’s visa is granted.
There is an additional check for family in Australia
A secondary applicant applying in Australia must also meet a separate visa-status requirement. This can be satisfied by holding a substantive visa, or a Bridging A or Bridging B visa granted on the basis of a valid visa application.
A narrow alternative concerns a specified Administrative Review Tribunal decision about non-revocation of a Student visa cancellation, with a prescribed 28-day notification period. It is not a general grace period after any visa refusal or cancellation; obtain individual advice if this may apply.
What about existing visas and earlier applications?
The instrument applies its amendments to visa applications made on or after 13 November 2026. Applications made before commencement fall outside that application provision. The changes do not themselves cancel an existing visa.
However, an existing graduate visa holder should not assume their earlier grant protects a family member’s new application. A separate family application lodged from today is a new application, and the old subsequent entrant route is no longer available under these rules.
Children born in Australia require separate consideration. The official explanatory statement says these amendments are not intended to affect children born in Australia to a graduate visa holder, because section 78 of the Migration Act provides for a visa of the same kind and on the same terms and conditions as their parents at birth. Seek advice about the child’s circumstances and required notifications.
A practical checklist for Indian graduates
- Check the application date: keep lodgement acknowledgements for applications already submitted.
- Map each person’s history: gather visa grant notices, relevant holding dates and evidence linking secondary applicants to the same graduate.
- Document any exception: retain completion records, full foreign-government funding evidence or birth certificates, as applicable.
- Plan a combined lodgement: confirm each person’s eligibility, location and current visa status before submitting.
- Revisit family commitments: avoid non-refundable travel or housing decisions based on an assumption that a partner can apply later.
Get advice before making irreversible decisions
These Australia migration updates concern the graduate visa, not just the Student visa restrictions introduced in October. Check the two pathways separately. University international student teams can help with course and welfare support; a registered migration agent or Australian legal practitioner can assess immigration options. Check an agent’s registration through the official OMARA register.
The takeaway: establish family eligibility before lodging the graduate’s application. This article provides general information, not individual migration advice, and no application outcome is guaranteed.