Bridging visa E to Student visa: the onshore route closed on 2 October 2026

Law and sources checked as at 3 October 2026.

The 2 October 2026 Student visa rule removes the old 28-day onshore route for former students without a substantive visa; a Bridging visa E is not substantive under the Migration Act. Check your lodgement date and any Student visa cancellation decision against Schedule 1 item 1222 of the Migration Regulations 1994 before applying. Under the Migration Amendment (Student Visa Reform) Regulations 2026, these amendments do not apply to applications made before 2 October 2026.

Schedule 1 item 1222(4B) of the Migration Regulations 1994 retains a narrow exception following an Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) decision. Under clause 500.411(1) of the Migration Regulations 1994, applicants required to apply offshore must also be outside Australia at grant. The Migration Amendment (Student Visa Reform) Regulations 2026 did not change Bridging visa E criteria or conditions.

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An Australian migration lawyer can check application timing and whether the exception in Schedule 1 item 1222(4B) of the Migration Regulations 1994 applies.

Dated event card — checked 3 October 2026

“The one exception” is shorthand for the former-student situation addressed here. Schedule 1 item 1222(4A) of the Migration Regulations 1994 retains the special-purpose-visa and Diplomatic (Temporary) dependant provisions; the reform did not repeal them.

What did the 2026 Student visa reform change on 2 October?

The 2026 Student visa reform changed onshore application validity and offshore requirements from 2 October 2026 under the Migration Amendment (Student Visa Reform) Regulations 2026.

1. The former 28-day route ended. Items 12–14 of the Migration Amendment (Student Visa Reform) Regulations 2026 removed the former onshore route for a person without a substantive visa whose last substantive visa was a Student visa that ended within 28 days.

2. The substantive-visa requirement now governs the ordinary onshore route. Schedule 1 item 1222(4) of the Migration Regulations 1994, as amended by the Student Visa Reform Regulations, requires an applicant in Australia to hold a substantive visa and not belong to a specified class, unless subitem (4A) or (4B) applies. Holding any substantive visa is therefore not enough. Section 5(1) of the Migration Act 1958 excludes bridging visas from the definition of “substantive visa”.

3. Offshore requirements expanded. LIN 26/102 and the Migration Amendment (Student Visa Reform) Regulations 2026 require holders of specified substantive-visa classes and most current Student visa holders to apply outside Australia. The current-Student-visa rule retains exemptions for Defence, Foreign Affairs and school students, and a specified class.

The 17 September 2026 ministerial reform announcement announced reform; this Student visa measure became law on 2 October 2026 under the Migration Amendment (Student Visa Reform) Regulations 2026. The announcement itself was not legislation.

Who does the Student visa change affect?

The Student visa change affects former students without a substantive visa, including Bridging visa E holders, making new applications from 2 October 2026 under Schedule 1 item 1222.

1. Former students on a BVE or without a valid visa. A person without a substantive visa, for example on a Bridging visa E, no longer has the former 28-day basis for making a valid onshore Student visa application. This follows from section 5(1) of the Migration Act 1958 and Schedule 1 item 1222 of the Migration Regulations 1994, as amended by the Student Visa Reform Regulations. The narrow ART exception is explained below.

2. People still holding a substantive visa. Holding one does not alone establish onshore Student visa eligibility. LIN 26/102 and the Migration Amendment (Student Visa Reform) Regulations 2026 impose offshore requirements on specified classes and most current Student visa holders, subject to the retained exemptions.

3. People who applied before commencement. Under the application provision in the Migration Amendment (Student Visa Reform) Regulations 2026, these amendments do not apply to applications made before 2 October 2026. That does not establish that an earlier application was valid, meets other criteria or will be granted.

The conclusion for BVE holders comes from reading section 5(1) of the Migration Act 1958 together with Schedule 1 item 1222. Home Affairs’ Student visa page, updated on 2 October 2026, gives a broad offshore-lodgement statement but does not expressly identify bridging visas in the supplied material.

The one exception: an ART decision on a Student visa cancellation

The one exception for the former-student situation is item 1222(4B) of Schedule 1 to the Migration Regulations 1994.

ART-cancellation exception: Item 1222(4B), introduced by the Migration Amendment (Student Visa Reform) Regulations 2026, applies where the applicant does not hold a substantive visa and their last substantive visa was a Student visa that was cancelled. The Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) must have set aside the cancellation, or the refusal to revoke it, after that Student visa’s end date. The new application must be made within 28 days of notification, and there must have been no earlier visa grant on an application made without a substantive visa. These conditions are cumulative: all must be satisfied.

In item 1222(4B) of the Migration Regulations 1994, “set aside” means reversing the relevant cancellation or refusal-to-revoke decision. A pending review is not enough. Nor does every favourable ART result meet this exception.

Meeting item 1222(4B) does not remove other applicable Student visa requirements under the Migration Regulations 1994. The exception provides an application-validity route, not a guaranteed visa grant.

Schedule 1 item 1222(4B) of the Migration Regulations 1994 requires application within 28 days of notification of the qualifying ART decision.

Applying for a Student visa from outside Australia

Applying for a Student visa from outside Australia also requires an offshore grant where clause 500.411(1) of the Migration Regulations 1994 applies.

1. Check both lodgement and grant location. Clause 500.411(1) of the Migration Regulations 1994, as amended by the Student Visa Reform Regulations, requires applicants who must apply offshore under those Regulations and LIN 26/102 to be outside Australia at grant. Leaving briefly to lodge an offshore application does not answer that grant-location requirement.

   A BVE ends on departure under section 82(8) of the Migration Act 1958. The Home Affairs Bridging visa E subclass 050 page confirms that it ends immediately if you leave Australia. It is not a return-travel visa.

2. Check departure history before relying on an offshore application. Student visa subclass 500 includes public interest criterion (PIC) 4014 under clauses 500.217 and 500.317 of the Migration Regulations 1994. Departure on a BVE is a potential risk factor, subject to PIC 4014’s exceptions and compelling or compassionate circumstance provisions. It does not necessarily trigger an exclusion.

   Before making departure plans, check PIC 4014 after a BVE against your visa and departure dates.

What did not change for Bridging visa E holders?

Bridging visa E criteria and conditions did not change under the Migration Amendment (Student Visa Reform) Regulations 2026.

1. The BVE rules themselves. The Migration Amendment (Student Visa Reform) Regulations 2026 did not amend Part 050, Part 051, Class WE or the BVE condition lists in the Migration Regulations 1994. This statement is limited to this reform and the sources checked as at 3 October 2026.

2. The distinction between lawful stay and substantive-visa eligibility. Section 76 of the Migration Act 1958 does not make holding a BVE an automatic barrier to every other visa application or grant. It also does not override the Student visa validity requirements in Schedule 1 item 1222 of the Migration Regulations 1994. A BVE does not confer an entitlement to the former route.

Does LIN 26/102 list a Bridging visa E?

No. LIN 26/102 lists specified substantive-visa classes; the BVE issue instead follows from the substantive-visa requirement in Schedule 1 item 1222 of the Migration Regulations 1994.

Did the reform cancel my existing Bridging visa E?

No. The Migration Amendment (Student Visa Reform) Regulations 2026 changed Student visa application rules, not BVE criteria or conditions.

Is permission to study the same as eligibility for a Student visa?

No. Study restrictions on a BVE are separate conditions under the Migration Regulations 1994; permission to study does not satisfy the Student visa application rules in Schedule 1 item 1222.

Other visas from a Bridging visa E

1. Other visa possibilities require their own validity and eligibility checks. Section 76 of the Migration Act 1958 does not create a blanket bar because you hold a bridging visa, but it does not establish eligibility for another visa. Read the separate checks before you apply for another visa on a Bridging visa E.

2. Read other dated changes separately. This page covers the Migration Amendment (Student Visa Reform) Regulations 2026, not every measure in the September ministerial announcement. Read what changed for Bridging visa E holders in 2026, or return to the Bridging Visa E Guide.

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Before lodging, an Australian migration lawyer can check your application date, last substantive visa and any ART decision against Schedule 1 item 1222 of the Migration Regulations 1994. For the item 1222(4B) exception, the check includes the decision’s scope, notification date and any earlier grant without a substantive visa.