The Australian Government is considering restrictions on the number of visas granted to dependants of international students. The latest available figures show that dependent visas accounted for around 10% of higher education student visas granted in 2025–26.
However, the impact of restrictions will be significantly different across source markets. In particular, South Asian countries accounted for more than 70% of all dependent visas granted last financial year offshore, with 10,448 visas granted to student dependents from Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Sri Lanka.
Announced by Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke on 17 September 2026, the reforms will restrict the ability of most new international students to bring family members to Australia on their student visas. The Government has indicated exceptions for students from Pacific and ASEAN countries and for certain courses, including PhD programs. Students and families already in Australia will not be separated under the changes.
For Australia's international education sector, the significance of the policy lies not simply in the number of secondary applicants affected, but in where those dependants come from.
South Asian markets face the greatest exposure
Studymove's analysis of offshore higher education visa grants for the 2025–26 financial year shows that secondary visas represented around 10% of total grants, with 14,575 secondary applicants accompanying 127,867 primary applicants.
The aggregate figure, however, masks substantial differences between source markets.
South Asian countries account for more than 70% of secondary visas in the dataset, with more than 10,400 grants across Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Sri Lanka.
Bhutan has the highest proportional exposure. Secondary visas accounted for 54% of its total student visa grants, with 2,163 dependants compared with 1,847 primary applicants.
Nepal represents the largest numerical exposure, with 3,633 secondary visas, equivalent to 27% of its total student movement. Bangladesh recorded 2,223 secondary visas, or 21% of its total, while the Philippines recorded 468, representing 22%.
India's exposure is lower proportionally but significant in absolute terms, with 1,785 secondary grants, equivalent to 8% of total student movement.
These patterns suggest that the new restrictions could have a particularly significant effect on recruitment from markets where international study is more frequently undertaken by mature students with partners or children.
East Asian markets show a very different pattern
The contrast with major East Asian markets is striking.
China, Australia's largest source market in the dataset, recorded 46,798 primary student grants but only 542 secondary visas. Secondary applicants therefore represented approximately 1% of total Chinese student movement.
Vietnam recorded 90 secondary visas against 5,021 total student grants, while Malaysia recorded 51 against 2,634. In both markets, secondary applicants represented approximately 2% of total student movement.
This means that the same policy change will have very different implications depending on an institution's recruitment profile.
Markets with predominantly younger, independently travelling students are likely to have relatively limited exposure to restrictions on accompanying family members. By contrast, markets with a greater concentration of mature postgraduate students and students travelling with families face a much more direct recruitment constraint.
| Citizenship Country | Primary | Secondary | Total Number of Student Visas Granted Offshore | Ratio From the total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| China | 46,798 | 542 | 47,340 | 1% |
| India | 21,562 | 1,785 | 23,347 | 8% |
| Nepal | 9,644 | 3,633 | 13,277 | 27% |
| Bangladesh | 8,342 | 2,223 | 10,565 | 21% |
| Vietnam | 4,931 | 90 | 5,021 | 2% |
| Indonesia | 4,274 | 324 | 4,598 | 7% |
| Bhutan | 1,847 | 2,163 | 4,010 | 54% |
| Sri Lanka | 2,987 | 644 | 3,631 | 18% |
| Malaysia | 2,583 | 51 | 2,634 | 2% |
| Hong Kong | 2,086 | 154 | 2,240 | 7% |
| Philippines | 1,701 | 468 | 2,169 | 22% |
| Grand Total | 127867 | 14575 | 142442 | 10% |
Source: Department of Home Affairs, Student Visas Granted for Higher Education programs for applicants outside of Australia (2025-26)
What does this mean for Australian universities?
The policy could therefore have implications beyond the headline number of visas affected.
Australian institutions with strong recruitment from South Asia may need to reassess assumptions about the size and composition of their future applicant pools. For students who consider the ability to bring a partner or children an important part of the decision to study overseas, removing that option could alter the attractiveness of Australia relative to other destinations.
The effect is unlikely to be evenly distributed across the Australian higher education sector. Institutions with a high concentration of students from markets with relatively low levels of secondary applicants will have less direct exposure, while providers whose international cohorts contain larger numbers of mature students from South Asia could face greater pressure.
For universities and other education providers, understanding these market-level differences will be critical as Australia continues to recalibrate its international education and migration settings.