Australia to Cut Student, Backpacker Visas in Migration Curb<\/p>\n
Reporter<\/p>\n
September 17, 2026 | 04:00 pm<\/p>\n
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Australia will cut migration by toughening visa\nrules for foreign students, backpackers, and working holiday-makers, the\nHome Affairs Minister Tony Burke said Thursday.<\/p>\n
Under the new rules, foreign students will no longer be allowed to\nbring partners and children to join them while they study in Australia,\nwhile people who overstay their working holiday visas will face tougher\nenforcement.<\/p>\n
The government is also cracking down on so-called \u201cvisa hopping,\u201d\nwhere foreign migrants who are already in Australia move from one type\nof temporary visa to another to extend their stay.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you want to come on a temporary basis to Australia, apply for a\ntemporary visa. If you want to come to Australia permanently, apply for\na permanent visa. And if you no longer have a valid visa, you should\nleave Australia,\u201d Burke said.<\/p>\n
What else did the Home Affairs Minister say about the migration\nreforms?<\/p>\n
In remarks to the National Press Club in Canberra on Thursday, Burke\ninsisted that immigration remains \u201cfundamentally a strength\u201d for\nAustralia, but acknowledged that rules needed adjusting to ease pressure\non housing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need immigration to soften enough that housing has a chance to\ncatch up,\u201d he said, while stressing the housing shortage was not caused\nby migrants.<\/p>\n
Burke said it was \u201csimply demonstrably wrong\u201d that his ruling\ncenter-left Labor party was beefing up its visa rules as a response to a\nsurge in the polls by the far-right One Nation.<\/p>\n
This year, the group has become one of the country\u2019s most popular\nparties, campaigning on pledges to slash migration to the country as\npart of its \u201cAustralia First\u201d approach, which has drawn similarities to\nUS President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n
The hard-right party said this week that it would cut the number of\ntemporary migrants by 750,000 over the next three years to give\nAustralians \u201cbreathing space.\u201d<\/p>\n
The cost of living and immigration have ranked as some of voters\u2019\nmost pressing concerns in recent polls.<\/p>\n
What is the migration situation in Australia?<\/p>\n
The changes are set to see net annual migration fall from the current\n300,000 to around 225,000 by 2028. That would see numbers return to the\nlevels before the Covid-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n
Annual migration surged to its highest level of 538,000 in 2022,\nafter borders reopened.<\/p>\n
Data on Thursday showed that migration numbers had declined to\n292,100 in the year to March, 47% below the peak following the pandemic,\nBurke said.<\/p>\n
Students make up the biggest immigrant group: some 753,000 foreign\nstudents live in Australia, most of whom come from China and India.<\/p>\n
The reforms will see Australia return to its policy of a decade\nearlier when those who overstayed were given two weeks to leave the\ncountry or face detention and deportation, the minister said.<\/p>\n
People seeking to extend their working holiday visas in rural areas\nwill enter a ballot for a second or third year.<\/p>\n
Applicants with skills in construction and housing will be\nprioritized for visas, Burke said.<\/p>\n
Relatives of visa holders wanting to visit the country will have \u201cno\nfurther stay\u201d conditions applied to their visas.<\/p>\n
Read: Indonesia Eyes QRIS Expansion to Australia, Saudi Arabia<\/p>\n
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