Australia tightens migration rules, BD faces pressure
Australia is tightening its temporary migration system, placing international students and their families at the centre of a new crackdown aimed at bringing migration down and easing pressure on housing and public services.
The development announced by Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke on September 17 will make it significantly harder for international students to bring spouses and dependent children to Australia, while also restricting visa switching and extending stays through temporary visa pathways.
Existing families already in Australia will not be separated, and limited exemptions will remain for some students and nationals of Pacific and Southeast Asian countries.
The Australian government wants net overseas migration to fall to 245,000 this financial year and 225,000 in 2027-28.
The latest Australian Bureau of Statistics figure puts net overseas migration at 292,000 in the year to March 2026, down 47 per cent from the post-Covid peak.
Burke has said housing pressures mean migration forecasts should now be treated as targets that the government intends to meet.
The policy shift follows an extraordinary increase in migration after Australia’s borders reopened. Net overseas migration reached about 518,000 at its post-pandemic peak in 2023.
Although the number has since fallen substantially, the government says temporary migration remains higher than the level it considers sustainable while Australia struggles to keep up with housing demand and public infrastructure.
International students have become an important part of this migration debate. Australia granted 577,295 student visas in 2022-23, as international education surged after the pandemic.
The number declined to 376,731 in 2023-24 and 371,564 in 2024-25. Despite the overall decline, some source countries continued to grow strongly. Bangladesh was one of them.
Australian Department of Home Affairs data show that student visa grants to Bangladeshi citizens increased from 9,338 in 2022-23 to 10,143 in 2023-24 and then to 13,821 in 2024-25, a 36.3 per cent increase in the latest year.
The new family restrictions are particularly important for Bangladesh because many prospective students have traditionally considered the ability to take a spouse or children with them when calculating the cost and feasibility of studying abroad.
Under the new approach, most international students will effectively lose that option, although exemptions will apply to specified categories.
Australian authorities have also announced measures aimed at preventing so-called “visa hopping”, under which students move between courses or visa categories in ways that extend their stay.
Students transferring to another course will face additional visa requirements, while progression to a higher qualification level will be permitted under the new framework.
There is, however, no reliable five-year Australian government figure showing exactly how many Bangladeshi students arrived with spouses and how many arrived with children.
Australian statistics classify partners and dependent children together as secondary student visa holders, so separating the two groups from the published national data would risk producing a misleading figure.
The latest government reporting therefore provides a more reliable picture through secondary visa-holder data rather than a claimed spouse-versus-child breakdown.
The tightening comes as Australia continues to earn substantial revenue from international education.
According to Australia’s Department of Education, international education generated almost A$55 billion in 2025, including tuition fees and spending on goods and services by students studying in Australia.
Bangladesh’s contribution has also grown rapidly. Education export income associated with Bangladesh rose from A$283 million in 2021 to A$377 million in 2022, A$777 million in 2023, A$1.178 billion in 2024 and A$1.862 billion in 2025.
That amounts to about A$4.49 billion over the five-year period.
The department cautions that these figures cover broader international education export activity and should not be treated simply as university tuition paid by Bangladeshi students.
Meanwhile, thirteen western countries have jointly warned Bangladeshi citizens against using false documents, unlicensed agents, and unauthorised payments when applying for visas.
The countries are Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
The joint information was shared on the social media platforms of the respective high commissions and embassies in Bangladesh.
We jointly urge all applicants to follow official procedures when seeking visas, permits, or other consular services,” the statement said.
Applicants were advised not to use falsified documents, unreliable or unlicensed agents, or make payments to unauthorised individuals, agents, or missions, it said.
