407 visa changes: apply from outside Australia from 12 November 2026

From 12 November 2026, you must be outside Australia when you apply for a Training visa (subclass 407) and when the visa is granted. An application lodged from inside Australia on or after that date is invalid. The only exceptions are groups the Minister lists in a separate instrument, and no list exists yet.

Applications lodged before 12 November 2026 are not affected. They are processed under the rules in place on the day they were lodged.

What are the 407 visa changes from 12 November 2026?

Two rules change, and they work together:

• Where you apply — you must be outside Australia on the day you lodge the 407 application. An application lodged in Australia is not a valid application, even if ImmiAccount lets you submit it.
• Where you are when it is granted — you must also be outside Australia when the visa is granted. You can come back on another visa while you wait, but you need to be offshore again on the day of grant.

The rules apply to applications made on or after 12 November 2026. They were made by the Migration Amendment (Training Visas—Application Requirements) Regulations 2026, which amend the valid-application rules in Schedule 1 (item 1238) and the grant rules in clause 407.411 of Schedule 2 of the Migration Regulations.

The Government’s stated reason, in the Explanatory Statement to the Regulations, is to close a route people were using to lodge one temporary visa after another from inside Australia. The Department describes the 407 as a visa for workplace training, not a way to stay longer.

Is there any way to apply from inside Australia?

Not at the moment. The new rule lets the Minister name groups of people who may still apply in Australia, in a separate legal instrument. As at 31 October 2026 no such instrument has been made, so on 12 November the exemption will exist on paper only.

The Explanatory Statement says any future exemption would be for cases where applying onshore is reasonable and in the national interest, giving occupations with genuine skills needs and family unity as examples. Whether a list is made, and who is on it, is unknown. We will update this post if one is published.

What happens if you lodge from inside Australia anyway?

The application is invalid. That has four consequences, and they compound:

1. The Department does not process the application. The visa application charge is normally refunded, so the real cost is time.
2. No bridging visa is granted, because a bridging visa only attaches to a valid application.
3. If your current visa expires while you are relying on the invalid application, you are in Australia without a visa, and you may not be able to apply for another visa from inside Australia.
4. A decision that an application is invalid cannot be taken to the Administrative Review Tribunal.

Can you still lodge before 12 November 2026?

Only if your sponsor’s approval and your nomination (the sponsor’s training plan for you) are both already approved. Since 11 March 2026, a 407 application is only valid once both approvals exist; the application cannot be lodged while they are pending.

If either approval is still with the Department, there is no realistic way to lodge a valid application from inside Australia before 12 November. The Department’s own advice is to plan to leave Australia before your current visa expires and apply from outside.

What should you do if you are in Australia and planning a 407?

The Department’s advice, on its 407 changes page, comes down to five steps:

1. Check your current visa’s expiry date and leave Australia before it ends.
2. Confirm the sponsorship and the nomination are both approved before you book travel.
3. Collect your supporting documents while you are still in Australia.
4. Find out whether you need a health examination and whether it can be done before you leave.
5. Lodge through ImmiAccount once you are outside Australia, and stay contactable.

You may come back on another visa while the 407 is processed, under that visa’s conditions. You will not get a bridging visa, and you must be outside Australia on the day of grant. Do not book a return flight around an expected grant date, because processing times are not fixed.

What does this mean for sponsors?

A 407 nomination for a trainee who is already in Australia only works now if the trainee can leave and apply from outside. For a trainee whose visa ends before the nomination is decided, the nomination will not keep them in the country.

If the person you want to keep is a skilled worker rather than a trainee, the Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482) can still be lodged from inside Australia and comes with a bridging visa. The 407 should be used only where the purpose is genuine workplace training.

Do you need to do anything?

• 407 already lodged — nothing. Your application is assessed under the old rules.
• In Australia, both approvals in hand — lodge before 12 November 2026, or plan to lodge from outside Australia after it.
• In Australia, an approval still pending — plan to leave before your visa expires and apply from outside, or look at a different visa.
• Outside Australia — no change for you, other than staying outside Australia on the day of grant.

Frequently asked questions

Can I apply for a 407 visa onshore after 12 November 2026?

No. From 12 November 2026 you must be outside Australia when you lodge a 407 application. The Minister can list exempt groups in a separate instrument, but as at 31 October 2026 none has been made.

Will I get a bridging visa if I apply for a 407 from outside Australia?

No. Bridging visas are only granted with applications lodged inside Australia. You may enter on another visa while the 407 is processed, but you must be outside Australia when it is granted.

What if I lodged my 407 application before 12 November 2026?

The new rules do not apply to you. Your application is processed under the rules in place on the day you lodged, including the March 2026 rule that the sponsorship and nomination had to be approved first.

Why did the Government make this change?

The Explanatory Statement to the Regulations says the aim is to stop people lodging a chain of temporary visas from inside Australia and to keep the 407 for genuine workplace training. The Department links the change to the Government’s aim of reducing net overseas migration.

This article draws on a Migration Institute of Australia (MIA) member notice and official government sources, fully rewritten for Arta Migration readers.