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Otto Migration Services has guided individuals, families and businesses through the Australian immigration system for over a decade. Every case is handled personally by a MARA-registered migration agent.
Founded by Monica Gasparotto. Consultations available in English, Italian and Spanish.
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Every consultation is with a MARA-registered migration agent, from your first call to your final outcome.
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Jason Lozada
Francesco Petrillo
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“I couldn’t be happier with the service provided by Otto Migration Services. From the initial consultation through to the grant of my Skills in Demand Visa, the entire process was handled professionally and efficiently.”Andrea Puddu
“Great service! Everything went smoothly, and my Permanent Residency was granted without any issues. The support I received was fantastic, and the team was always available to answer my questions and guide me throughout the process.”Sara Branciforti
“Jason and the team guided me through a stressful process with clarity and real care. Every step was explained and I felt supported and well represented. Professional, kind, and genuinely committed!”Sara Chavarria
“I had a fantastic experience with Otto Migration. They assisted me with both my Permanent Residency application and my Australian Citizenship application, and everything went smoothly from start to finish.”Andrea Matera
“Thank you for all your support throughout our visa journey. Your quick responses, professionalism, and guidance made the entire process smooth and stress-free. We couldn’t have done it without you!”Ceren İmrek
“I have been using the service provided by the team at OttoMigration for several years now, and if I had to choose one word to describe their work, it would be excellence.”Eva Nastri
“Very clear and professional throughout the entire process of guiding me and helping me obtain my permanent residency. Thank you so much!”Marilia Olanda
“Monica and her team are amazing. From day one I felt so informed and supported on my visa journey. They made the process a lot less stressful than it would have been alone.”Hannah Newbury
“Grateful to Monica from the very first video call we had. She clarified all my doubts regarding the 482 sponsor visa, the steps to follow, and everything that was coming in the process.”Romina Gutiérrez Pizarro
“Great experience working with OttoMigration team. The whole immigration process can be complicated, but they made everything clear and organised from start to finish.”Manu Esposito
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October 2026 update
Student visa changes take effect 2 October 2026
The Australian Government has introduced major changes to the Student visa framework, implementing some of the reforms announced by Immigration Minister Tony Burke in September. Unlike that earlier announcement, these changes have now been legislated.
- Onshore eligibility
- Family members
- Now legislated
The reforms significantly restrict who can lodge a Student visa while in Australia, when existing Student visa holders can apply for another Student visa onshore, and which family members can be included or subsequently added to a Student visa.
Key date: the new rules apply to Student visa applications made on or after 2 October 2026. Applications validly lodged before that date are not retrospectively affected.
Here is what you need to know.
More temporary visa holders can no longer apply for a Student visa onshore
From 2 October 2026, holders of a much broader range of temporary visas are prevented from lodging a Student visa application while in Australia. The affected visas include:
- 400 Short Stay Specialist
- 403 International Relations
- 407 Training
- 408 Temporary Activity
- 417 Working Holiday
- 457 Temporary Work
- 462 Work and Holiday
- 482 Skills in Demand
- 485 Temporary Graduate
- 600 Visitor
- 601 ETA
- 602 Medical Treatment
- 651 eVisitor
- 771 Transit
- 988 Maritime Crew
- 995 (certain holders)
This means, for example, that a Working Holiday Maker holding a Subclass 417 or 462 visa can no longer lodge a Student visa from inside Australia. The same restriction now extends to Training, Temporary Activity and Skills in Demand visa holders, amongst others. If affected, the Student visa application will generally need to be made from outside Australia.
Existing Student visa holders: no more automatic onshore renewals
From 2 October 2026, simply holding a Student visa no longer automatically allows you to apply for another Student visa while remaining in Australia. Onshore applications remain available only in specified circumstances: completing your existing course within 12 months of the end date on your Confirmation of Enrolment, or genuinely progressing to one further course at a higher AQF level.
Where the previous principal course was a higher education course, the next course must also be a higher education course delivered by a higher education provider.
Important exceptions
Certain Student visa holders remain exempt from these new location restrictions, including:
- PhD students
- Defence students
- Foreign Affairs students
- School students
- Provider default cases
- Genuine course completion
- Qualifying course progression
Each case must still satisfy the specific legislative requirements.
Major restrictions for partners and children of Student visa holders
The reforms also introduce substantial restrictions on family members applying as secondary applicants for Student visas. From 2 October 2026, the ability to include or subsequently add a spouse, partner or child is limited to specific categories, with exceptions for certain family members of Defence students, Foreign Affairs students, students from specified Pacific or prescribed countries, doctoral students, students on fully government-funded courses, and certain provider default or already-in-Australia cases.
Importantly, the legislation contains protections for some family members who are already in Australia and already hold a Student visa as secondary applicants, as well as certain applications lodged before commencement.
Why this matters
These are some of the most substantial changes to the Student visa program in recent years. The Government has moved from announcing its intention to prevent visa hopping to implementing legislative restrictions on the ability to lodge Student visa applications from within Australia.
For temporary visa holders who were planning to move onto a Student visa, and for current international students planning further study, the visa strategy now needs to be considered before enrolling in another course. The same applies to international students with partners or children overseas: the previous assumption that family members could simply be added later as subsequent entrants can no longer be made without first checking eligibility under the new rules.
If you are currently in Australia and these changes may affect your next visa, do not enrol in a new course or make assumptions about your eligibility based on the previous Student visa rules.
Our team is currently reviewing the new legislation and its impact across different visa scenarios.
September 2026 update
Australian migration: major reforms announced
On 17 September 2026, Minister for Home Affairs and Immigration Tony Burke outlined the Government's next stage of migration reform, with changes affecting skilled migrants, international students, Temporary Graduate visa holders, visitors and Working Holiday Makers.
- Who arrives
- Who stays
- Who leaves
September has brought another significant announcement for Australian migration. The reforms have been presented under three broad objectives: who arrives, who stays and who leaves.
Read the Minister's full speech
Important: some of these measures are still to be implemented and, in certain cases, will require legislative change. Therefore, the details and commencement dates will need to be closely monitored.
Here is what we know so far.
Skilled migration: a new points test is coming
The Government has confirmed that the skilled migration points test will be redesigned, with a stronger focus on Australia's economic and workforce needs.
One particularly important announcement concerns housing and construction trades. Under the proposed new system, selected trade qualifications in occupations needed for housing construction will receive a points uplift, effectively recognising them at the same points level as a university qualification.
This represents an important shift in the way Australia intends to select skilled migrants, placing greater emphasis on occupations linked to critical workforce shortages rather than qualification level alone.
Further details regarding the new points test, including its commencement date and the complete methodology, are yet to be released.
Priority processing for key industries
The Government has also updated Ministerial Direction 119, which determines processing priorities within the skilled migration program. Priority processing is expanded across key sectors including:
- Healthcare
- Construction
- Education
- Law enforcement
- Defence
- Resources
- Agriculture
- Aquaculture
- Fishing
For employers operating within these industries, this may ultimately result in faster processing of eligible applications.
Major changes for student and graduate visa families
One of the most significant announcements concerns family members of international students and Temporary Graduate visa holders.
The Government has announced that, in the future, most international students and graduate visa holders will no longer be able to automatically include or subsequently bring family members to Australia through their visa.
Importantly, the Minister confirmed that families who are already attached to a visa and already in Australia will not be separated as a result of the reform.
Exceptions are also expected to apply, including for certain students from Pacific and ASEAN countries and students undertaking particular courses, such as PhDs.
The exact legislative framework, transitional arrangements and commencement date will be crucial and have not yet been fully released.
If you are currently studying in Australia or planning a Subclass 485 application and have a partner or children overseas, this is therefore an area to watch very carefully.
Student visa hopping to be restricted
The Government has also announced further restrictions aimed at preventing international students from using consecutive Student visas primarily to extend their stay in Australia.
The proposed principle is relatively simple: students will be able to progress up the qualification framework, but not use repeated study at the same or lower level simply to remain in Australia.
Genuine extensions and legitimate course transfers will continue to be possible, but the Government intends to significantly reduce the use of Student visas as a long term "visa hopping" strategy.
Visitor visas: no further stay conditions
Another major announcement concerns Visitor visas.
The Government intends to introduce a No Further Stay condition on future Visitor visas, preventing visitors from using a Visitor visa as a pathway to lodge most other visa applications onshore and remain in Australia on a Bridging visa.
This would represent a significant change for people who currently enter Australia as genuine visitors and later seek to transition to another visa while onshore.
The Minister specifically confirmed that the reform is intended to apply to future Visitor visas, rather than retrospectively affecting people already in Australia.
Working Holiday visas: ballots for second and third years
Major changes have also been announced for the Working Holiday Maker program.
Applicants will still need to complete the required regional or specified work to qualify for an additional year, including the existing 88 day requirement for the second year and six month requirement for the third year where applicable.
However, completing the work will no longer necessarily guarantee access to the next visa. The Government intends to introduce a ballot system:
Second year visas
compared with approximately 57,000 people who qualified last year
Third year visas
compared with approximately 31,000 people in that cohort last year
This would make the second and particularly the third Working Holiday visa significantly more competitive. Different arrangements apply to UK passport holders due to Australia's Free Trade Agreement with the United Kingdom.
What happens now?
These announcements are significant, but an announcement is not the same as an implemented law. For several of the reforms, we are still waiting for legislation, commencement dates, transitional provisions and detailed Departmental policy.
If you are already in Australia, have family members overseas, are considering another Student visa, or are planning your skilled migration pathway, do not assume that the announced rules already apply to your situation.
At Otto Migration Services, we will continue monitoring the implementation of these reforms and provide further updates as the Government releases the legislation and commencement dates.