‘I can’t sleep at night’: international students forced to navigate the impact of Labor’s sudden visa changes

Fatima Bonna is studying a master’s in early childhood education at the Ikon Institute. Under new student visa rules, she will be required to travel offshore to apply for a new student visa. Photograph: Sia Duff/The Guardian

Fatima Bonna has pored over her student visa conditions. When she began studying in Adelaide last year, she memorised the maximum number of hours she could work – and checked again, just to be sure.

She knew exactly when her visa would expire, what it expected of her studies and the rules surrounding partners and dependants.