Form 1298i: Citizenship Application Fees

What Form 1298i is

Form 1298i ('Citizenship application fees') is the Department of Home Affairs' published schedule of fees across the different Australian citizenship pathways. Rather than each individual citizenship form stating its own price permanently within the form, the Department maintains this as a separate, updatable reference document — since fees change periodically and a fee printed inside a static form would quickly go out of date.

It covers citizenship by conferral (the general pathway, and the 'other situations' pathway for applicants aged 60 or over, under 18, or with a qualifying incapacity), citizenship by descent, citizenship for children adopted under the Hague Convention or a bilateral arrangement, resumption of citizenship for a former citizen, evidence of citizenship, and renunciation.

The current fees (as at the July 2026 version of the form)

These are the amounts shown on the version of Form 1298i dated July 2026. All citizenship fees index each 1 July against the consumer price index under the Australian Citizenship Regulation 2016, so treat these as current for now rather than permanent, and check the live PDF before you pay:

Form 1300t (citizenship by conferral, general eligibility): $595, concession $85.
Form 1290 (citizenship by conferral, other situations): $365, concession $40.
Form 118 (citizenship by descent): $380 (second and each subsequent sibling applying at the same time: $160).
Form 1272 (citizenship for children adopted under full Hague Convention or bilateral arrangements): $380 (second and subsequent sibling: $160).
Form 128 (renunciation of citizenship): $320.
Form 132 (resumption of citizenship): $255.
Form 119 (evidence of citizenship): $290.

No fee applies for a child aged 15 or under applying on the same form as a responsible parent (Forms 1300t and 1290), and a small number of exemptions exist — including for British and Maltese former child migrants under the Commonwealth Child Migration Scheme, people with at least 90 days' service in the Australian Defence Force, and applicants relying on the statelessness provision in section 21(8) of the Australian Citizenship Act 2007. An exemption claim requires the paper form; you can't apply online for one.

Why the fee differs by pathway

Citizenship isn't a single application with one universal price — it's a family of distinct application types, each assessed differently and each carrying its own fee. Conferral (the pathway for eligible permanent residents becoming citizens) is priced differently to citizenship by descent (for a person born overseas to an Australian citizen parent), which is priced differently again to a straightforward evidence-of-citizenship document for someone who's already a citizen but needs formal proof.

This is why quoting a single 'citizenship application fee' figure without specifying the pathway is misleading — the honest answer to 'how much does it cost' always depends on which of these categories your application actually falls into.

Concession fees

The concession fees above (Forms 1300t and 1290 only) require you to hold a valid Pensioner Concession Card issued by Services Australia or the Department of Veterans' Affairs, and to be either the primary cardholder or a dependant aged 17 or under listed on the card, with the card not expired. Health Care Cards, Student Cards and Seniors Health Cards do not qualify for the concession rate.

You need to provide a copy of both sides of the card with your application — certified copies for a paper application. Applying the standard fee when a concession genuinely applies means overpaying; claiming a concession without meeting the criteria risks the application being queried. Check the concession criteria on the current version of the document against your actual circumstances rather than assuming either way.

Why you shouldn't rely on a saved or cached figure

Citizenship fees are periodically updated, and a figure quoted in an old forum post, a saved PDF from a previous application, or a third-party migration website may no longer be current by the time you actually apply. Because payment is typically processed as part of lodging the citizenship application itself — through ImmiAccount for the online conferral pathway, or alongside a paper application for the 'other situations' and other pathways — an outdated fee assumption can mean turning up to pay the wrong amount.

The safe approach is to check the current fee on the Department of Home Affairs website immediately before lodging, rather than relying on a number seen weeks or months earlier.

Form 1298i vs the actual application forms

It's worth being clear that Form 1298i is an information sheet, not an application form itself — the 'i' suffix on a Home Affairs form number generally marks an information document rather than one you complete and submit. You don't fill in or lodge Form 1298i.

The forms you actually complete and lodge are the ones specific to your pathway: Form 1300t for the general conferral pathway most adult permanent residents use (18–59 year olds, applied for online through ImmiAccount in most cases), or Form 1290 for the 'other situations' conferral pathway (applicants aged 60 or over, under 18, or with a qualifying incapacity), among others depending on your circumstances. Form 1195 is a different document again — an identity declaration completed by an approved referee, which some citizenship applicants attach alongside their application rather than instead of it.

Form 1298i simply tells you what those applications currently cost, so you can budget and pay correctly when you do lodge the relevant application form.

How to use Form 1298i in practice

Download the current version from the Department of Home Affairs form-listing page, identify the specific pathway your application falls into (conferral, descent, resumption, evidence, or another category), check whether a concession applies to your circumstances, and confirm the resulting figure against what ImmiAccount or your paper application instructions ask you to pay.

If the figure quoted at payment doesn't match what you expected from an earlier check of the fee schedule, treat the live payment figure as the current one and query any discrepancy with the Department before assuming either number is wrong.

When a MARA agent is worth involving

Working out which citizenship pathway actually applies to your situation — and therefore which fee genuinely applies — is usually straightforward for a simple conferral application. It's worth getting advice where your situation could plausibly fall into more than one pathway (for example, uncertainty between descent and conferral for someone born overseas with an Australian parent), or where a concession claim needs to be supported properly.

A MARA-registered agent can help identify the correct pathway before you pay, rather than after a payment or application needs correcting. Migratio lets you describe your situation once and compare consultation fees from MARA-registered agents who handle your visa type (comparing is free; consults are typically $150–$300 and you pay only if you book).

What is Form 1298i?

Form 1298i is the Department of Home Affairs' information sheet listing fees across the different Australian citizenship pathways — conferral, descent, resumption, evidence of citizenship, adoption and renunciation — plus concession fee eligibility. As at the July 2026 version, general conferral (Form 1300t) is $595.

Do I need to complete or submit Form 1298i?

No. The 'i' marks it as an information sheet, not an application form. You complete and lodge the specific form for your pathway — Form 1300t or Form 1290 for conferral, Form 118 for descent, Form 132 for resumption — and pay the fee Form 1298i sets out for that pathway.

Why is the citizenship fee different for different people?

Citizenship applications aren't a single application type — conferral, descent, resumption and evidence of citizenship are distinct pathways, each assessed differently and each priced separately, from $255 for resumption to $595 for general conferral as at the July 2026 fee schedule.

What is a citizenship concession fee?

A reduced fee, available on the conferral forms (1300t and 1290) only, for applicants who hold a valid Pensioner Concession Card from Services Australia or the Department of Veterans' Affairs as the primary cardholder (or as a dependant aged 17 or under). A Health Care Card or Seniors Card does not qualify.

Should I trust a citizenship fee figure I saw online?

Not without checking it's current. Citizenship fees index every 1 July against CPI, so a figure from an old post, saved PDF, or third-party site may be out of date. Check the current Form 1298i PDF or ImmiAccount before paying.