VAC3: the second instalment of the visa application charge, explained

What VAC3 means, and what the law calls it

The Migration Act and Regulations don't use the term VAC3. Regulation 2.12C(1) says the visa application charge is the sum of:

1. the first instalment, paid when the application is made: the base application charge or the additional applicant charge, plus any subsequent temporary application charge or non-internet application charge; and
2. the second instalment, payable before the visa is granted.

Schedule 1 sets both for each visa. For most visas the second instalment is nil. The visas in the table set it for applicants aged 18 or over who don't have functional English, and that is the charge this page covers. Home Affairs' visa pages call it the second instalment, or the second instalment charge.

Two charges that are something else:

• The subsequent temporary application charge is a $700 part of the first instalment that some applicants in Australia pay when they apply for another temporary visa (regulation 2.12C(5) and (6)).
• Some visas have a second instalment that has nothing to do with English. The 189 New Zealand stream charges $3,390 for the main applicant, $1,695 for family members who were 18 or over and $850 for those under 18; the Parent (103) and Aged Parent (804) visas charge $2,065 (Schedule 1, items 1137, 1124 and 1124A).

Who pays it

The charge works person by person. Under the Schedule 1 items in the table, an applicant pays it if all three of these are true:

1. they were at least 18 at the time the application was made, so a child who turns 18 during processing isn't charged;
2. they are assessed as not having functional English;
3. they aren't in a group the item charges nil (next section).

The items don't exempt main applicants as such. For the 189, 190 and 491, though, the main applicant must have competent English at invitation, a higher level than functional English, and Home Affairs' 190 page describes the $4,885 as the charge for family members. The $9,800 main-applicant amount for the 186 and 494, and $9,795 for the 188, applies only to a main applicant assessed as not having functional English; the 186 Temporary Residence Transition and Direct Entry streams and the 494 Employer Sponsored stream require competent English. For the 888, only family members can be charged, and only if they didn't pay the second instalment for the 188.

Who pays nil

• Family violence cases. In the 189, 190, 186, 187, 191, 858, 887 and 888 items, a secondary applicant whose relationship with the main applicant has ended, and who (or whose family member) experienced family violence committed by the main applicant, pays nil, as do family members applying with them. For the 189 this is item 1A of item 1137, which points to subclauses 189.311(3) to (5).
• Ministers of Religion. In the 186, 187 and 494, a main applicant nominated as a Minister of Religion, and the members of their family unit, pay nil.
• Already paid. For the 887 and 489, a person who has paid the second instalment for the visa they hold isn't charged again; for the 188 and 888, the same applies to a second instalment paid for a 188.
• The 191's other streams. Only applicants in the 191 Hong Kong (Regional) stream can be charged.
• Anyone under 18 at the time of application.
• Anyone with functional English evidence, shown in one of the ways below.

How functional English is shown

Section 5(2) of the Migration Act says a person has functional English if they pass a test the Minister has approved, or provide prescribed evidence of their English. The evidence is set by regulation 5.17 and LIN 25/014, the Migration (Evidence of Functional English Language Proficiency) Instrument 2025, in force from 7 August 2025.

With a test

A test sat at a test centre in the 12 months before the application, or on or after the day the application is made, with at least:

• IELTS Academic or General Training: 4.5 average
• PTE Academic: 24 overall
• TOEFL iBT: 26 total
• OET: 1020 overall
• CELPIP General: 5 overall
• LANGUAGECERT Academic: 38 overall
• Michigan English Test: 38 overall

Cambridge C1 Advanced isn't on the list. OET result reports don't show an overall score; Home Affairs says to contact OET for it. Tests taken before 7 August 2025 were read against an older table (IELTS 4.5 average, PTE Academic 30, TOEFL iBT 32, Cambridge English: Advanced 147), but Home Affairs says those results could be used only until 6 August 2026.

Without a test

1. Citizenship and a valid passport from Canada, New Zealand, the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom or the United States.
2. All years of primary education and at least 3 years of secondary education, or at least 5 years of secondary education, taught in English. Home Affairs says the schooling can be in or outside Australia.
3. At least 1 year of full-time study in Australia, or the part-time equivalent, towards a degree, higher degree, diploma or associate diploma taught in English.
4. A degree, higher degree, diploma or trade certificate that needed at least 2 years of full-time study or training, taught in English (regulation 5.17(c)).
5. If none of the evidence in LIN 25/014 can be provided, a determination by Home Affairs, made after an interview, that the person has functional English (regulation 5.17(d)).

When and how it's paid

1. At lodgement. The second instalment isn't paid with the application. For the 858 and 188, Home Affairs asks for a statement of intention to pay it for each person without functional English, and its 858 page says that if you'd rather pay than give evidence of functional English, you tell Home Affairs through ImmiAccount.
2. Assessment. Under section 64 of the Migration Act, once Home Affairs has assessed that the health criteria and the other criteria are met and an amount of the charge is unpaid, it must give written notice that the amount is payable.
3. The invoice. Home Affairs' 186 pages say it sends an invoice after you have met all other requirements for the visa. Its 189 page says: "We ask for the charge only if we are going to grant the visa."
4. The deadline. Regulation 2.12D allows 28 days after the notice is received if it was sent from a place in Australia to an address in Australia, and 70 days in any other case.
5. Grant. The visa can't be granted until the amount is paid (section 65(1)(a)(iv)), and Home Affairs may refuse the visa if it isn't paid within the period (section 64(2)(c)).

Refunds, and when it isn't payable at all

Regulation 2.12G says no second instalment is payable if the application is withdrawn before it's paid, or if the application is finally refused. If it has been paid, regulation 2.12H says the Minister must refund it, on a written request from the person who paid it, if:

• the application is withdrawn in writing before it's decided;
• the applicant dies before first entering Australia as the holder of the visa;
• the application is finally determined and the visa isn't granted;
• the visa is granted and then cancelled, or otherwise ends, before the applicant first enters Australia on it.

Regulation 2.12H also lists some cases tied to the English tuition a visa holder is entitled to under the Immigration (Education) Act 1971.

The amounts haven't moved

Schedule 1 set the same second-instalment amounts in June 2021 (Compilation 218) for every visa in the table that existed then. On 1 July 2026 the 189 base application charge, part of the first instalment, rose from $4,910 to $6,135, and the second instalments stayed where they were.

Home Affairs' visa pages say its Visa Pricing Estimator doesn't include the second instalment, so an estimate from the tool leaves it out.

Working out a family's total

Take a 190 application with a main applicant, a partner aged 35 and a child who was 17 when the application was made:

1. Main applicant: must have competent English at invitation, a criterion for the visa.
2. Partner: no English test result, no English-taught qualification and no passport from the five countries. If assessed as not having functional English, the second instalment is $4,885.
3. Child: under 18 at the time of application, so nil whatever their English.

If the partner sits IELTS and gets a 4.5 average, or PTE Academic and gets 24 overall, in the 12 months before the application or after it, the partner has functional English evidence and their second instalment is nil.

Is VAC3 the same as the second instalment?

Yes. The law calls it the second instalment of the visa application charge (regulation 2.12C). VAC3 doesn't appear in the Migration Act or the Regulations.

How much is the second instalment in 2026?

$4,885 for the 189, 190 and 191 Hong Kong stream; $4,890 for the 491, 858, 887, 489 and 151, and for family members in a 186, 187, 188, 494 or 888; $9,795 for a main 188 applicant; and $9,800 for a main 186, 187 or 494 applicant. These are the Schedule 1 amounts as at 30 October 2026.

Is the second instalment refundable if my visa is refused?

If the application is refused, the second instalment isn't payable (regulation 2.12G). If it was already paid, regulation 2.12H requires a refund on written request when the visa isn't granted, the application is withdrawn before a decision, or the visa is cancelled or ends before the holder first enters Australia.

Can a family member sit an English test after we lodge?

Yes. LIN 25/014 accepts a functional English test taken on or after the day the application is made. Home Affairs' pages say the invoice comes once all other requirements are met; they don't say what happens to evidence that arrives after an invoice is issued.

Does the second instalment apply to partner visas?

No. The Partner (Temporary) and Partner (Provisional) items carry no charge, and the 801 and 100 items set the second instalment at nil.

Do children pay the second instalment?

Not if they were under 18 when the application was made, even if they turn 18 before the decision.

Is the second instalment the same for every visa?

No. It's $4,885, $4,890, $9,795 or $9,800 depending on the visa and whether the person is the main applicant or a family member, and nil for the groups listed above.

Does the Visa Pricing Estimator include it?

No. Home Affairs' visa pages say the estimator doesn't include the second instalment.