Australian visa fees rose 25% on 1 July 2026

What actually changed

The increase was a uniform 25 per cent applied to the base application charge for every visa subclass. That uniformity is unusual and worth understanding: it means you can work out any new charge by multiplying the old one by 1.25, and it means no visa category was singled out.

The charge that applies to your application is the one in force on the day you lodge, not the day you started preparing or the day a decision is made. Applications lodged on or before 30 June 2026 were charged the old rates. Anything lodged from 1 July 2026 onwards attracts the new ones. There is no transitional arrangement and no grandfathering for applications that were in progress.

The base application charge is only part of what you pay. Additional applicants — a partner or children included in the same application — attract their own charges, which also rose 25 per cent. Some visas carry a second instalment payable before the visa is granted, and those rose too.

The new charges in full

Skilled visas. Subclass 189 Skilled Independent is now $6,135, up from $4,910. Subclass 190 Skilled Nominated, 491 Skilled Work Regional, 186 Employer Nomination and 494 Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional are all $6,140, up from $4,910. Subclass 858 National Innovation is $6,235.

Employer sponsored. Subclass 482 Skills in Demand is $4,015 across all streams — Specialist Skills, Core Skills, Essential Skills and Labour Agreement are charged identically. It was $3,210.

Partner and family. The partner visa is $11,710, up from $9,365. That single charge covers the whole journey — the 820 and 309 provisional stages carry no charge of their own, so you pay once, not twice. Prospective Marriage (300) is also $11,710. Contributory Parent (143) is $6,300 with a second instalment of $43,600 per adult before grant. Parent (103) is $6,600 with a second instalment of $2,065.

Student and graduate. Student (500) is $2,500 for higher education, up from $2,000. Temporary Graduate (485) is $5,750.

Visitor. Subclass 600 depends on where you are when you apply: $250 from outside Australia, $630 from inside, and $1,845 for the Frequent Traveller stream.

Additional applicants are charged separately. On a 189, for example, an additional applicant aged 18 or over is $3,070 and a child under 18 is $1,540 — so a couple with two children now pays $12,285 in application charges alone, against $9,825 before 1 July.

The exceptions that cost far less

Several streams are charged at a fraction of the headline figure, and they are easy to miss because most coverage only lists the main rate.

If you held a Prospective Marriage visa (subclass 300) and are now applying for the partner visa that follows it, the charge is $1,955 — not $11,710. This is one of the largest concessions in the schedule and it applies to a common pathway.

Student visa applicants in the ELICOS or non-award streams pay $2,050 rather than $2,500. Applicants in the Foreign Affairs, Defence and school exchange streams pay nothing at all.

A second Post-Higher Education Temporary Graduate visa costs $2,265, not the full $5,750.

The New Zealand stream of subclass 189 is $850.

Subclass 887 Skilled Regional is $630 for applicants who hold or held a 475, 487, 495 or 496 provisional visa — which describes essentially everyone eligible for an 887. The higher rate published elsewhere applies to a residual category almost nobody falls into.

Contributory Parent applicants who already hold a subclass 173 visa pay $555 plus a $19,420 second instalment, rather than $6,300 plus $43,600.

New from 1 July 2026: a reduced charge for Pacific and Timor-Leste applicants

The most significant structural change alongside the increase received almost no coverage. From 1 July 2026, holders of a passport issued by an eligible Pacific Island country or Timor-Leste pay a reduced visa application charge across most subclasses.

The Visitor visa (600) is $205 from outside Australia, $515 from inside, and $1,515 for the Frequent Traveller stream — against $250, $630 and $1,845 for everyone else. The Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa (870) is $1,245 rather than $1,515.

Most items in Schedule 1 now carry this lower tier. If you hold a passport from an eligible country it is worth checking the specific charge for your visa rather than assuming the standard rate, because the concession is applied at the schedule level rather than advertised prominently.

Charges that are not the base charge

Several other amounts sit alongside the application charge and are frequently confused with it.

The second instalment on skilled visas — 189, 190, 491, 186, 494, 858 and 887 — is a functional English charge. It is payable only if an applicant aged 18 or over is assessed as not having functional English, and it is $4,885 to $4,890 depending on the subclass. On 186 and 494 it is $9,800 for the primary applicant. It is not a universal fee and most applicants never pay it.

The non-internet application charge applies if you lodge on paper rather than online, and ranges from $80 to $505 depending on the visa.

A subsequent temporary application charge of $700 applies to certain applications made while you are already in Australia on a temporary visa.

None of these are migration agent fees. A registered agent's professional fee is separate, is set by the agent rather than the government, and did not change on 1 July.

What this means if you are applying

If you lodged before 1 July 2026, nothing changes — you were charged the rate in force on the day you lodged, and a later increase does not create a shortfall.

If you are preparing an application now, budget from the new figures. The gap matters: a family of four on a skilled visa is roughly $2,460 worse off than they would have been in June, and a partner visa applicant $2,345.

If you are close to lodging and choosing between subclasses, the charge is rarely the deciding factor — the difference between a 189 and a 190 is five dollars — but the difference between paying the full partner visa charge and the $1,955 concession for former Prospective Marriage holders is substantial, and worth confirming before you lodge.

Charges are indexed every 1 July, so the figures on this page are current for the 2026-27 financial year. Check the Home Affairs fee schedule before you lodge, since your charge is the one in force on the day of lodgement.

How much did Australian visa fees increase in July 2026?

Every visa application charge rose by exactly 25 per cent on 1 July 2026. A subclass 189 rose from $4,910 to $6,135, a partner visa from $9,365 to $11,710, a student visa from $2,000 to $2,500 and a 482 from $3,210 to $4,015.

Do the new fees apply to applications I already lodged?

No. The charge is the one in force on the day you lodge. Applications lodged on or before 30 June 2026 were charged the old rates, and an increase afterwards does not create a shortfall on an application already lodged.

How much is the partner visa in Australia now?

$11,710 for the primary applicant, up from $9,365. That single charge covers the whole journey — the 820 and 309 provisional stages carry no separate charge. If you previously held a Prospective Marriage visa (subclass 300), the follow-on partner visa is only $1,955.

Is there a cheaper visa charge for Pacific Island citizens?

Yes. From 1 July 2026 holders of a passport from an eligible Pacific Island country or Timor-Leste pay a reduced charge across most subclasses — for example a Visitor visa is $205 from offshore rather than $250, and a Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa is $1,245 rather than $1,515.

Why did visa fees go up so much this year?

Visa application charges are indexed on 1 July each year, usually by a small inflation-linked amount. The 2026 increase was a uniform 25 per cent across every subclass, set in Schedule 1 of the Migration Regulations 1994, and is substantially larger than a typical indexation year.

Does the visa application charge include migration agent fees?

No. The application charge is paid to the Department of Home Affairs. A registered migration agent's professional fee is separate, is set by the agent, and was not affected by the 1 July increase.