Cost of Moving to Australia (2026): Full Visa Fee Breakdown

The one fixed, dated cost of moving to Australia is the visa charge, which runs $2,500 to $11,710 depending on the visa. This covers visa charges by subclass, skills assessment fees, English test costs, Medicare Levy Surcharge rates, and typical migration agent fee ranges. Figures as at September 2026.

Read the full guide, with official sources →

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Chapters

  1. 0:00 Visa charges range
  2. 0:15 189: $6,135. 190: $6,140.
  3. 0:35 Extra adult: $3,070.
  4. 0:53 Student visa (500): $2,500
  5. 1:08 Parent visa (143):
  6. 1:22 Skills assessment:
  7. 1:40 IELTS: $490.
  8. 1:55 Flights & freight:
  9. 2:05 Rental bond + advance:
  10. 2:34 Agent fees: no official schedule.
  11. 2:56 No single total —
  12. 3:12 Where to read more

Transcript

There's no single answer to what moving to Australia costs — but one number is fixed: the visa charge, and it runs from $2,500 to $11,710 depending on your visa.

The skilled subclass 189 costs $6,135, and the 190 costs $6,140, as at 1 July 2026. The employer-sponsored 482 costs $4,015, and that one charge now applies to every 482 stream.

Bringing family? Extra applicants aged 18 and over add $3,070 each on a skilled visa, and each child under 18 adds around $1,540. A family of four on a subclass 189 faces a charge of about $12,285.

A student subclass 500 costs $2,500 for a higher-education course, or $2,050 for ELICOS. Applying for a further temporary visa while already in Australia adds a subsequent charge of $700.

The Contributory Parent visa, subclass 143, carries a first instalment of $6,300, then a second instalment of $43,600 per adult, payable when the visa is about to be granted.

Skills assessments add more: $1,498 through ACS for IT, $1,034 through Engineers Australia, and $1,146 through VETASSESS offshore, or $1,260.60 lodged from inside Australia.

IELTS costs $490, as published in 2026. Pearson doesn't publish one fixed PTE fee — check its own price finder before you budget, since some applicants sit a test twice to raise their score.

Flights and freight are priced by individual airlines and shipping companies, and change constantly — get a current quote rather than budgeting from a remembered figure.

A rental bond usually runs four weeks' rent, plus two weeks' rent in advance — six to eight weeks' rent altogether before you even move in.

Student and temporary visa holders need OSHC or OVHC, individually priced. Permanent residents get Medicare — but without adequate private hospital cover above the income threshold, a surcharge of 1%, 1.25% or 1.5% applies on top of the standard 2% Medicare levy.

Agent fees aren't set by any regulator. Each agent sets their own, in writing. Across 686 consultation quotes from 57 agents on Migratio, the median consultation was $220, and the middle half fell between $150 and $275. The fee for a full application is quoted case by case.

There's no single reliable total — a solo skilled applicant generally spends across several categories once the visa charge, assessment, tests, checks, a flight and first month are added, and a skills assessment isn't refunded if your occupation isn't on the list.

The full guide, with the official sources, is on migratio.com.au. The link is in the description. And if you'd like to talk it through, you can compare registered migration agents there, and see their fees before you book anything.

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