Form 1298i Explained: Australian Citizenship Fees by Pathway
Form 1298i is Home Affairs' fee schedule for Australian citizenship — not an application form. This covers what each pathway costs, who gets a concession, and the exemptions that need a paper form. Figures as at September 2026.
Read the full guide, with official sources →
Watch
Chapters
- 0:00 Form 1298i is a fee list, not an application
- 0:14 General conferral — Form 1300t
- 0:37 The other pathways
- 0:52 A concession needs a Pensioner Concession Card
- 1:07 Child aged 15 or under: no fee
- 1:17 Fee exemptions need a paper application
- 1:36 Fees index every 1 July
- 2:01 Most common mistake: paying an old figure
- 2:13 Where to read more
Transcript
Form 1298i isn't an application. It's Home Affairs' fee list for every Australian citizenship pathway, and the number changes depending which one you're using.
General conferral, using Form 1300t, is $595, with an $85 concession fee.
Other situations conferral, Form 1290, is $365, concession $40. That covers applicants 60 or over, under 18, or with a qualifying incapacity.
Descent, resumption, evidence and renunciation each have their own fee too: $380 for descent, $255 for resumption, $290 for evidence, $320 for renunciation.
A concession fee needs a valid Pensioner Concession Card, from Services Australia or Veterans' Affairs — as the primary cardholder, or a dependant aged 17 or younger. A Health Care Card or Seniors Card doesn't qualify.
A child aged 15 or under, applying on the same form as a responsible parent, pays nothing — on Forms 1300t and 1290.
A small number of exemptions exist too: British and Maltese former child migrants, anyone with at least 90 days' service in the Australian Defence Force, and a stateless applicant under section 21(8) of the Australian Citizenship Act 2007. These need a paper application — you can't claim them online.
These fees index every 1 July, against the consumer price index, under the Australian Citizenship Regulation 2016.
The 'i' in Form 1298i marks it as an information sheet. You don't fill it in — you lodge the form for your actual pathway, like Form 1300t or Form 1290, and pay what 1298i says that pathway costs.
The most common mistake is relying on a saved figure from an old post or a previous application. Citizenship fees change every 1 July, so check the current PDF right before you pay.
The full guide, with the official sources, is on migratio.com.au. The link is in the description.
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