Paying an Australian visa fee from the Philippines: fees, surcharges and card declines
Current Australian visa fees, ImmiAccount's accepted payment methods and surcharges, the most common reasons Philippine cards get declined, and how refunds actually work. Figures as at September 2026.
Read the full guide, with official sources →
Watch
Chapters
- 0:00 Card keeps getting declined?
- 0:12 Fees vary by visa
- 0:37 What's accepted
- 0:49 The surcharge
- 1:04 Why cards get declined
- 1:20 Before you pay
- 1:42 Payment failed? Check your statement
- 2:04 Where to read more
Transcript
Trying to pay an Australian visa fee from the Philippines and your card keeps getting declined? Here's why, and what actually fixes it.
Fees vary by visa. A visitor visa, subclass six hundred, is about $250. A student visa, subclass five hundred, is about $2,500. An employer-sponsored visa, subclass four eight two, is $4,015, one single charge covering every stream. These took effect on 1 July 2026.
ImmiAccount accepts Visa, Mastercard, American Express, J C B, PayPal, UnionPay and BPAY. Diners Club is not accepted.
There's also a surcharge. 1.40% on Visa, Mastercard, Amex and JCB, the same for debit and credit. 1.90% on UnionPay. 1.01% on PayPal.
Most declines come down to four things. International transactions switched off. A daily limit that's too low. A fraud alert on an unfamiliar AUD charge. Or a credit limit too small for a higher-value visa.
Before you pay: check your bank's app for an international payments switch, raise your daily limit, and consider pre-notifying your bank of the charge.
If the card still won't work: someone in Australia can pay on your ImmiAccount with their own card, the Visa Application Centre in Manila may take other methods, and some banks offer a prepaid card loaded with foreign currency.
If a payment fails, don't retry straight away. Check your bank statement first to see whether you were actually charged.
Refunds are limited. If you're refused, most fees aren't refunded. The form for a refund request is Form 1424, and Home Affairs says there's no standard time frame for processing it.
The full guide, with the official sources, is on migratio.com.au. The link is in the description.
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