Australia Visa Application Fees 2026: Complete Cost Breakdown

If you've been planning an Australian visa application for later this year — or even just doing the initial budget maths — the visa application charge Australia figure you found three months ago is almost certainly wrong now.

A sweeping round of fee increases kicked in on 1 July 2026, and it wasn't the usual modest inflation-linked adjustment. Most visa categories jumped roughly 25 percent in a single step. Some went up far more.

This guide gives you the verified post-July 2026 skilled visa cost breakdown and student visa fee 2026 figures across every major subclass, plus what the additional applicant charges look like for families — because now is genuinely not the time to get your visa budget wrong.

Here's exactly where things stand.

Why Australian Visa Fees Jumped So Much in 2026

Worth understanding before the numbers, because the context matters for planning. Australian visa application charges are legislated under Migration Regulations and reviewed annually, usually on 1 July. Historically, this meant a modest 2 to 5 percent CPI-linked increase — the kind of annual bump you barely notice.

The 2026-27 cycle broke that pattern decisively. The Department of Home Affairs raised most visa application charges by approximately 25 percent in one go. A handful of visa categories went up far more dramatically — the Bridging Visa B increased by around 200 percent, the Resident Return Visa similarly, and the Temporary Graduate subclass 485 had already been doubled in March 2026 before rising another 25 percent on 1 July.

The government has been transparent that this is partly a revenue measure rather than pure cost recovery. Australia's visa fee schedule now sits among the highest of any major English-speaking destination for several categories — the student visa in particular is now the most expensive of any comparable study country globally. That's not a proud distinction, but it's the reality applicants are working with.

One critical point to understand: fees are set by the date the Department receives your application, not the date you prepared your documents. If you lodged before 1 July 2026, the old fee schedule applies. Lodging from 1 July onward means the new fees apply regardless of when you started preparing.

Student Visa Fee 2026 — Subclass 500

The standard Student visa (500) base charge is now $2,500 for most applicants, up from $2,000. That's a 25 percent increase on an already high fee. For context, the UK student visa costs around £490 (roughly AUD $1,000) and Canada's study permit costs approximately CAD $150 (roughly AUD $170). Australia has firmly taken the top spot for the most expensive student visa among major English-speaking destinations.

Additional applicant charges apply if a partner or children are included in the application. Partners and dependants on a student visa application each carry their own additional applicant charge — confirm the current figure for your specific circumstances using the Home Affairs Visa Pricing Estimator before lodging, as these can add significantly to the headline number.

There's also a Subsequent Temporary Application Charge of $700 that applies if you've held two or more student visas and are applying for another while you're in Australia. That's a separate levy on top of the $2,500 base.

Graduate Visa Costs After Study — Subclass 485

This one deserves special mention because it's changed dramatically and quickly. The Temporary Graduate visa subclass 485 first doubled from $1,895 to $4,600 in March 2026, then rose again by 25 percent on 1 July 2026, landing at $5,750. That's a combined increase of roughly 200 percent within a single year. For students planning the study-to-graduate work rights pathway, this is now a significant budget item in its own right.

Skilled Visa Cost Breakdown — Independent and Nominated Pathways

Skilled visa fees for the subclass 189, 190, 491, 494, and 186 sit between $6,135 and $6,140 for the primary applicant from 1 July 2026. The distinction between those subclasses on fees is essentially negligible — budget around $6,140 for the base government charge for any of the main skilled migration streams.

The Second Instalment — The Cost Most People Miss

Here's the part of the skilled visa cost breakdown that catches people off-guard more than any other. For skilled visas (189, 190), a second instalment of $5,090 applies per applicant aged 18 or over who doesn't have functional English at the time of visa grant. Applicants under 18 who don't have functional English incur a charge of $1,275.

This second instalment is not paid at lodgement — it's charged at grant stage if English requirements haven't been met. For most applicants who hold genuine IELTS or PTE results meeting the language threshold, this charge doesn't apply. But if you or any secondary applicant aged 18 or over don't meet functional English at the time of grant, the second instalment triggers automatically. For a couple applying together where one person doesn't demonstrate functional English, that's $5,090 on top of the base charge. Worth knowing well before the decision arrives.

Additional applicants — a partner and children included in the application — each carry their own additional applicant charge. These aren't trivial amounts, and a family of four applying together for a skilled visa is looking at a significantly higher total than the base charge alone suggests.

Employer-Sponsored Visa Costs — Subclass 186 and 482

For the permanent employer nomination subclass 186, the applicant charge from 1 July 2026 is in line with the skilled visa range above at approximately $6,140. The employer also pays a nomination fee of approximately $330 on top of this, and the Skilling Australians Fund (SAF) levy applies separately — $1,200 per year for small businesses or $1,800 per year for larger businesses under the temporary sponsorship pathway.

The Temporary Skill Shortage subclass 482 carries its own fee schedule. The employer side costs are significant in addition to the applicant-side charge.

migrateVerse provides employers and sponsored applicants with a full cost-of-sponsorship breakdown before any nomination is lodged — because the total government fee exposure for a sponsored visa involves employer and employee side charges that need to be understood as a package, not separately.

Partner Visa Fees 2026 — The Largest Increase in Dollar Terms

Partner visa fees reached $11,710 from 1 July 2026, up from $9,365 before the increase. This single fee covers both the temporary stage (subclass 820 or 309) and the permanent stage (subclass 801 or 100) in one lodgement payment — there's no second instalment for the partner visa at the permanent assessment stage, which is at least one structural advantage.

For couples where a partner or children are also included as additional applicants on the same application: additional applicant charges of $5,860 apply for those aged 18 and over, and $2,935 for those under 18. A couple lodging jointly as primary and secondary applicants is looking at $11,710 plus $5,860 — a total of $17,570 in government visa application charges alone.

That's before health examinations, police clearances, and any professional fees for assistance with the application.

Visitor Visa — Subclass 600

Visitor visas have also increased, though the proportional jump is consistent with the broader 25 percent adjustment. The tourist stream of the subclass 600 now sits at approximately $195 for most applicants — up from around $155. For individual travellers this is the least alarming of the fee increases in absolute dollar terms, though the pattern of consistent increases across all categories is worth tracking if you apply for visitor visas regularly.

What's Not Included in the Government Fee

Government visa application charges are one component of the total cost of applying. They're often the largest single line item, but they're rarely the only one. Health examinations for immigration are conducted through BUPA or other approved panel physicians and cost several hundred dollars per person. National police checks and overseas police clearances carry their own fees. English language tests (IELTS, PTE, OET) typically cost $300 to $400 per sitting and may need to be repeated.

Skills assessments through Engineers Australia, ANMAC, ACS, or other assessing bodies each carry assessment fees that vary by body and application type. Professional migration agent fees, where applicable, are separate again from government charges.

migrateVerse's client cost estimates include every one of these components rather than just the government fee, because the "how much does this visa cost" question only has a useful answer when the full picture is visible — not just the headline application charge.

Non-Refundability — The Risk That Makes Every Decision More Expensive

Visa application charges are non-refundable in almost all circumstances, even if the visa is refused or withdrawn. A refused application costs exactly the same as an approved one. If you lodged at $11,710 for a partner visa and it was refused, that money is gone.

This is the part of the fee conversation that matters most practically. At the fees that now apply across skilled, student, and partner visa categories, the cost of a refused or poorly prepared application is genuinely significant. The financial argument for getting professional help preparing an application has strengthened proportionally with every fee increase — not because agents can guarantee outcomes, but because the cost of a re-lodgement after a refusal is now the full application fee again, from scratch.

migrateVerse emphasises this point with every client considering whether to self-lodge: the $6,140 for a skilled visa or $11,710 for a partner visa is already spent the moment the application is submitted. It cannot be recovered. Lodging a complete, well-prepared application isn't just about getting approved — it's about not paying those fees twice.

The next scheduled fee review is 1 July 2027. Whether that returns to modest CPI adjustments or follows the 2026 pattern of a larger step change will depend on the government's budget position closer to the time. For anyone with a timeline that straddles that date, the option of lodging before 1 July 2027 may be worth planning around — just as lodging before 1 July 2026 would have saved meaningful money on most application types.

Always confirm fees using the official Department of Home Affairs Visa Pricing Estimator and the current visa pricing table at immi.homeaffairs.gov.au before lodging anything. migrateVerse tracks the fee schedule changes across subclasses and updates client cost estimates each July specifically because the gap between what people budgeted and what the current fee schedule shows can be material when increases run at 25 percent or more.

The figures above are current as of 1 July 2026 but visa fees can change, and the government pricing tool is the only authoritative source for what you'll actually be charged.