The Department of Home Affairs [DHA], Australia has increased the fee for all the visa applications with effect from 1 July 2021. The increase in fee is only incremental and does not restructure the pricing estimation for prospective migrants for Australia.
This blog will limit the fee update to the following three most popular General Skilled Migrant Visa for offshore applicants. Following is the summary of fee hike for all three subclasses:
- Skilled- Independent [Subclass 189]
- Skilled- Nominated [Subclass 190]
- Skilled- Work Regional [Subclass 491]
Applicant Type Before 1 July 2021 After 1 July 2021 Change in Fee
Primary Applicant AUD 4040 AUD 4115 +AUD 75
Secondary Above 18 AUD 2025. AUD 2060 +AUD 75
Secondary Below 18 AUD 1015. AUD 1030. +AUD15
For all Offshore Applicants, no GST is applicable.
The modes of payment of fee is as follows:
• Credit Card
• PayPal
• UnionPay
• BPAY
A surcharge is applicable on the use of a credit card to pay the visa application fee. Following is the list of the surcharge applied:
• MasterCard (including Debit MasterCard) – 1.40%
• VISA (including VISA DebitCard) – 1.40%
• American Express (AMEX) – 1.40%
• Diners Club – 1.99%
• JCB – 1.40%
•Pre-paid credit cards are charged at the same rate as the card issuer AMEX, VISA or MasterCard
The applicant must pay the entire fee amount through a single transaction, therefore it is essential to ensure the credit card limit is enough for the transaction. The credit card used does not need to necessarily be in the name of the applicant.