At VJ Consulting and Education, we work with applicants across a wide range of visa subclasses and understand how quickly costs can add up beyond the base application fee.
How much does a 189 visa cost?
The 189 visa (Subclass 189 — Skilled Independent) carries one of the higher upfront application fees in the skilled migration programme, and many applicants underestimate the total because they price only the primary applicant. The primary applicant fee is AUD $4,640As of July 2025 · homeaffairs.gov.au. Each additional applicant aged 18 or over adds AUD $2,320As of July 2025 · homeaffairs.gov.au, and each applicant under 18 adds AUD $1,160As of July 2025 · homeaffairs.gov.au.
The realistic cost framework for a family of four — two adults and two children — therefore sits at approximately AUD $11,280As of July 2025 · homeaffairs.gov.au in application fees alone, before accounting for skills assessment fees, English test costs, health examinations, and police clearances. These ancillary costs routinely add another AUD $2,000–$4,000As of current · homeaffairs.gov.au depending on occupation and country of origin.
One aspect many applicants overlook: the 189 visa fee is payable at the time of invitation acceptance and application lodgement, not when the visa is granted. If an application is refused or withdrawn after payment, the fee is not refunded — the only narrow exception is where the Department makes an administrative error. Before lodging, applicants should confirm their points score is competitive; current invitation cutoffs have reached 85–90 pointsAs of June 2025 · homeaffairs.gov.au in most rounds, making speculative applications a costly gamble.
How much does a 482 visa cost an employer?
The true cost of a In VJCE's experience handling employer-sponsored applications, businesses are often surprised by how significantly the total obligation — spanning nomination charges, training levies, and professional fees — exceeds the visa application charge alone, making early cost planning essential.482 visa (Subclass 482 — Skills in Demand) to an employer is best understood as two separate financial obligations: the application fee paid to the Department, and the Skilling Australians Fund (SAF) levy, which is a mandatory training contribution and not an application fee.
The employer pays the SAF levy at AUD $1,200 per year of sponsorship for small businesses (turnover under AUD $10 million)As of July 2025 · homeaffairs.gov.au or AUD $1,800 per year for standard businessesAs of July 2025 · homeaffairs.gov.au. For a three-year 482 visa nomination, a large employer therefore pays AUD $5,400As of July 2025 · homeaffairs.gov.au in SAF levy alone. The nomination application itself incurs a fee of AUD $330As of current · homeaffairs.gov.au.
The visa application fee paid by the sponsored worker (though employers often cover it as part of the employment arrangement) is AUD $3,115As of current · homeaffairs.gov.au for the primary applicant, with additional fees for dependants. A secondary adult adds AUD $1,560As of July 2025 · homeaffairs.gov.au and a secondary child adds AUD $780As of July 2025 · homeaffairs.gov.au.
In practice, the SAF levy is the more significant cost variable for employers sponsoring multiple workers or longer-term placements. For a small business sponsoring two workers on three-year visas, total SAF exposure reaches AUD $7,200As of July 2025 · homeaffairs.gov.au — a figure that should sit in any workforce budget alongside salary costings.
How much does a 485 visa cost?
The 485 visa (Subclass 485 — Temporary Graduate) is generally the most accessible of the skilled temporary pathways in terms of upfront fee, but the cost structure still catches many recent graduates off guard when dependants are included. The primary applicant fee is AUD $1,895As of July 2025 · homeaffairs.gov.au. Each additional secondary applicant aged 18 or over adds AUD $945As of July 2025 · homeaffairs.gov.au, and each child under 18 adds AUD $475As of July 2025 · homeaffairs.gov.au.
For a single applicant, the 485 fee is comparatively modest — particularly given that processing is typically faster than skilled permanent visas. However, the real cost calculus for a graduate visa is broader: applicants must have completed a skills assessment for their occupation in some streams, and health insurance (Overseas Student Health Cover or equivalent) is a visa condition that adds ongoing cost.
The Graduate stream (for Australian study completions) and the Post-Study Work stream attract the same application fee, so stream selection does not affect the fee. What matters more is the duration granted — a longer grant period provides greater return on the application cost, and recent policy changes have extended durations for graduates of regional institutions. In practice, a 485 visa is often a bridge to a longer-term skilled pathway, so applicants should factor it as a staging cost within a broader migration budget rather than treating it as a standalone expense.
How much does an 820 visa cost?
The VJ Consulting advisers commonly note that partner visa applicants underestimate the full financial commitment involved, particularly when health and character requirements add further outlays on top of the primary and secondary applicant fees.820 visa (onshore partner visa, Subclass 820) is lodged together with the permanent Subclass 801 as a combined application — the fee covers both stages, and there is no separate charge when the application is later assessed for the permanent grant. This is an important distinction: applicants pay once upfront and receive the temporary 820 grant first, then the permanent 801 grant after the eligibility period without paying again.
The combined 820/801 application fee is AUD $8,850As of July 2025 · homeaffairs.gov.au for the primary applicant. This is one of the highest application fees in the Australian visa system, reflecting both the combined dual-stage structure and the complexity of partner visa processing. Additional applicants aged 18 or over (such as dependent children who are adults) are charged AUD $4,430As of July 2025 · homeaffairs.gov.au, and children under 18 are charged AUD $2,215As of July 2025 · homeaffairs.gov.au.
Beyond the application fee, partner visa applicants should budget for relationship evidence preparation, health examinations, and police clearances — costs that are not insignificant when obtained from multiple countries. Processing times for partner visas have been lengthy in recent years, with median processing at 21–30 monthsAs of June 2025 · homeaffairs.gov.au, which means the financial commitment is made well in advance of the outcome. This is where applications often go wrong: applicants underbudget for the waiting period and ancillary costs rather than the headline fee.
How much does a subclass 300 visa cost?
The Subclass 300 (Prospective Marriage Visa) is a temporary visa that allows the holder to travel to Australia and marry their sponsoring partner within nine months of arrival — and unlike the 820/801 pathway, it does not cover the permanent stage in a single fee. The 300 visa application fee is AUD $8,850As of July 2025 · homeaffairs.gov.au, which places it at the same fee level as the onshore partner visa despite being a temporary visa only.
After marrying in Australia, the holder of a 300 visa must then apply for a partner visa (typically onshore Subclass 820/801) and pay the full partner visa application fee again. This means the total cost of the prospective marriage to permanent residence pathway involves two separate application fee payments — the 300 visa fee followed by the 820/801 fee — which combined represents a considerable financial commitment compared to applicants who are already in a de facto or married relationship at the time of applying.
The key point is that the 300 visa fee is non-refundable if the couple does not marry within the nine-month window, or if circumstances change. In practice, this pathway is most appropriate when the couple is engaged and has a concrete plan to marry shortly after arrival, rather than as a speculative entry mechanism. For couples already in a de facto relationship of 12 months or more, proceeding directly to the partner visa avoids the double-fee structure entirely.
How much does a visitor visa subclass 600 cost?
The Subclass 600 Visitor Visa fee varies by stream — Tourist stream, Business Visitor stream, and Sponsored Family stream each carry different rates, and the duration applied for also affects the fee. For the Tourist stream (the most commonly applied), the base application fee for a single-entry or multiple-entry visit up to three months is AUD $190As of July 2025 · homeaffairs.gov.au. Applications for longer stays or with sponsorship may attract different fee levels.
The Sponsored Family stream, where an approved sponsor in Australia supports the application, costs AUD $190As of July 2025 · homeaffairs.gov.au for most applicants, though the sponsorship approval itself is a separate administrative step that some families overlook when budgeting.
Importantly, the Subclass 600 is typically the lowest-fee visa in the Australian system, and its relatively low cost leads some applicants to treat it as a low-stakes application. This is a common misconception. A refused visitor visa creates a refusal record that must be declared in all subsequent Australian visa applications — including skilled and partner visas — and can complicate future migration pathways significantly more than the fee itself would suggest. A well-prepared application that addresses genuine temporary entrant intent and financial capacity is far more valuable than the nominal saving from lodging without supporting documentation.
How much does 190 cost?
The From cases handled at VJCE, applicants pursuing state nomination through Subclass 190 frequently find that the state-level costs and documentation requirements make the overall process notably more involved than the application fee figure alone suggests.190 visa (Subclass 190 — Skilled Nominated) carries the same application fee structure as the 189 visa, since both are permanent skilled visas under the General Skilled Migration programme. The primary applicant fee is AUD $4,640As of July 2025 · homeaffairs.gov.au, with secondary adults charged AUD $2,320As of July 2025 · homeaffairs.gov.au and secondary children charged AUD $1,160As of July 2025 · homeaffairs.gov.au.
However, the 190 visa has one additional cost layer that the 189 does not: state or territory nomination. Most states charge a nomination application fee, typically ranging from AUD $300–$500As of current · various state government websites depending on the jurisdiction, though some states charge more for premium or priority processing tracks. This nomination fee is separate from and additional to the Department of Home Affairs application fee.
From a total-cost perspective, the 190 pathway is comparable in application fees to the 189 — but the nomination requirement adds both cost and a processing dependency. Applicants who receive a state nomination gain 5 additional points on the points test, which has strategic value that generally outweighs the nomination fee. For applicants on the borderline of competitiveness, securing nomination through the 190 pathway and banking those 5 points is typically preferable to waiting in the 189 pool without a score uplift. The nomination cost is a worthwhile investment in most cases where the occupational demand aligns with a state's priority list.
What is the new visa fee for Australia 2026?
Yes, visa application fees in Australia change annually — and the direction has consistently been upward. The Australian government reviews and typically adjusts visa application charges (VACs) on 1 July each yearAs of current · homeaffairs.gov.au, meaning fees for the 2025–26 programme year came into effect on 1 July 2025As of July 2025 · homeaffairs.gov.au. The increases have historically tracked at or above inflation.
For the 2025–26 financial year, the Department implemented fee increases across most visa subclasses. Skilled visa primary applicant fees rose to AUD $4,640As of July 2025 · homeaffairs.gov.au for the 189 and 190, and partner visa fees rose to AUD $8,850As of July 2025 · homeaffairs.gov.au for the combined 820/801 application. Looking ahead to 2026 (the 2026–27 programme year commencing 1 July 2026), specific fee schedules have not yet been gazetted as of the date of this article — the Department typically releases updated fee schedules in the weeks prior to 1 July.
The practical implication for applicants planning their migration timeline is clear: if your application is ready and your profile is competitive, lodging before the next annual fee adjustment date avoids absorbing another year's increase. For a family of four on a skilled visa pathway, a 5–10%As of current · homeaffairs.gov.au fee increase translates to several hundred dollars in additional fees — a meaningful sum when combined with skills assessment and health examination costs. Applicants should always verify the current fee schedule on the official Department of Home Affairs website immediately before lodgement, as fees quoted in online articles may not reflect the most recent adjustment.
Next Step
Visa fees represent only one layer of the total cost of Australian migration — skills assessment body fees, state nomination charges, health examinations, English testing, and police clearances each add to the real figure a household needs to budget. If you are mapping out a multi-stage migration pathway and want to ensure your cost projections and visa strategy are aligned, speaking with a MARA-registered agent at VJ Consulting can help you sequence the pathway correctly from the outset.
This article is intended as general guidance only and does not constitute legal or migration advice. Visa requirements, fees, and processing times change regularly — always verify details on the relevant authority's official website before making decisions. For advice specific to your circumstances, consider consulting a MARA-registered migration agent.
References
- Department of Home Affairs — Visa application charges schedule: homeaffairs.gov.au/Trav/Visa/Fees
- Department of Home Affairs — Skilling Australians Fund levy rates: homeaffairs.gov.au/employers/saf-levy
- Department of Home Affairs — Visa processing times dashboard: immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-processing-times
- Fair Work Ombudsman — Sponsorship obligations for 482 visa holders: fairwork.gov.au
Related reading
To put these costs in context alongside timelines, browse the full overview at the How Long / How Much? stage; if waiting periods are your next concern, Partner and Spouse Visa Processing Times: 820, 309, 801 and Beyond walks through exactly what to expect at each processing stage.
