There’s nothing more inevitable than death, taxes and …. Increases in government charges. On July 1, most Australian visa application charges increased. Applicants will now pay between 5% and 50% more for their visa from July 1. But don’t be too concerned – most increases are at the lower end of the scale. It’s only business visa applicants that will be slugged with a 50% increase.
In fairness, some of the most commonly granted visas, such as the Skilled and Employer Sponsored Visas, have not had a price increase since they were first implemented in 2012 – but that was partly because secondary applicant charges introduced in 2013 had a marked impact on the total cost of a visa for a family.
Probably the most noticeable increase from July is the raising of the visa charge for offshore Partner visas to match the onshore rate – a whopping increase of around $2200 AUD.
The interim table of increases can be viewed here; and further information will be available as the legislation is updated closer to July 1. VAC Increases Fact Sheet July 2015
While it’s not possible now to lodge at the old prices, the good news is that visa allocations are open again from July 1 – and the grants are starting to flow through.
Lodging a visa application = Expensive.
The chance to live in Australia = Priceless.
