Australia visa fee increase: what the 189 charge is now, and when you pay it twice

What matters is not how much the charge rose, but how many times you pay it: it is levied on each application and again for each family member applying with you, and a refused or withdrawn application's charge is not usually refunded.

A rise in the charge is paid once. A charge that repeats is where the budget goes, and the 189 repeats in more ways than most people count: a second visa, a second application after a refusal, every family member on the form, and a second instalment for any adult family member who cannot show functional English.

The latest change to the charge on file is dated above. Any budget or quote written before that date may still carry the old charge, so ask for it to be re-issued if it is older.

The figure above is what the Department of Home Affairs charges the main applicant to lodge a Skilled Independent (subclass 189) application. It goes to the department, not to an adviser, and it is not the whole cost of the move. The Skilled Nominated (subclass 190) visa is a different visa with its own charge, even though the two are close, so a quote for one is not a quote for the other.

When you pay it again

The charge attaches to each application, and each person on it adds to the total. Four situations multiply it:

• Two visas, two charges. The 189 and the 190 are separate visas. Lodging both means paying both, and an invitation for one does not cover the other.
• A refused or withdrawn application. The department says it does not usually refund the charge, even when a visa is refused or an application withdrawn. Applying again means paying again.
• Family members applying with you. Each person included in the application pays an additional applicant charge, set by age. Family members listed on the form who are not migrating do not pay it.
• The second instalment. An adult family member applying with you who cannot show functional English pays a second, separate instalment before the visa is granted. The department says when it is due, and it is not payable if the application is refused or withdrawn before it is paid.

Paying by card or PayPal can add a small percentage surcharge to any of these.

Several costs sit outside the charge entirely: the skills assessment for your occupation, the English test, the health examinations at the department's panel clinics, police certificates from each country you have lived in, biometrics where you are asked to give them, and translations. Each is paid to someone else.

Reading a quote for this visa

Your quote should show two kinds of money on separate lines: what goes to the department, and what the firm keeps.

Goes to the government:

• The visa application charge for the main applicant. The applicant pays it; a 189 has no sponsor or employer behind it.
• An additional applicant charge for each family member applying with you.
• The second instalment, only where it applies.

Stays with the firm:

• The migration agent's or lawyer's professional fee, which is what the service fees on file above describe. If it is folded into a line called "government fees", the quote is hiding it.

Put these to whoever prepared your numbers:

1. Is the visa charge paid from your own card through the department's online account, or does the firm collect it and pay it for you? If the firm collects it, ask for the department's own payment receipt.
2. Is the quote based on the charge before or after the latest change shown above?
3. Does it cover the additional applicant charge for each person applying with you, and the second instalment if it could apply, or only the main applicant?
4. Which outside costs (skills assessment, English test, health examinations, police certificates, biometrics) are included, and which will you pay separately?
5. If the application is refused or withdrawn, what happens to the firm's own fee? The government's charge is not usually refunded; the firm's refund terms are its own and should be in writing.
6. Is the adviser registered? In Australia, only registered migration agents, lawyers and a short list of exempt people may lawfully give immigration assistance. The Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority explains how to choose one and check the register.

If you are holding a quote or invoice for this visa, the box below asks about it first and goes through it line by line against the published charge; no account is needed, and a PDF, a Word file or a photo will do. It does not advise on your application; for advice on your own case, speak to a registered migration agent or a lawyer.

General information, not legal advice.