Australian visa application fees increase by 20%

The Australian government have just announced that the skilled migration visa application fee will increase by 20% as of the 1st July 2009.

As a result, the skilled migration application fee will stand at AU$2,525 from 1 July 2009; a full AU$420 increase from the previous fee. With this in place, the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) is estimated to pull in an extra $402.3 million over the next four years.

A full list of changes is available by downloading the Form 990i PDF from the DIAC website. It's vital that all applicants understand exactly how much their application will cost, because DIAC have stated:

"A visa application is not valid until the department receives the correct amount of the Visa Application Charge (VAC). If the correct amount is not paid, it will result in your visa application being delayed until the correct amount is received. Your visa application may be returned with a request that it be resent with the correct VAC amount."

Potential migrants who are able to lodge their application so it is received by DIAC before 1 July, 2009, are advised to do, as all applicants who do so after this date will be required to pay over $400 more for their Australian visa application