Visa fee structure set to change

Details

Created on Thursday, 01 December 2011 14:31

Written by Editorial staff

A number of visas will be subject to new conditions from January 1 2012, with some changing in price by as much as 15 per cent.

New measures by the Gillard government have been put in place to help the Department of Immigration and Citizenship to meet the costs of processing incoming applications.

Speaking on the changes, the federal minister for immigration Chris Bowen said that the new pricing system would help to ensure that the system was on a "sustainable financial footing" in the future.

Bowen asserted: "The user-pays approach means that taxpayers will no longer need to subsidise visa applicants."

In addition to some price increases, businesspeople and skilled migrants who wish to bring their dependents will be required to pay more to cover the extra processing requirements from July 2013.

"If people are bringing family members with them to Australia, the fee will reflect the additional processing and checks for these family members," said Bowen.

The minister went on to say that the shifts in the pricing structure of visa applications would help to bring the system in line with those already in place in other developed nations.

Most short term visitor visas will remain unaffected by the changes, helping to protect the country's important hospitality and tourism industries.

The application fees for student visas will be reduced by 5 per cent in January 2012 for similar reasons - with Bowen indicating that the measure would help to strengthen Australia's position as a global leader in the international tertiary education market.

Migrant workers and international businesspeople travelling to the country for employment purposes would face an increase of between five and 15 per cent from January 1 2012.

At present, some skilled visas can cost as much as $7,000, while other management-oriented applications can require payments of $8,000 in fees.

However, while smaller amounts are charged for business visits and sponsorship arrangements, humanitarian applications and asylum claims will remain unaffected by the recent developments, as they are processed entirely on government funding.

These new pricing schedules will make it all the more important to ensure that an application is completed correctly before submission - as many of the fees are non-refundable.

A registered migration agent will be able to give both sponsored workers and businesses the peace of mind that comes with knowing that their paperwork is in order - giving them the best possible chance of having it speedily approved.