In a sweeping fee overhaul effective 1 July, Australia’s Department of Home Affairs has raised the base application charge for the Student visa (subclass 500) from AUD 2,000 to AUD 2,500—about ₹1.65 lakh—cementing Australia as the most expensive major study destination for Indian students. The Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) climbed to AUD 5,750. The hike, part of Canberra’s migration-reset agenda, is aimed at curbing record net-overseas arrivals and funnelling international enrolments toward higher-quality programmes. Education counsellors in Delhi and Bengaluru say July-intake students were blindsided, with many needing emergency remittances to meet the extra cost before the ImmiAccount payment window closed. Universities fear deferred enrolments; some have offered to credit the additional outlay against first-semester tuition. Agents predict that Canada and Germany—where visa fees are CAD 150 and €75 respectively—will gain share in the next application cycle. For Indian corporates that sponsor MBAs or skill-upgrade programmes, total mobility costs rise substantially: alongside higher tuition, students must now prove AUD 29,710 in annual living expenses after the December 2025 benchmark revision. Students already holding a valid visa are unaffected, but anyone lodging a new application, extension or sector change faces the new tariff. The fee is not refundable if the visa is refused, underscoring the need for error-free paperwork.
Source: The Financial Express
