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.
Agents predict that Canada and Germany—where visa fees are CAD 150 and €75 respectively—will gain share in the next application cycle.
![Australia lifts student visa (subclass 500) fee to AUD 2,500, jolting Indian education budgets]()
For applicants trying to navigate these fast-moving changes, VisaHQ’s India platform (https://www.visahq.com/india/) can streamline the process with up-to-date fee calculators, customised document checklists and hands-on assistance for Australian, Canadian, German and many other study-abroad visas—minimising paperwork errors and unexpected costs.
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.
Agents predict that Canada and Germany—where visa fees are CAD 150 and €75 respectively—will gain share in the next application cycle.
For applicants trying to navigate these fast-moving changes, VisaHQ’s India platform (https://www.visahq.com/india/) can streamline the process with up-to-date fee calculators, customised document checklists and hands-on assistance for Australian, Canadian, German and many other study-abroad visas—minimising paperwork errors and unexpected costs.
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.
