Have you seen the $42.80/kg snow peas in the news? If so, the recent increase in visa application charges should not come as a shock to you (fortunately or unfortunately)! The annual price hike has been introduced via legislative instrument number F2022L00828 and applies to visa applications made on or after 1 July 2022.
Why the price increase??
The visa application charges (VACs) have risen for certain visas to give effect to the Australian government’s policy of indexing VACs by the forecast consumer price index (CPI). This means that many 2021–22 baseline amounts have increased by the 2022–23 forecast CPI of 3.0% (rounded to the nearest $5). These indexation amendments are intended to be made annually.
Oh dear! Which visas have been affected?
A large majority of the visas (at least 60) have had their VACs increased. These include subclasses 020, 100, 101, 102, 103, 114, 115, 116, 117, 143, 151, 155, 157, 159, 173, 186, 187, 188, 189, 190, 191, 300, 400, 403, 405, 407, 408, 410, 417, 445, 461, 462, 476, 482, 485, 489, 491, 494, 500, 590, 600, 602, 801, 802, 804, 808, 835, 836, 837, 838, 858, 864, 870, 884, 887, 888, 890, 891, 892 and 893.
I understand, so how can I fulfill my dream of staying in Australia?
We will be more than happy to assist you! Just get in touch with our friendly team via our website. Once you do that, sit back and relax as we guide you through the entire process of applying for the relevant visas!
I like reading, so what are the details of the legislative instrument?
The new legislative instrument referred to above is the Migration Amendment (Visa Application Charges) Regulations 2022 (F2022L00828). It amends Migration Regulations 1994 (F2022C00520) to the effect of raising the VACs for the visas mentioned above.