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Following release of the 2015-16 Commonwealth Budget, the Government is introducing an increase, effective from 1 July 2015, to a number of Visa Application Charges (VACs).
The proposed adjustments to the VACs, which come into effect on 1 July 2015, include:·
A price increase in line with inflation (2.3%) to specific visas within the Permanent Migration Skill Stream, Skilled Graduate, Temporary Long Stay Business (Subclass 457), Visitor and Student visa streams.
A 5% price increase to specific visas within the Temporary Resident Short Term Business and Entertainment visas, Working Holiday visas, Resident Return and Retirement Investor visas, and Contributory Parent visa streams.
A 10% price increase on specific visas within the Other Family (Remaining Relative, Carer and Aged Dependent Relative) visas, and (non-contributory) Parent visa streams where the underlying demand is not expected to be impacted by the price increase.
A 50% increase to the Significant Investor Visa (SIV) stream in the permanent migration skill stream category.
An alignment of VAC prices for onshore and offshore applications for specific visa subclasses.
Electronic Travel Authorities (ETA), eVisitor and Refugee and Humanitarian visas will not be affected.
Common visas such as 457 and Employer Sponsored Residency will incur minimal increases of around $40-$60. The most significant change comes for those applicants applying for a Partner visa offshore. The price for an offshore partner visa will increase from $4630 up to $6865. We recommend people to get in fast if you are considering applying for offshore partner visas to try to beat this hefty price increase.
A detailed summary of all the price changes are available on the department’s website at: http://www.immi.gov.au/pub-res/Documents/budget/VAC-increases-fact-sheet.pdf.
When you lodge an application to the Department, it’s very rare for you to get a refund if you have made a mistake and need to lodge your application again. You should carefullyconsider using a Registered Migration Agent for your application to minimise the risk of losing your application charges.
Milestone Migration is a registered migration agent (MARN: 0801338) with staff in Perth and the Philippines and would be more than happy to discuss your visa requirements. Call Kate or Ian on (08) 94636624 to discuss your visa needs.
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