Australia Offers Reduced Visa Fees for 23 Nations

Australia's Department of Home Affairs has introduced a cost concession for its Student visa (subclass 500), allowing citizens from 23 countries to pay a reduced application fee. The standard fee is AUD 2,500, but eligible citizens from Pacific Island nations, Timor-Leste, and ASEAN countries can access a lower rate if they hold a valid passport from one of the specified countries and use it when applying through ImmiAccount.

The eligible Pacific Island and Timor-Leste nations include the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu. The ASEAN group includes Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Family members included in the same application can also benefit from the lower cost. New rules effective from October 2, 2026, restrict most applicants to applying from outside Australia unless they meet specific exemptions.