How to apply for a Student Visa in Australia? How much is the most affordable course for international students? How much money do you need to have in your bank account? How long do you need to wait for a Student Visa in Australia? Get all the answers or email us if you can't find what you're looking for.
The standard Australian Student visa (subclass 500) fee is AUD $2,500 for the main applicant. Lower charges or exemptions apply to eligible applicants. Payment surcharges and any applicable subsequent temporary application charge are separate from this base fee. Check the current Home Affairs visa pricing table before you apply.
Australian Student visa fee in 2026
From 1 July 2026, the Australian government raised the Student visa application charge from $2,000 AUD to $2,500 AUD. This follows a previous increase in July 2025, when the fee went up from $1,600 AUD to $2,000 AUD.
An additional AUD $700 Subsequent Temporary Application Charge may apply if you lodge in Australia, depending on your visa history and any exemptions. It is not automatically payable on every renewal. If you are allowed to include family members in your application, the Department of Home Affairs will charge an additional $1,530 AUD for each family member aged 18 or over and $500 AUD for each child under 18, plus a credit card surcharge.
Important: from 2 October 2026, most applicants can no longer include their partner or children in a Student visa application. Exemptions apply to PhD students, students sponsored by DFAT or Defence, foreign government scholarship holders and eligible students from Pacific or ASEAN countries. Most applicants also need to apply from outside Australia. See who can still apply onshore.
Lower cost of a Student visa for certain nationalities
The Australian government offers a lower Student visa fee for certain applicants. Concessions apply to:
Eligible Pacific Island and Timor-Leste citizens: if you hold a passport from 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, or Vanuatu, you can apply for a Student visa at a reduced fee.
Eligible ASEAN citizens: nationals of ASEAN member countries (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam) are eligible for a lower application charge of $2,050
ELICOS and Non-Award sector applicants: students enrolling in standalone English language (ELICOS) or non-award courses also pay the lower charge of $2,050.
Use the official Visa Pricing Estimator on the Department of Home Affairs website to calculate your exact Student visa cost based on your nationality and course type.
This is how you can save hundreds of dollars
The Student visa fee is one of the three main costs when applying for a student visa in Australia. The easiest way to save hundreds, or even thousands of dollars is on your Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC). You can do this with just a few clicks by comparing all available providers with OSHC Australia. Our guide to the cheapest OSHC for international students shows today’s price from each provider.
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🚨 $7,500 or less