Fee Increases Applicable in 2012
- By Bobby Castro
- Published 01/5/2012
- National, State, Local
- Unrated
The Australian Federal Government recently announced the implementation of a new visa fee system to alleviate the taxpayer burden of subsidizing current visa applications to the country. It said that the current visa application fees do not completely cover the cost of the government in processing these applications.
It is projected that the new visa fee scheme would net around $613 million in revenues for the next four years. On the other hand, the visa fees for student visa applications would decrease by five percent starting January 2012. It is projected that this would assist in increasing the international competitiveness of Australia's education sector. For Skills and Business visas, the visa fees would increase between five and fifteen percent.
According to MP Chris Bowen, the Australian Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, the charges would also include the imposition of a fee for dependents of visa applicants starting on July 2013. He said, "If people are bringing family members with them to Australia, the fee will reflect the additional processing and checks for these family members."
It was also announced that there would be no changes applied to humanitarian visas under the new fee structure for v
isa applications. There are also no changes to be instituted to visitor visas under the fee scheme to be implemented so as not to affect the tourism objectives of the Australian government.
A later CPI charge would apply commencing on July 2012 that would be imposed on the majority of visa applications as well as a surcharge to be introduced for other optional services in the visa application process. It is also being contemplated to apply an additional charge for paper based visa applications when an existing electronic visa option is available to encourage the use of online applications.
The changes to be applied starting July 2013 would affect longer duration visas and for those visa applications done onshore. According to Minister Bowen, "We need to maintain our IT development with online applications and biometric collection and checking. These initiatives will put Australian visa services on a sustainable financial footing, while supporting our position globally as a destination of choice to visit, live, work or study."
The new changes are expected to be received with mixed reactions. The Minister further adds, "These changes will bring Australia's visa application charge structures in line with comparable countries. The user-pays approach means that taxpayers will no longer need to subsidize visa applicants."
It is projected that the new visa fee scheme would net around $613 million in revenues for the next four years. On the other hand, the visa fees for student visa applications would decrease by five percent starting January 2012. It is projected that this would assist in increasing the international competitiveness of Australia's education sector. For Skills and Business visas, the visa fees would increase between five and fifteen percent.
According to MP Chris Bowen, the Australian Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, the charges would also include the imposition of a fee for dependents of visa applicants starting on July 2013. He said, "If people are bringing family members with them to Australia, the fee will reflect the additional processing and checks for these family members."
It was also announced that there would be no changes applied to humanitarian visas under the new fee structure for v
A later CPI charge would apply commencing on July 2012 that would be imposed on the majority of visa applications as well as a surcharge to be introduced for other optional services in the visa application process. It is also being contemplated to apply an additional charge for paper based visa applications when an existing electronic visa option is available to encourage the use of online applications.
The changes to be applied starting July 2013 would affect longer duration visas and for those visa applications done onshore. According to Minister Bowen, "We need to maintain our IT development with online applications and biometric collection and checking. These initiatives will put Australian visa services on a sustainable financial footing, while supporting our position globally as a destination of choice to visit, live, work or study."
The new changes are expected to be received with mixed reactions. The Minister further adds, "These changes will bring Australia's visa application charge structures in line with comparable countries. The user-pays approach means that taxpayers will no longer need to subsidize visa applicants."
Bobby Castro
Bobby Castro is the online editor at the Australia Forum, where he has published a number of articles about Australia immigration visas and many other topics.
View all articles by Bobby Castro