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Moving to Australia from the UK? What the 1 July 2026 visa fee rise means for your budget

News · 2026-08-06 · 4 min read

If you are weighing up a move to Australia from the UK, the cost of the visa itself is one of the first figures worth pinning down. Australia lifted its government application charges on 1 July 2026, and the increase touches almost every visa type. Any application lodged on or after that date pays the higher amount.

Here is a plain run-through of the new figures (all in Australian dollars), how they add up for a household and which other bills sit alongside them.

Moving with an employer behind you

Most UK tradespeople, chefs and nurses who make the move do it through an employer who nominates them. These are the charges for the main applicant on the three employer-backed visas:

The 482 is where the jump is easiest to spot, because it started from the lowest base of the three. If you are hoping to start on a temporary sponsored role and move to permanent residence later, it is worth budgeting for both stages rather than just the first.

Applying on points instead

If you plan to apply without a job offer, through the points-tested route, the main applicant now pays:

• Skilled Independent (subclass 189): $6,135
• Skilled Nominated (subclass 190): $6,140
• Skilled Work Regional (subclass 491): $6,140

Students, graduates and partners

Younger people thinking of studying first will find the Student visa (subclass 500) and the subclass 590 visa for a parent or relative coming as a student's guardian both at $2,500, while the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) is now $5,750. The Partner visa sits at $11,710, the largest single government charge anywhere in the system.

Bringing the family? Do the sums early

The figures above cover one person. Every partner or child you include adds a charge of their own on top. To give a sense of scale, a household of three (the main applicant, a partner and one child) applying for the Skilled Independent (189) visa would pay $10,745 in government charges, before anything else.

And there is quite a bit else. When you build your moving budget, leave room for:

• an English language test, if your visa or employer asks for one
• a skills assessment for your occupation
• medical examinations
• police certificates

A couple of these can look a little different for people in the UK. When a UK police certificate is requested, it comes from ACRO Criminal Records Office. For many Australian work visas, a current UK passport counts as meeting the English language requirement, so check the Department of Home Affairs English language page and your visa's own page before booking a test. Employers and registration bodies can still set their own English rules. If your trade or qualification needs assessing, this guide to recognition of prior learning in Australia explains how experience can count.

Already lodged before 1 July 2026?

Then you are not affected. Applications lodged before that date stay on the old charge, even while they are still being processed. Only applications lodged from 1 July 2026 pay the new rates.

Why the move can still add up

A higher fee does not change the bigger picture: Australia remains short of skilled workers. The gaps are widest in carpentry, electrical work, mechanics, welding, chef roles, butchery, HVAC, nursing, engineering and heavy vehicle mechanics, and plenty of employer-sponsored roles remain open to qualified overseas applicants. If fees are on your mind, our earlier look at why visa fee increases happen gives some useful background, and couples may want to read about the partner visa backlog before planning their timing.

When your budget is in shape, you can browse current jobs in Australia for UK citizens and see which roles mention sponsorship.

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