International Student Visa Costs in Australia Soar, Now Among World’s Highest

Australia has, overnight, become one of the destinations with the highest fees for international student visas.

As part of efforts to reduce immigration in the country, the government has more than doubled the visa fee for international students, which has skyrocketed from AU$710 to AU$1,600, effective from Monday, July 1, 2024, Erudera.com reports.

With this decision, Australia is expected to generate nearly $100 million in additional income from international students. However, critics are already discussing whether this move will affect international student numbers, which had almost returned to pre-pandemic levels.

The cost of applying for a student visa is now higher in Australia than in other top study destinations like the United States and Canada, where visa fees for international students are about $185 and C$150 ($110), respectively.

The news was announced in a joint statement by Education Minister Jason Clare, Minister for Skills and Training Brendan O’Connor, Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil, and Immigration Minister Andrew Giles.

The four ministers emphasized the price hike reflects the increasing value of Australian education and the government’s commitment to restoring the sector’s integrity.

“International education is an incredibly important national asset and we need to ensure its integrity and quality. These changes will strengthen integrity in the international education system and help to fund important reforms recommended by the Universities Accord,” minister Jason Clare said.

According to official data released in March, net immigration in Australia increased 60 percent to a record high of 548,800 people compared to September 2023.

“When we came to government we inherited a migration system that was broken and dysfunctional, and an international education system which was being compromised by rorts and exploitation…The changes coming into force today will help restore integrity to our international education system, and create a migration system which is fairer, smaller and better able to deliver for Australia,” minister Clare O’Neil said.

Such a change is likely to affect mostly students from China and India, Australia's two largest groups of international students. For the January-March 2024 period, the number of Chinese students studying in Australia on a student visa stood at 148,121, followed by 115,275 students from India.

Moreover, the move might also affect students from Nepal, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Columbia, thousands of whom choose Australia to pursue their studies every year.

Of the 687,840 international students in the country during the January-March 2024 period, over 55,000 hailed from Nepal, a total of 34,349 from the Philippines, nearly 33,000 from Vietnam, and 27,408 students from Columbia.

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