If you are an Indian applicant who has spent the last six months shortlisting Melbourne Business School or AGSM, you may not have noticed the line item that changed on July 1: Australia's student visa application fee jumped from AU$2,000 to AU$2,500, effective immediately. That single charge is now higher than the equivalent visa fee in the US, UK, Canada, and New Zealand combined. And the post-study work visa, the reason many Indian graduates chose Australia in the first place, climbed from AU$4,600 to AU$5,750. None of this came with advance notice.
The numbers: a 285% rise in four years
The Australian Department of Home Affairs raised the Subclass 500 student visa fee from AU$650 in 2022 to AU$2,500 in July 2026. That is a 285% increase across four years. The Temporary Graduate Visa (Subclass 485), which provides post-study work rights, rose 148% over the same period, from AU$2,320 to AU$5,750.
For context, here is what other major destinations charge for an equivalent student visa application in 2026:
- United States (F-1): approximately AU$775
- United Kingdom: approximately AU$935
- Canada: approximately AU$240
- New Zealand: approximately AU$790
Australia's fee is now roughly three times the UK's and ten times Canada's. And unlike a tuition deposit, these fees are non-refundable. If your visa is refused, you lose the entire AU$2,500.
Why this fee hike landed without warning
The July 1 increase arrived with no industry consultation, no transition period, and no prior announcement. ICEF Monitor, the leading market intelligence platform for international education, called it "a direct hit to Australia's competitiveness". Vicki Thomson, chief executive of The Group of Eight (representing Australia's top eight research universities), said the fee hike was "not just a visa fee increase" but "a direct hit to Australia's competitiveness, skills pipeline and international standing."
The government's stated justification is that additional funds are needed for national security budget shortfalls. Phil Honeywood, CEO of the International Education Association of Australia, responded: "Our beleaguered sector is fed up with such excuses as we are increasingly being seen as just a cash cow for non-related budget issues."
This is the pattern Indian applicants should understand. Between 2022 and 2026, Australia's Labor government raised visa fees multiple times, each without prior notice. By comparison, Canada has not increased its study permit fee since 2022, the US has not raised the F-1 application fee, and the UK's total increase over four years is roughly 15%.
The post-study work visa is the real sting
For many Indian MBA applicants, the student visa fee is painful but survivable. The sharper blow is the Subclass 485 post-study work visa, which rose from AU$4,600 to AU$5,750 in this same round. That is roughly Rs 3.2 lakh just for the right to work in Australia after graduating.
Weihong Liang, president of the International Students Representative Council of Australia, wrote on LinkedIn that students who started their degrees two or three years ago "made major life decisions, paid substantial tuition fees, moved countries, and built their future plans around the policy settings available at the time." Now, after they have already committed, the cost of the post-study pathway has increased dramatically, twice in four months.
A PhD student specialising in AI, Kaixin Ji, posted that after 12 years of study in Australia, the sudden fee hike "may force me to ask my parents for financial help, which feels deeply painful and humiliating as a grown adult."
For an Indian applicant comparing a 1-year MBA at Melbourne Business School (tuition roughly AU$95,000) against a 1-year programme at LBS or INSEAD, the cumulative visa costs now add meaningfully to the total. Student visa (AU$2,500) plus post-study work visa (AU$5,750) is AU$8,250, or about Rs 4.6 lakh, before you have earned a single dollar. In the UK, the equivalent pair of visa applications costs under AU$2,000 total.
What this means for Indian applicants
Three practical takeaways.
First, factor visa costs into your total cost comparison. When we help applicants build a full cost model for studying abroad, we now flag Australia's visa overhead separately. The gap between Australia and other destinations has widened to a point where it can shift the arithmetic for applicants on a tight budget. Our earlier analysis on the real cost of an MBA abroad covered tuition, living expenses, and opportunity cost; add AU$8,250 in non-refundable visa fees to that model for any Australian programme.
Second, understand the refund risk. Australia's student visa refusal rates for Indian applicants have been climbing. If your Subclass 500 is refused, you do not get AU$2,500 back. If you are applying from India with a profile that could trigger additional scrutiny, such as limited funds documentation or a gap in study history, the non-refundable fee is a material financial risk. A strong profile evaluation before committing to an Australian application is no longer optional; it is insurance against a Rs 1.4 lakh loss.
Third, do not assume post-study work rights are stable. Australia has changed its post-study visa terms repeatedly since 2024. The Subclass 485 fee has risen twice in 2026 alone. If your primary reason for choosing Australia over the UK or Canada is the post-study work pathway, check whether the current terms will still apply by the time you graduate. The UK's Graduate Route, for comparison, is being cut from 2 years to 18 months from January 2027, but the application fee remains a fraction of Australia's.
Common questions Indian applicants are asking
Is the AU$2,500 fee per application or per person? Per application. If you include a dependent (spouse), the dependent visa application is a separate charge on top of the primary applicant's AU$2,500.
Can I get a refund if my student visa is refused? No. The visa application charge is non-refundable regardless of the outcome. This applies to all subclasses, including the Subclass 500 student visa and the Subclass 485 post-study work visa.
Are ASEAN country applicants charged less? Yes. Students from ASEAN nations pay AU$2,050 for a higher education student visa, compared to AU$2,500 for applicants from India and most other countries.
How does this compare to what I paid two years ago? In mid-2024, the student visa fee was AU$1,600. It rose to AU$2,000 in early 2025, and now to AU$2,500 in July 2026. The post-study work visa was AU$1,895 in 2024; it is now AU$5,750.
Should I still consider Australia for my MBA? Australia still has strong MBA programmes, a favourable time zone for Asia-Pacific careers, and post-study work rights that remain longer than many competitors. The question is whether the total cost, including repeated non-refundable visa fees and the risk of policy shifts mid-degree, fits your financial plan and career timeline. Run the numbers with the updated fees before deciding.
Related reading
- The real cost of an MBA abroad for Indian applicants in 2026
- Modi's Australia visit: visa assurances, new campuses, and what changed
- Career counselling for study-abroad decisions
Sources verified 21 July 2026. Visa fee figures sourced from the Australian Department of Home Affairs current pricing schedule and ICEF Monitor. Next review: January 2028.