491 Visa Application Charge and Dependant Fees Explained

The base 491 Visa Application Charge for the main applicant is $6,140 in the standard category. The Visa Application Charge, usually shortened to VAC, is the fee the Australian Government charges to process your application for a Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) (subclass 491) visa.

That base figure is where most people stop reading, and it is why so many budgets are wrong. The base VAC is one of several charges. Depending on your family, your English level and where you are when you apply, you may also pay additional applicant charges, a second instalment of $4,890, and in some cases a subsequent temporary application charge — all before you have spent a dollar on a skills assessment, an English test or health checks. Below is the full picture, with the regulated government charges kept strictly separate from the third-party costs you will need to verify yourself.

For the main applicant — the person meeting the primary criteria — the first instalment base application charge is $6,140. This applies to the standard category, described in the Migration Regulations as 'any other applicant'.

A lower base charge of $5,035 applies if you hold a valid passport issued by a Pacific regional country, or if your application is combined with such a person. If this does not describe you, the $6,140 figure is the one to budget on.

The 'first instalment' is the part of the VAC you pay when you lodge the application. It is set in Australian dollars by the Migration Regulations 1994 (Schedule 1, item 1241). Charges can change, so confirm the current figure against the Department of Home Affairs visa pricing table before you pay.

Each family member you include adds an 'additional applicant charge' on top of the base VAC. In the standard category, the amounts are:

• $3,070 for an additional applicant aged 18 or over — for example, a partner or a child who has turned 18
• $1,535 for an additional applicant under 18 — a dependent child

In the Pacific/Timor-Leste category the additional applicant charges are lower: $2,515 for an applicant aged 18 or over and $1,260 for one under 18.

The additional applicant charge is only for people applying for the visa with you, or being added to your lodged but not-yet-decided application. You do not pay it for family members listed as non-migrating. You also do not pay it for a newborn born after you lodge but before a decision is made.

Worked example. A main applicant in the standard category, applying with a partner (over 18) and one child (under 18), pays three first-instalment charges: the base charge of $6,140, the additional applicant charge of $3,070 for the partner, and the additional applicant charge of $1,535 for the child.

Add those three charges together to get the first-instalment VAC for all three people. That total does not include a second instalment if one applies, nor any of the third-party costs set out further down. Work your own figure using the charges above, because the amount depends on who you include. If any of your applicants qualify for the Pacific/Timor-Leste rates, use those lower charges instead.

This one only affects some applicants, so do not assume it applies to you. The subsequent temporary application charge applies to certain temporary visas and is payable by each person in your application, based on their individual visa history. It is charged on top of the other visa charges that apply at lodgement.

In plain terms, it can arise where you are already in Australia and applying for a further temporary visa after having applied for certain earlier visas onshore. Whether it applies to a given person turns on their own sequence of visas, so two people in the same family can be treated differently.

There is a second VAC instalment of $4,890, payable before the visa is granted, for any applicant who was at least 18 at the time of application and is assessed as not having functional English. For any other applicant, the second instalment is nil.

This is a per-person charge. If, for example, a main applicant has the required English but their partner does not, the $4,890 can fall on the partner. It is triggered by the functional-English assessment, not by the stream you apply under. The grant note in the Regulations is explicit that the second instalment must be paid before the visa can be granted.

No. The base application charge is $6,140 for any applicant in the standard category, whether you are nominated by a state or territory government agency or sponsored by an eligible family member. The first instalment, the additional applicant charges and the second instalment are set by visa subclass, not by which pathway got you invited.

What can differ between the two routes are the nomination or sponsorship requirements and any state or territory processing arrangements — not the VAC itself. If you are still choosing between a state-nominated 491 and other skilled options, see our guide to the 190 vs 491 decision.

The VAC is the government charge. Several other costs sit outside it, and this is exactly where competitor budgets go wrong by blurring agent fees and provider fees into the 'government fee'. The items below are regulated or required steps, but their prices are set by the relevant provider or authority, not by the Migration Regulations — so treat any figure you have seen as an estimate to confirm with the current provider.

For overseas qualification assessment through the Australian Government, the current process, accepted payment methods and timing are set out on the Department of Education site; confirm the current fee there before you apply.

A surcharge may apply when you pay visa application charges, sponsorship or nomination fees by credit card or by PayPal. This is added on top of the VAC, so the amount leaving your account can be more than the published charge.

Check the current surcharge rate on the Department of Home Affairs fees and charges pages before you pay, and make sure the card you use has enough available funds to cover the full amount at the moment the payment is processed.

The first instalment is payable at the time the application is made. Your application is not valid until the Department receives the total first instalment. If you pay less than the full amount, processing cannot begin until the correct amount is received.

A failed or short payment is not a harmless delay. If there is a gap before you pay the correct amount, it can affect your eligibility for the visa, and the price might rise in the meantime — in which case you must pay the new, higher amount. If you pay by credit card, you need enough funds at the moment the Department processes the transaction, which may be some time after you lodge.

Paying the VAC buys you a decision, not a visa. The charge makes your application valid and allows processing to begin; the grant then depends on meeting the primary criteria for the subclass — public interest and special return criteria, a valid invitation, a suitable skills assessment, competent English at the time of invitation, the required points score, and a current state or territory nomination or accepted family sponsorship.

Treat the VAC as a committed cost and budget on that basis. If a refund matters to your decision, ask the Department of Home Affairs what applies to your specific application before you lodge.

If you are still weighing the 491 against other skilled pathways, or working out whether your points add up, our guides on 189 vs 190 vs 491 and how to score 65 points are the right next reads; the Tasmania 491-to-191 pathway guide covers what the provisional visa leads to.

This article is general information, not personal migration advice, and it does not represent official Department of Home Affairs policy. For advice on your own circumstances, contact a registered migration agent — Global Migrations (Global Migration & Education Solutions, ABN 22 998 014 414), registered migration agent Ranbir Singh, MARN 1069570, on +61 3 7043 2395 or at info@globalmigrations.com.au.