The Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) has announced details of its proposed new visa pricing arrangements, planned to come in to effect on 1 July 2013.

The changes, which aim to encourage Australia visa applicants to use its online visa services where possible, will include a ‘non-internet application charge’, initially only applying to subclass 155, 157, 417, 476 and 485 visas. This charge will only apply where applicants choose to lodge a paper application rather than an online application in the above subclasses.

Other changes will see the introduction of an ‘additional application charge’ and ‘subsequent temporary application charge’. 

The proposed additional application charge will apply to each family member included in a visa application, but will not apply to the main visa applicant. Charges will vary, depending on visa subclasses and additional applicants’ ages.  In general the additional charge for family members aged over 18 will be half the visa application charge and for family members aged under 18, the charge will be a quarter of the visa application charge.

For example, a visa application for a family of 4 (mother, father and two young children) applying for a permanent visa will be a visa application charge of $3060 plus an additional charge for the partner of $1530 plus a fee of $765 for each child, making the visa fee a total of $6120.

DIAC’s proposed subsequent temporary application charge will apply to visa applicants who choose to extend their stay in Australia on consecutive temporary visas (for example working holiday visas). The charge of $700 will not apply to the first visa that is granted when an applicant is in Australia.

For further information about DIAC’s new visa pricing arrangements and fee changes, please monitor the AMVL Migrations website for further updates. As the new visa pricing arrangements have not yet been introduced as legislation we are unable to confirm specific fee changes. To avoid proposed fee increases we recommend that visa applicants who can lodge their applications before 1 July do so ASAP.

If you would like Australia visa assistance or advice, please contact our team of Registered Migration Agents at AMVL Migrations. We specialize in all Australia visa categories and pride ourselves on providing our clients with professional and friendly migration services.

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The [UK's] Tier 1 (Post-Study) Visa which previously enabled students to work during and after their studies for two years without having a sponsor, will now be made redundant to international students wishing to study in the UK.

The Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur) Programme, which is accessible to 1000 international graduates with a Masters degree in business administration, has also been shortened to one year.

The hardening of international student visa rules follows a pledge by the government to curb migration numbers. In 2011, Prime Minister David Cameron had pledged to reduce immigration to the UK to fewer than 100,000 before the 2015 General Election.

Until last April, Indian students at British educational establishments were automatically allowed to stay and work for two years after their course ended. Now, as a result of the changes, students can stay for three years after their studies only if they find ‘graduate-level jobs’ on salaries of £20,000 or higher.

By comparison, Australia, which is another popular destination for Indian students,  grants post-graduate visas for up to four years in any field.

Despite  a spate of violent attacks against Indian students in 2009 and 2010 which caused damage to Australia’s tertiary education sector, a survey has found that 75 per cent of Indians still view Australia as a good place to be educated.

More than 1,000 Indian adults were asked about their attitude to Australia in the wide-ranging India-Australia Poll by the Lowy Institute and the Australia-India Institute.

Australia ranks second after the United States as an ideal study destination, according to 75 per cent of Indians, and rates more highly than Canada at 71 per cent, Singapore at 69 per cent, Britain at 67 per cent.

Results also revealed that a majority of Indians (58 per cent) believe that most Indian students in Australia are really there to migrate permanently.

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The traditional cohort of British moving to the convict country continues to fall by proportion, from a high of 22.5 per cent in 2005-06 to 13.7 per cent currently.

China fell to second, almost equal with Britain, on 25,500.

Indian migrant Drishya Sharma, 28, moved here in 2009 on a partner visa to join her husband, Jayant, 30, who was sponsored to come here by his employer. The pair reflect the main "economic and family" factors influencing Australia's migration trends.

"Jayant came out during the global financial crisis so we were incredibly lucky to come to Australia in that time," Mrs Sharma said. "Australia is such a peaceful, pleasant country and the economy here is still going so well. It's more complex back home."

Department of Immigration and Citizenship spokesman Sandi Logan said skilled migration accounted for two-thirds of Australia's intake.

"Despite the presence of a large and well-educated middle class, income levels in India are also low by international standards," he said. "This has been the main driver of India's growing diaspora in Australia, particularly among its highly educated population. Australia is well placed to benefit from this flow of skilled workers."

Indians topped the list for general skilled migration while the Chinese accounted for about 60 per cent of every business skills visa issued, designed to lure experienced business owners to invest in Australia. Despite Labor's own campaign against skilled 457 visa workers, the report shows demand is high.

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