In brief
- The Resident Return Visa was increased from $490 to $1,475 on 1 July.
- Many permanent residents have to pay the fee if they want to leave the country.
Richard Whitten's wife, Yoona, has lived in Australia for nine years — but she still pays a premium to travel outside the country.
On 1 July, the Australian government increased fees across a slew of visa categories overnight, with little warning.
The visa Yoona needs just to travel — the Resident Return Visa — saw one of the steepest increases of all: hiked from $490 to $1,475, a 201 per cent rise.
"Every five years, we'll have to pay that if she wants to travel. It's a pretty heavy cost," Richard told SBS News.
"Everything's gotten more expensive. Our mortgage has gone up, bills, groceries, daycare fees, everything. Then suddenly it's an extra $1,500 that we have to pay."
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Despite living in Melbourne as a permanent resident, Yoona can't become an Australian citizen without giving up her South Korean citizenship — something she isn't willing to do.
That leaves her locked into paying the Resident Return Visa fee indefinitely, just to retain the right to leave the country and come back.
Those affected have said the changes are "unfair" — with one migration agent warning the people most affected will be those from poorer countries.
A 201 per cent increase
Most visa application fees rose by around 25 per cent on 1 July. But a handful of visas were hit far harder.
The Resident Return Visa saw a 201 per cent increase, while the Bridging Visa B rose from $190 to $575 — a 202 per cent increase.
Student visas will rise from $2,000 to $2,500, while temporary graduate visa fees have increased twice — from $2,300 to $4,600 in March and now to $5,750.
A Home Affairs spokesperson said that increases were intended to help ensure Australia's migration system "operates in the national interest", with revenue from the changes supporting "this reform and other government priorities".
"The cost of visas remains a small proportion of the overall costs of visiting or migrating to Australia," they said.
'You're captive'
For people like Richard and Yoona, the change adds stress to an already prevalent cost of living crisis.
Whitten says it could motivate his wife to pursue citizenship since she'd no longer have to pay the fee — that framing overlooks people like her who cannot hold dual citizenship.
"Her South Korean citizenship is too important to her," he said. "It's just something we have to pay."
He says friends in Melbourne's South Korean community — including couples where both partners hold permanent residency — are now facing a bill of just under $3,000 every five years simply to travel home and back.
"Visa fees are like a tax, but there's no way around it. You just pay this captive charge that you can't avoid," he said. "I imagine there are plenty of people for whom it's not very affordable."
He says the increases feel "at odds with this concept of a multicultural Australia".
"On paper, we are a country that welcomes people, and our economy depends heavily on people from all over the world coming here."
"It feels like an old-fashioned approach, like it's stuck in a different time."
He added that while he and his wife can afford the changes, there are many who can't.
"That changes the makeup of your society. It changes the intake of who's coming here. These fees shouldn't be so high that whole groups of people are priced out of coming to Australia."
"For the Resident Return Visa, it's people who are already living here. You've got no choice but to pay it. You're captive."
'Massive mental pressure'
Yoona's situation isn't unique to South Korea.
Several of Australia's largest migrant communities come from countries that don't offer dual citizenship — among them India, China, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Nepal.
Permanent residents from these countries face the same choice: renounce their birth citizenship to naturalise, or keep paying every five years to retain the right to travel — with further cost increases likely on the horizon.
A petition calling for the Resident Return Visa fee increase to be reversed has passed 32,000 signatures.
Many online commenters, particularly from countries that don't allow dual nationality, have expressed anger at the change.
One, Simran, said the increase was "stressful and unfair" given her family lives, works and pays taxes in Australia, and there was no notice given before the increase came in.
She said it was adding "massive mental pressure" for her family of four: "In these growing expenses, how will we manage an extra $6,000 just to leave and enter Australia?"
Impact felt most by poorer countries
Amandeep Kaur felt one of the steepest increases directly.
The aeronautical engineering graduate, originally from India's Punjab region and now living in Western Australia, applied for a subclass 485 visa (to remain in Australia post-study) in April, just after the March fee doubling took effect.
Because she included her partner in the application, she paid an additional $2,300. The fee has since risen again, to $5,750.
She said she'd been saving for other expenses when the increase hit.
"It added extra financial pressure right after graduation," she told SBS Punjabi.
"The study period is already stressful, and the 485 visa is an important step towards permanent residency. We'd saved money for other expenses, but when we heard about the fee increases, we had to put all our savings into the visa fee."
"It's a stressful thing.
"The combination of increased visa fees, expensive education and high rent makes studying in Australia financially challenging. It may also discourage future international students."
Navneet Singh, a registered migration agent, said the fee increases would be felt most by those from South Asia, whose local currencies have weakened against the Australian dollar.
"For South Asian countries like India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, it simply means significantly higher upfront costs," he told SBS Punjabi.
"Australia may experience fewer applications from lower-income countries, and a shift towards applicants from wealthier countries or those with stronger currencies, like China.
"Australia may also face increased competition from countries such as Canada, Germany, or parts of Europe. The higher visa charges could reduce Australia's competitiveness in attracting international students and skilled migrants."
This story was produced in collaboration with SBS Punjabi.
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