On June 24, Australian Minister of Immigration Hawke officially announced that starting from the new fiscal year on July 1 this year, the application fee for applying for Australian citizenship will usher in an increase. The new fee will apply to any applications submitted on or after this time.

The new fee will increase from the previous $285 to $490, an increase of more than 40%.

This is also the first time Australia has raised the fees for naturalization applications since 2016.

If you apply online and pay by credit or debit card, Alipay or UnionPay, your application and fees are usually received on the same day. If you use BPAY to pay, you may delay receipt of application and payment.

Fee discount

1. Hold a PCC (Pensioner Concession Card) issued by the Australian government (Australian Department of Services or Department of Veterans Affairs);

2. 17 years of age or younger, independent application, and family members of PCC issued by the Australian government (Australian Department of Services or Department of Veterans Affairs).

Children aged 15 or below who apply in the same form as their parents are not required to pay.

Note: In order to be eligible for the fee discount, applicants must provide a certified copy of their Pensioner Concession Card in the citizenship application form.

Fee waiver

If the applicant has the following conditions, there is no need to pay:

1. It is a British or Maltese former child who came to Australia from September 22, 1947 to December 31, 1967 without the company of his parents according to the Commonwealth Child Immigration Plan. A letter from the Immigration Children’s Trust confirming arrival and sponsorship details needs to be submitted with the citizenship application.

2. Serve at least 90 days in the Permanent Forces of the Commonwealth of Australia. A letter from the Australian Defence Force or a demobilization document stating the date of service must be submitted with the citizenship application.

3. The stateless clause (section 21(8) of the Australian Citizenship Act 2007) applies.

In addition to the naturalization fee set at $490, a series of other fees have also been correspondingly increased, and the range is not small. The first thing that has not changed is that it is attached to the deputy applicants aged 15 and below under the parent item. This kind of application is still free. The price increase includes that the application fee for naturalization of children not attached to the parent item will be adjusted from $180 Australian dollars to $300.

Children under the age of 15 who are the deputy applicants of their parents will continue to be exempt from paying fees. However, if the application is made separately from the parents, the fee will also be increased from $180 to $300. Those who apply for citizenship based on descent or other circumstances will also pay more, and those who seek to renounce, restore or apply for Australian citizenship will also pay more, with the fee rising from $230 to $315.

From July 1, 2021, applicants who obtain Australian citizenship through descent and adoption will obtain an Australian citizenship certificate, which is not an Australian citizenship extract.

Australian citizenship extract is an informal document that can be used to obtain limited government services. Australian citizenship certificate is an official document that provides official evidence of Australian citizenship.

Although the increase was relatively large, it was also weighed against the current actual expenditure to determine the value afterwards. Regarding the remarks that many people are dissatisfied with the substantial increase in the fee standard, Hawke also said that the price after the increase is actually very conscientious. He said in a statement on Thursday: “Based on current fees, the government has only recovered about 50% of the cost of processing citizen applications.”

If you want to know more about Australian immigration, please contact our consultants!