The Headlines
A higher price tag
As higher student visa application fees are introduced in Australia and New Zealand, how is the sector reacting?
By Claudia Civinini
“Australia currently has the least competitive student visa application costs among key OECD education destinations,” says a briefing paper by the postgraduate students representative group, the Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations (CAPA).
This comment may sound familiar and relevant to the present day, however, this particular briefing paper will be 15 years old in December. Listing examples of student visa application fees in competitor destinations, the paper argues that Australia’s fees were too high and should be lowered to maintain the country’s popularity with international students.
Of course, all the student visa fees listed in the paper are now higher. Recently, New Zealand’s student visa fee also doubled; however, Australia’s fees are still the highest in that table.
“It's a tough time for everyone, we understand, but it shouldn't come at the cost of a whole community. It's really hard being away from our families and moving to a different country."
A “nail in the coffin”
A UK student visa application fee is £490. In the US, it’s USD 185, plus a 350 SEVIS fee. In Canada, it’s CAD 150. In Ireland, €60-100 (depending on whether it’s a single-entry or multiple-entry), and in the Netherlands, €228. In France, between €50 and €99.
The Australian government recently hiked student visa application fees to AUD 1,600 (about USD 1080, €969, £826). The student visa fee increase was announced at the beginning of July 2024 amid other initiatives, including lowering the eligibility age to 35 years old for specific streams of the Temporary Graduate Visa (master’s by coursework and bachelor’s degrees).
“These changes will strengthen integrity in the international education system and help to fund important reforms […],” said Minister for Education Jason Clare in a statement announcing the changes.
Other comments were less enthusiastic.
Universities Australia Chief Executive Officer Luke Sheehy tells QS Insights Magazine: “Australia has worked hard to establish itself as a leading provider of international education and the Government's continued policy pressure on the sector puts our position of strength at risk.
“This is not good for our economy or our universities, both of which rely heavily on international student fees, or the communities who benefit from the skills, knowledge and culture of the students who choose to study in Australia.”
Comments by the Group of Eight (Go8), the representative body for the country’s research-intensive universities, were arguably even stronger. In a statement, the visa fee hike was branded as “another nail in the coffin for international education”, with the Go8’s Chief Executive Vicki Thomson arguing that, far from restoring integrity in the sector, this measure would be a deterrent to international students. “The recent crackdown on visa approvals has already sent a strong signal that we are not open for business,” Thomson said.
“This increase in visa fees will reverse the diversification of countries from which students come, at the very time the Federal Government is encouraging our universities to attract quality students from the ASEAN region.
“Yet again our international students are being used as cash cows to prop up the economy, the national research effort and now to fund other Government initiatives.”
Shock, frustration and uncertainty
ISANA, an association for professionals in international student services, advocacy, teaching and policy development, is concerned about the challenges that the new visa fees pose for international students and the education sector. An ISANA National Council spokesperson points in particular to the financial barriers higher fees create for prospective students.
"ISANA expresses deep concern over the recent substantial increases in student visa fees in Australia. These changes pose significant challenges for international students and the education sector.
“This disproportionately affects less affluent applicants, potentially leading to discrimination based on financial capacity rather than academic merit or genuine student intent,” they tell QS Insights Magazine.
The impact on students’ wellbeing and support services is also a concern. “The increased fees and stricter visa extension policies are placing unprecedented pressure on international students to succeed academically in unfamiliar environments. This stress impacts student wellbeing, strains support staff, and may inadvertently encourage academic misconduct,” the spokesperson says.
“These policy changes send a concerning message about how Australia values full-paying international students.”
Many fear that the new fees will also damage Australia’s ability to attract international students. According to a recent QS report, the fee hike in Australia is already having an impact on student demand. The report surveyed 37,444 students interested in studying in Australia; one in five said the increased fee had affected their decision to apply to study in Australia, while over half (52 percent) said that they would now describe Australia as expensive.
Commenting on student visa fee increases in Australia and New Zealand, Sarah-Jane McQueen, COO of the education marketing company Candlefox, which operates the Training.com.au course finder platform in Australia, confirms that higher student visa fees can be a real deterrent for international students as they are non-refundable.
“Australia's visa fees, in particular, are now among the highest in the world, and with the costs of enrolment increasing, it’s natural that student intake levels will decline,” she says. “The general sentiment among students who we have spoken to, particularly those affected by these changes, is one of shock, frustration and uncertainty. The sudden nature of the fee hikes has left many students like those already committed to studying in Australia by July, feeling exploited and unsure about their plans”.
Falling grant rates
“In Australia, this sentiment is compounded by the current climate of high visa rejection rates, further fuelling negative feelings toward the country's education system,” McQueen continues.
Rising visa refusal rates in Australia have made headlines, with data showing that grant rates are at a record low. At the time of the CAPA report in 2009, the total grant rate across all types of student visas 88 percent. In 2023, 81.9 percent. Offshore grant rates in 2009 were 83 percent, and onshore 96 percent. In 2023, offshore grant rates were 79 percent, and onshore 91 percent.
For more recent comparisons, between the last quarter of 2022 and the same period in 2023, onshore grant rates fell from 99.6 percent to 91 percent and offshore from 86.6 percent to 81.9 percent. Grant rates are lower in the VET (vocational) sector than in all other sectors for onshore visas, but especially for offshore applicants: 45.8 percent compared to 81 percent for higher education or ELICOS (English language learning) in 2023.
Offshore grant rates are much lower than average for some countries; looking at 2023 statistics, a handful of countries stand out: India (57.8 percent), Nepal (57.5 percent), Philippines (50 percent).
The ISANA spokesperson tells QSIM: “We are troubled by the sudden decrease in visa approvals despite claims of consistent guideline application. This trend, coupled with linking visa refusals to institutional risk ratings, is an indirect method of pressuring institutions to limit admissions from certain countries or regions. Such practices undermine the principles of soft diplomacy and balanced exchange programs with our neighbouring countries.”
Just before this article went to press, Australia also introduced an international student cap for 2025, limiting the number of new enrolments to 270,000.
In August, Thomson said that “conservative” Go8 estimates indicated that capping international student enrolment levels to pre-pandemic levels for Go8 members would cost the nation over AUD 5.3 billion in economic output and over 22,500 jobs.
Commenting on the introduction of the cap, the University of Melbourne Vice-Chancellor Professor Duncan Maskell said in a statement that the cap would have detrimental consequences for the University, for the higher education sector and the nation “for years to come”.
“The effects will be felt by students and staff, in terms of inadequate funding to teach and do research, and by industry partners, and there will also be negative effects on the broader economy,” he said.
“Already, Ministerial Directive 107 [which prioritised visa processing by an institution’s risk rating]and the increase in the visa charge have injected unprecedented uncertainty into our international recruitment activities. These unwelcome measures have drastically reduced demand, leading to significantly fewer enrolments, and significant financial losses, even before the announcement of the caps.”
Financial stress
From 1 October, student visa application fees will rise in New Zealand as well, albeit to a smaller amount: from NZD 375 to 750 (about USD 460, €414, £353, AUD 686).
Higher visa charges were introduced in New Zealand across almost all visa categories in a bid to make the system self-funding and more efficient, according to a statement by Immigration Minister Erica Stanford.
However, according to Sean Teow, the president of the New Zealand International Students’ Association (NZISA), the new fees will create financial stress for international students.
Originally from Malaysia, Teow is a Psychology graduate from the University of Otago in Dunedin. “Everything is increasing,” he observes. “Cost of living, tuition fees, and now the visa fees. This will cause a lot of financial stress.
“We are already paying higher fees than domestic students and we are struggling to make ends meet. With the advent of the fee increase, that's another thing on our mind.”
The higher fee, Teow comments, will create stress and worry especially because most students usually have to renew their visas every year. “That means a fee every year,” he says.
Celia Coombes, Director Visa – students at Immigration New Zealand, Ministry of Business, Immigration and Employment, explains: “Policy settings require that full tuition fees are paid for the first year, or first programme of study. Student visas are then normally granted for the same length of time as the fees have been paid for….if a student wants to prepay two or three years’ full tuition fees in advance, and can satisfy Immigration New Zealand (INZ) that they have funds available to live on for the same period, then a visa could be granted for the same length of time – in line with the full tuition fees that have been paid.
“Most students tend to apply for a visa each year, meaning students are required to pay a fee each time they apply for a new visa.”
A Pathway Student Visa exists to allow students to study up to three consecutive courses for up to five years on a single student visa. However, the visa is only available for study with approved Pathway education providers and for some courses of study.
Too early to know
Geoff Bilbrough, General Manager, Marketing and Communications, Education New Zealand, tells QSIM that it is too early at this stage to know if the student visa increases will have an impact.
He explains: "In terms of overall costs for students to travel here, cover course fees and meet their day-to-day living expenses, the additional cost of the visa fees remains a relatively small amount and is competitive to charges from other countries such as Australia and the UK."
McQueen agrees. “While New Zealand’s fees have also increased, they remain relatively low compared to other countries, which may mitigate some of the negative impacts,” she says.
But according to Teow, the new visa fees will work as a deterrent for prospective students.
Teow chose New Zealand over other destinations – he mentions the UK, Australia and Canada – for a variety of reasons. Visa fees, he says, also played a part. “As a prospective student, I definitely considered visa fees,” he explains.
The new fees, he says, will disincentivise students and increase the appeal of competitor destinations. The impact will be particularly negative for students worried about visa rejections.
“Visa rejections are demoralising,” he says. “And cost-wise, it’s massive. It all depends on your family background, of course, but in general, most international students need a part-time job to make ends meet.”
Statistics show that offshore student visas had an average decline rate of 19 percent in 2023. A number of countries have a higher-than-average decline rate — looking only at those with over 1,000 applicants, two stand out: India (40 percent) and Nepal (74 percent).
Second guessing
For McQueen, the overall sentiment among students is one of second-guessing and hesitation. “Students are grappling with the reality that their dreams of higher education now come with a higher price tag, which could lead them to reconsider their options and explore more affordable alternatives.
“This shift in sentiment could have long-term implications for the reputation and attractiveness of both Australia and New Zealand as top destinations for international education in particular.”
Meanwhile, NZISA published a press statement shortly before this article went to press, gathering input from stakeholders within and outside the sector.
The problem is not just about the fees, Teow explains, and the practical challenges they create. It’s about belonging. “This affects not just international students but migrants alike,” he explains.
“It's a tough time for everyone, we understand, but it shouldn't come at the cost of a whole community. It's really hard being away from our families and moving to a different country. But when we have to add the extra layer of worry, all of a sudden, then we feel like maybe we don't belong here.”