Lower 115 Visa Fees for Pacific and Timor-Leste Applicants From 1 July 2026
Explains when the reduced Subclass 115 fee starts, which passports qualify, and how family members share the concession.
Yes — eligible citizens of specified Pacific Island countries and Timor-Leste pay a lower visa application charge (VAC) for the Remaining Relative visa (Subclass 115) when they lodge a valid application from 1 July 2026. This is set out on the Australian Department of Home Affairs Remaining Relative visa (Subclass 115) official page, as at the October 2026 version of that page. The concession is not a separate application form or a manual claim: the department charges the lower VAC during the application process in ImmiAccount and recognises eligible applicants by the passport they apply with.
Everything below rests on that page alone, and readers should treat it as general information rather than advice tailored to one person's circumstances — eligibility turns on individual facts, and the officially published wording or a registered migration agent or migration lawyer's opinion should govern any decision to lodge.
When does the lower Subclass 115 fee actually start?
The trigger is the date you lodge a valid application, not the date you receive a decision or pay the second instalment. The department's wording ties the reduced VAC to eligible applicants "who lodge a valid visa application" from 1 July 2026. An application that reaches the department before that date sits outside the arrangement on the face of the published guidance.
Two conditions operate together. First, the application must be valid — an application the department cannot accept does not attract any charge decision in your favour. Second, the passport must be a valid one from a listed country at the time you apply. An expired passport from a listed country is not a passport the department can recognise for this purpose.
Which passports qualify for the reduced VAC?
Eligibility is decided by the passport of the primary applicant — specifically the primary applicant or visa holder who satisfies the primary visa criteria. The published list has 13 countries:
- Federated States of Micronesia
- Fiji
- Kiribati
- Nauru
- Palau
- Papua New Guinea
- Republic of the Marshall Islands
- Samoa
- Solomon Islands
- Timor-Leste
- Tonga
- Tuvalu
- Vanuatu
The list is fixed by passport issuer, not by residence, ancestry or where the application is lodged from. A Fijian citizen living in a third country still applies with a Fijian passport; conversely, a person resident in Fiji whose passport was issued by an unlisted country does not qualify under this rule.
Do my family members get the lower fee too?
Yes, and this is one of the more generous features of the arrangement. Family members added to the same application are also eligible for the lower VAC, and eligibility follows the primary applicant's passport rather than each family member's own travel document. The visible consequence is that a family unit can be charged at the reduced rate even where the secondary applicants hold passports from countries that are not on the list.
Suppose a Samoan primary applicant includes a spouse and child who hold passports from another country entirely. Under the published rule, the lower VAC flows to all of them, because the department bases the concession on the passport of the primary applicant who meets the primary criteria. That hypothetical rests squarely on how the page frames the test; a family whose primary applicant does not hold a listed passport has no route to the concession through another member.
Family composition rules otherwise remain unchanged. You can include members of the family unit when you apply and also add them at any time before a decision is made. The application form should list all family members whether they are migrating or not. Family members coming to Australia must meet health and character requirements, and those who are not coming may also have to meet them.
How is the lower charge applied in ImmiAccount?
You do nothing special. The department charges the lower VAC during the application process in ImmiAccount, using recognition based on the valid passport presented with the application. There is no separate waiver request described on the page.
The practical steps run in this order:
- Check that the primary applicant's passport is valid and issued by one of the 13 listed countries.
- Renew the passport first if it will expire before you lodge.
- Include family members in the application if you want them covered by the same VAC outcome.
- Lodge the valid application in ImmiAccount on or after 1 July 2026.
- Confirm the charge shown before you pay, and keep the record of payment.
What else will Subclass 115 cost?
The fee is only part of the picture. The visa is paid in two instalments: the first when you apply, the second when the department asks for it. There is an extra charge for each family member who applies with you, concessions apply only in limited circumstances, and you may also face separate costs for health checks, police certificates and biometrics.
No dollar figure is quoted here, because the department's published costing line carries no amount that can be reproduced responsibly. For a case-specific number, the department points applicants to its Visa Pricing Estimator, which is the only tool it offers for that purpose — and which does not factor in the second instalment or those additional costs. Whether the concession extends beyond the first instalment is not something the page resolves, so treat any instalment built on quoted figures as provisional.
Does the lower fee change the eligibility rules or the wait?
No. The concession affects price only. The core requirements stay where they were: you must be outside Australia both when you apply and when the department decides your application, and health and character requirements apply as normal.
Processing is the harder constraint. The department states that demand for Other Family visas exceeds the places available each year, so processing can be lengthy, and these applications are subject to capping and queueing. The global visa processing times tool gives an indication based on recently decided applications, but it is a guide rather than a prediction for any particular case. Applicants within the 13 listed countries gain nothing on timing by qualifying for the reduced VAC; they simply pay less while waiting in the same queue.
One payment point deserves emphasis because it can undo everything else: the department cannot process your application if the correct visa application charge is not paid. It will notify you and, if necessary, return the application.
What does Subclass 115 grant once approved?
It is a permanent visa. You can stay indefinitely, work and study, enrol in Medicare, sponsor relatives, and attend free English classes under the Adult Migrant English Program if eligible. Newly arrived residents may wait before accessing certain Australian Government payments and benefits, and citizenship becomes a later, separate question with its own eligibility criteria.
Travel rights run on a separate clock. You can travel to and from Australia for five years from the date of grant, after which you need a Resident Return visa to re-enter as a permanent resident — or Australian citizenship, which removes the visa requirement altogether. VEVO shows when travel validity ends. Visas are digitally linked to passports, so no label is placed in the passport.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the reduced fee apply if I lodged before 1 July 2026?
The published rule attaches to applications lodged from 1 July 2026, so an earlier lodgement falls outside it. A longer way to frame the same point: the concession follows the lodgement date of a valid application, not the date of decision or payment of the second instalment.
My family member holds a passport from a country not on the list. Are they still charged less?
Yes. Eligibility for family members is based on the passport of the primary applicant or visa holder who satisfies the primary visa criteria. The lower VAC therefore extends to the accompanying family unit regardless of which country issued their passports.
Can I add family members after I lodge and still keep the reduced charge?
Family members can be added at any time before the department makes a decision. The page does not carve added family members out of the concession, and the basis for eligibility remains the primary applicant's passport.
Should I rely on dual citizenship to qualify?
The guidance frames recognition entirely around applying with a valid passport from one of the listed countries. How dual nationality interacts with that test is not addressed on the page, so treat it as unsettled and confirm against the department's current wording before relying on a second passport.
Will paying less speed up my application?
Nothing in the published guidance suggests any processing benefit. Subclass 115 is an Other Family visa subject to capping and queueing, and demand exceeds available places each year, so applicants should expect lengthy waits whether or not the reduced VAC applies.
Do I still need health checks, police certificates and biometrics?
Yes. Those are separate costs listed in addition to the visa application charge, alongside the per-family-member extra charge and the second instalment. Budgeting for the reduced VAC alone would understate the true cost of lodging.