Lower Subclass 102 Visa Costs for Pacific Island and Timor-Leste Applicants from 1 July 2026
Which passports get the cheaper Subclass 102 adoption visa from 1 July 2026, and how family members are assessed.
From 1 July 2026, a lower visa application cost applies to eligible Pacific Island and Timor-Leste citizens who lodge a valid Adoption visa (Subclass 102) application. The concession is set out on the Department of Home Affairs official page for this visa (as at August 2026), and it is recognised through the passport an applicant holds at the time they apply — not through ancestry, residence or where the adoption took place.
Eligibility turns on one document: a valid passport issued by one of thirteen specified countries. Holders of such a passport have the lower cost charged to them during the application process itself, rather than having to claim it back afterwards.
Which countries qualify for the lower Subclass 102 cost?
The primary applicant must hold a valid passport issued by one of the following thirteen countries:
| Country | Country |
|---|---|
| Federated States of Micronesia | Samoa |
| Fiji | Solomon Islands |
| Kiribati | Timor-Leste |
| Nauru | Tonga |
| Palau | Tuvalu |
| Papua New Guinea | Vanuatu |
| Republic of the Marshall Islands |
The list covers the Pacific Island countries named by the Department as well as Timor-Leste, and it is fixed: a passport from any other country does not attract the lower cost, even where the applicant has family or community ties to a listed country.
How is eligibility assessed, and what counts as the right passport?
The Department of Home Affairs states that it will recognise eligible applicants when they apply with a valid passport from one of the specified countries. The assessment therefore happens at the point of lodgement, on the face of the travel document used for the application.
Two consequences follow from that wording. The passport has to be valid — an expired passport from a listed country does not meet the test. And nationality claimed in some other form, such as a birth certificate or citizenship by descent, is not what triggers the concession; the valid passport is.
Suppose an applicant holds passports from two countries, one listed and one not. On the wording of the official page, what matters is the valid passport they apply with, so the practical question becomes which passport the application is lodged against. The page does not set out a hierarchy rule for dual holders, so the safest reading is to treat the passport actually presented at lodgement as decisive and to check the current Home Affairs guidance before committing to a lodgement strategy.
Do family members also get the lower cost?
Yes, but not by reference to their own passports. Family members are eligible for the lower visa cost on the basis of the passport of the primary applicant — described on the official page as the visa holder who satisfies the primary visa criteria.
That means a family member's own nationality does not need to be from a listed country for the concession to apply to them. If the primary applicant's passport is from one of the thirteen countries, the lower cost flows to the accompanying family members assessed with that application. Conversely, if the primary applicant's passport is not from a listed country, family members holding a listed-country passport do not convert the application into a concession case, because the test is applied to the primary applicant.
What does the Subclass 102 visa actually give the child?
This is a permanent visa. The child can stay in Australia indefinitely, work and study, enrol in Medicare, sponsor relatives, attend free English classes through the Adult Migrant English Program if eligible, and apply for Australian citizenship if eligible. The child becomes a permanent resident on the day the visa is granted.
Travel is handled separately from the visa's duration. The child can travel to and from Australia as many times as they wish for five years from the date of grant, provided that travel facility remains valid. After it ends, the child needs a Resident Return visa (subclasses 155 and 157) to re-enter Australia as a permanent resident, or Australian citizenship, which removes the need for a visa to enter. The end date of the travel facility can be checked through VEVO.
What else determines what the application costs?
The official page does not publish a fixed dollar figure for this visa, and costs change; the Home Affairs Visa Pricing Estimator is the tool the Department points to for working out what a given application may cost. That estimator covers the visa application charge only.
On top of the main applicant's charge, there is an additional charge for each dependent child of the child who applies for the visa. Siblings who want an Adoption visa must be lodged as separate applications rather than combined into one. There may also be separate costs for health exams, police certificates and biometrics, which the estimator does not include.
Two payment-related points matter in practice. The Department cannot process an application if the correct visa application charge is not paid; it will notify the applicant and may return the application. Full payment at the time of initial lodgement is also one of the factors that keeps an application from taking longer to process.
What should applicants check before lodging?
The child must be outside Australia when the application is submitted, and must enter Australia before the date specified in the grant letter — a first entry date generally set at twelve months from the date of grant. Applicants should receive an acknowledgement within approximately one month after lodgement, and processing times vary; the Department's processing time guide reflects recently decided applications and is a guide only, not a prediction for any individual case.
The Department also states that it is unable to accept adoption visa applications for children who have been adopted in Pakistan, and that it does not arrange adoptions or issue letters of no objection — its role is limited to assessing and deciding visa applications.
This article is general information about published policy only and is not personalised advice about any individual's circumstances; adoption and migration matters turn on specific facts, so the current Home Affairs guidance and a registered migration professional's view should govern any decision to lodge.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does the lower cost start, and does it apply automatically?
The lower cost applies from 1 July 2026 to eligible Pacific Island and Timor-Leste citizens who lodge a valid visa application. The Department charges the lower visa application cost during the application process, so eligible applicants do not need to request it separately.
How does the Department decide whether someone is eligible?
Eligibility is recognised when the applicant applies with a valid passport from one of the thirteen specified countries. The passport itself — its issuing country and its validity — is the document the concession turns on.
My child's passport is not from a listed country, but mine is. Does the concession apply?
The test is applied to the primary applicant, meaning the visa holder who satisfies the primary visa criteria. Family members are eligible for the lower cost based on the primary applicant's passport, so the primary applicant's document governs the outcome for everyone included.
Can family members qualify through their own passports if the main applicant does not?
No. The official guidance bases the family member's eligibility on the passport of the primary applicant, not on the family member's own nationality or travel document.
Does the lower cost change anything about the visa itself?
No. Subclass 102 remains a permanent visa with the same entitlements — indefinite stay, work and study rights, Medicare access, and a five-year travel facility from the date of grant. Only the payable visa application cost differs.
Does the Department publish the exact amount for this visa?
The official page does not state a fixed amount; it directs applicants to the Home Affairs Visa Pricing Estimator to work out what the visa may cost. That estimator does not include health exams, police certificates or biometrics, which may add to the total.
Are there adoptions the Department will not accept for this visa?
Yes. The Department states that it is unable to accept adoption visa applications for children who have been adopted in Pakistan. It also notes that it cannot arrange adoptions or issue letters of no objection, as its role is to assess and decide visa applications.