Subclass 117 Visa Cost in 2026 and the Pacific Concession From 1 July 2026
How the subclass 117 charge is built, what the Visa Pricing Estimator leaves out, and who gets the lower Pacific cost from 1 July 2026.
There is no single published price for the Orphan Relative visa (subclass 117). On its Orphan Relative visa (subclass 117) page (as at the August 2026 version), the Australian Department of Home Affairs describes the cost as a charge for the main applicant plus a separate charge for each dependent child of that child who is included, with health checks, police certificates and biometrics treated as additional costs outside that structure. So the figure a family actually pays is built up person by person, and the Visa Pricing Estimator is the tool the Department points to for working out the visa component. This is general information rather than an assessment of any one case: whether the Pacific concession and each per-person charge apply to you turns on your own circumstances, so confirm the position against the Department's current published information before you lodge.
How is the subclass 117 charge built up?
The charge has two layers. The first is the charge for the main applicant — the child who is the subject of the application. The second is a charge for each of that child's dependent children who apply for the visa. A child with no dependent children of their own generates only the first layer; a child with two dependent children included generates the main charge plus two additional charges.
That structure matters because the composition of the application is not fixed at lodgement. The Department's page states that the child's dependent children can be included when they apply or at any time before a decision is made. Each addition changes the total, which is why a single "visa fee" figure is not much use in practice.
Siblings are handled differently. If the child has siblings who also want to apply, the Department requires a separate application for each sibling — each with its own main applicant charge rather than being folded into one form.
What does the Visa Pricing Estimator actually tell you?
The Department directs applicants to the Visa Pricing Estimator to work out what the visa will cost, and the estimator can be opened pre-set for subclass 117. Its limit is stated plainly on the same page: it does not take the other costs into account. Treat it as a way to price the visa application charge, not as a total cost of migrating.
| Priced by the estimator | Not covered by the estimator |
|---|---|
| Charge for the main applicant | Health checks (health examinations) |
| Charge for each dependent child included in the application | Police certificates |
| Biometrics, if requested |
The practical consequence is that the estimator output is a floor, not a budget. Anything the Department asks for separately — a health examination, a police certificate, biometrics — sits on top of it, and some of those items only arise after lodgement, when the Department tells you what to arrange.
Who gets the lower visa cost from 1 July 2026?
From 1 July 2026, a lower visa cost applies to eligible Pacific Island and Timor-Leste citizens who lodge a valid visa application. The Department states that eligible applicants will be charged the lower cost during the application process, and that it recognises eligible applicants when they apply with a valid passport from one of the specified countries.
Two features of that arrangement are worth separating. First, it is applied at the point of payment rather than granted on request — the lower cost is charged during the application process. Second, eligibility runs off the passport of the primary applicant (described on the page as the visa holder who satisfies the primary visa criteria), not off each family member's own passport.
Which passports qualify?
The primary applicant must hold a valid passport issued by one of these 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
Do family members get the lower cost too?
Yes, on the Department's own framing: family members are also eligible for the lower visa cost, and eligibility is based on the passport of the primary applicant. A family member travelling on a different passport does not lose the concession, provided the primary applicant holds a valid passport from a listed country.
The Department's page does not publish the size of the reduction, and it does not publish a dollar figure for the standard charge either. Both are case-specific outputs of the estimator.
What sits outside the visa application charge?
Three items are named on the official page as possible additional costs: health checks, police certificates and biometrics.
Health examinations are sequenced rather than front-loaded — the Department tells you when to arrange them, so the expense typically lands after lodgement. Character documents for children over 16 are the reverse: police certificates are required from every country where the child has spent 12 months or more in the last 10 years since turning 16, and the Department treats them as valid for 12 months from the issue date. A certificate obtained early can expire before a decision is reached, which turns one cost into two.
Biometrics are conditional. The Department states it might ask for them and will let you know if they are needed, so this is a contingent cost rather than a certain one.
What happens if the charge isn't paid in full?
Payment is a validity issue, not an administrative afterthought. The Department states it cannot process the application if the correct visa application charge is not paid; if that happens, it will let you know and may return the application. Not making full payment at the time of initial lodgement is also listed among the reasons an application can take longer to process.
The position on refusal is equally blunt: the Department states it will not refund the application fee if it refuses the application. The charge buys an assessment, not an outcome.
Does lodging on paper change when you pay?
It changes the sequencing. Subclass 117 is a paper application: the Department requires Form 47CH (Application for migration to Australia by a child) and Form 40CH (Sponsorship for a child to migrate to Australia) to be sent together by post or courier to the Child and Other Family Processing Centre in Perth. The application charge must be paid before the application is posted, and the application should include evidence of payment along with the supporting documentation.
Submitting at any other office, or in any other way including in person, does not produce a valid application. Combined with the no-refund position, the ordering is: price the application through the estimator, pay the full charge, then lodge — not the reverse.
When does the total stop changing?
The visa component is final once a decision is made, because dependent children can be added at any point up to that moment. After grant, the costs that remain are migration-related rather than application-related — for example, a Resident Return visa if the child wants to travel after the initial five-year travel facility ends, or citizenship if they later pursue it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a fixed published fee for the subclass 117 visa?
No single fixed figure is published on the Department's subclass 117 page. The cost is described as a charge for the main applicant plus a charge for each dependent child included, and the Department directs applicants to the Visa Pricing Estimator to work out the amount for their circumstances.
Do I pay extra for the child's own dependent children?
Yes. The Department states there is a charge for each of the child's dependent children who apply for the visa. Those dependent children can be included when the application is made or at any time before a decision, so the total can rise after lodgement.
Which countries are covered by the concession starting 1 July 2026?
The primary applicant must hold a valid passport from one of thirteen listed countries: Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu or Vanuatu. Family members also qualify, based on the primary applicant's passport.
Do I need to apply separately for the lower Pacific cost?
Not according to the Department, which states that eligible applicants are charged the lower visa application cost during the application process. Eligibility is recognised from a valid passport issued by one of the specified countries, so the passport is the trigger rather than a separate request.
Does the Visa Pricing Estimator include health checks and police certificates?
No. The Department states the estimator does not consider the other costs, which it lists as health checks, police certificates and biometrics. Those are additional to whatever the estimator returns.
What happens if the visa application charge is not paid in full?
The Department cannot process the application without the correct charge and says it will let you know and may return the application. It also lists failure to make full payment at initial lodgement as a reason processing takes longer.
Is the fee refunded if the application is refused?
No. The Department states the application fee is not refunded if the application is refused, and it will tell you in writing why the visa was refused and whether there is a right to a review of the decision.