Subclass 190 Cost Concession 2026: Pacific Island and Timor-Leste Applicants
How the subclass 190 cost concession works from 1 July 2026 for Pacific Island and Timor-Leste passport holders and their family members.
From 1 July 2026, a lower visa application cost applies to eligible Pacific Island and Timor-Leste citizens who lodge a valid Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190) application, and the lower cost extends to family members included in that application. Eligibility is determined by the passport of the primary applicant, not by each family member's own passport. This reflects the Department of Home Affairs' Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190) official page, as at July 2026.
What changes on 1 July 2026?
The department states that 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 ties the lower cost to lodging a valid application: it applies to eligible Pacific Island and Timor-Leste citizens who lodge a valid visa application.
The mechanism is automatic rather than application-based in the ordinary sense: the department says it will charge eligible applicants the lower visa application cost during the application process in ImmiAccount, and will recognise eligible applicants by the valid passport from the specified countries used in the application when they apply. In practice that means the passport you nominate and rely on at the point of lodgement is the document that carries the outcome.
One qualification worth noting: the concession applies where the applicant "lodges a valid visa application." An application that is not valid — for example, one lodged in Australia by someone who does not hold a substantive visa or a Subclass 010, 020 or 030 bridging visa — does not engage the lower cost. Validity and concessional cost are separate tests.
Which passports qualify for the lower cost?
The primary applicant must hold a valid passport issued by one of the following 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
Two conditions are built into that sentence. The passport must be valid, and it must be issued by the listed country. Holding citizenship of a listed country without travelling on that country's passport does not satisfy the test as the department has framed it, because recognition runs through the passport used in the application.
How does the department identify eligible applicants?
Recognition is documentary and passport-based. The department says eligible applicants are recognised by the valid passport from the specified countries used in the application when they apply, and the lower cost is then charged during the application process in ImmiAccount.
The practical implication for a dual national is significant. If you hold both a listed-country passport and another passport, the passport you use in the application is what determines whether the lower cost is charged. This is a document-choice question at the point of lodgement, and it is also a consistency question: the passport used for identity in the application should be the passport you intend to travel on, because the department digitally links the visa to that passport rather than issuing a label.
Do family members get the lower cost too?
Yes. The department states that family members are also eligible for the lower visa cost, and that this is based on the passport of the primary applicant — or, in its words, the visa holder who satisfies the primary visa criteria.
So a partner or dependent child who holds a passport from a country outside the list still receives the lower cost, provided the primary applicant's passport is from one of the thirteen listed countries. The converse also follows: family members of a primary applicant whose passport is not from a listed country do not access the concession through their own listed-country passport.
To make the rule concrete, assume a primary applicant holds a valid Fijian passport and includes a partner and child who each hold passports from a country not on the list. On the department's stated basis, all three attract the lower visa cost, because the test runs off the primary applicant's passport. That is an illustrative application of the published rule, not a reported case.
What will the visa actually cost?
The subclass 190 page does not publish a single headline base charge for the main applicant; it states that the visa costs for the main applicant with concessions applying in limited circumstances, and directs applicants to the Visa Pricing Estimator to work out what a given application will cost. There is also a charge for each family member who applies with you.
Three cost items sit outside the estimator and should be budgeted separately:
- The second instalment, an extra charge that may apply to any applicant aged 18 or over with less than functional English. It is payable only if and when the department asks for it, and the department asks only if it is going to grant the visa. The second instalment charge for family members is AUD 4,885.
- Other costs for health checks, police certificates and biometrics, which the department identifies as separate from the visa application charge.
- The estimator's own scope, which the department says excludes the second instalment and those other costs.
Because the concession interacts with individual circumstances — how many family members apply, their ages, and functional English outcomes — treat the figure produced for your own application as the operative one rather than any amount quoted second-hand. This article is general information about how the published rule works and is not personalised migration advice; confirm your position against the department's current published guidance before relying on it.
Does the concession change anything else about the 190 visa?
No. The concession is a cost measure and does not alter the character of the visa. The subclass 190 remains a permanent visa: it lets you stay in Australia indefinitely, and you become a permanent resident on the day the visa is granted.
The travel component expires five years after the date of grant. During that five-year window you can travel to and from Australia as often as you like; after it, re-entering Australia as a permanent resident requires a Resident Return visa (subclass 155 or 157). The visa is digitally linked to your passport and no label is placed in it.
Family members included in the application must still meet health and character requirements, and family members not accompanying you to Australia may also need to meet those requirements. Where a partner or dependent children are not included, the department asks that you explain why, to assist processing.
Location is not a constraint on the concession itself: you can be in or outside Australia when you apply and when the application is decided, though not in immigration clearance. If you apply in Australia you must hold a substantive visa or a Subclass 010, 020 or 030 bridging visa, or the application will not be valid.
Frequently asked questions
Does the lower cost apply automatically, or do I need to request it?
The department says it will charge eligible applicants the lower visa application cost during the application process in ImmiAccount. Eligible applicants are recognised by the valid passport from the specified countries used in the application, so no separate request step is described on the official page.
I hold two passports — which one determines the cost?
The one you use in the application. The department recognises eligible applicants by the valid passport from the specified countries used when they apply, so using a listed-country passport is what triggers the lower cost.
My partner and children hold passports from other countries. Do they still qualify?
Yes. Family members are also eligible for the lower visa cost, and the department bases this on the passport of the primary applicant rather than on each family member's own passport.
Does the concession mean I pay nothing further for my family members?
No. There is a charge for each family member who applies with you, and a separate second instalment of AUD 4,885 may apply to family members aged 18 or over with less than functional English. Health checks, police certificates and biometrics are additional costs.
Does the lower cost change my visa conditions or how long I can stay?
No. The subclass 190 is a permanent visa that lets you stay in Australia indefinitely, with a travel component that expires five years after grant. The concession affects the application charge only.
I am outside Australia — does the concession still apply?
Yes. You can be in or outside Australia when you apply and when the application is decided, as long as you are not in immigration clearance. The concession is tied to lodging a valid application with a qualifying passport, not to where you lodge from.