Lower Subclass 802 Visa Costs for Pacific Island and Timor-Leste Applicants from 1 July 2026

As at the August 2026 Australian Government Department of Home Affairs Child visa (subclass 802) page, a lower visa application charge applies to eligible Pacific Island and Timor-Leste citizens who lodge a valid Subclass 802 application from 1 July 2026. The concession is not a separate application and it is not claimed later: the department says it will charge eligible applicants the lower cost during the application process, and it recognises eligibility from a valid passport issued by one of the listed countries.

The single fact that decides almost every case is this: the concession is assessed on the main applicant's passport, not on each person's own passport. Family members can get the lower cost too, but only because of that main applicant's passport.

Everything below is general information about how the published rules are framed, not advice about your situation; because sponsorship evidence and passport details carry legal consequences, the current wording on the official page (and where needed a registered migration professional) governs your own case.

Which countries are on the reduced-cost list?

The main applicant must hold a valid passport issued by one of the countries below. There are 13 countries in total — 12 Pacific Island states plus Timor-Leste:

Region	Countries
Pacific Island states	Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, Republic of the Marshall Islands
South-East Asia / Timor region	Timor-Leste

A useful check for anyone reading the list quickly: it tracks geographic neighbours rather than trade or aid relationships. Holding a passport from a Pacific country not shown here does not create eligibility, and being resident in a listed country does not either — the trigger is a valid passport issued by one of those 13 countries.

How the Home Affairs page applies the lower charge

The mechanics are unusually mechanical, which is good news for applicants. Three steps follow from the published wording:

1. Lodge a valid Subclass 802 application on or after 1 July 2026.
2. Do so using a valid passport from a listed country, in the name of the main applicant.
3. Pay what the application process charges you at that point.

There is no separate concession form described on the page, and no reimbursement step: the pricing decision is made at the point of lodgement from the passport you present. That also means the practical risk sits in step 2 — if the main applicant lodges on some other travel document, or on a passport that has expired, the recognition step described by the department does not happen.

If the system does not recognise eligibility where you believe it should, the operative variable is the passport record attached to the application, not the child's country of birth.

How do family members qualify for the same lower cost?

This is the part most readers arrive with as a follow-up question. Family members are eligible for the lower visa cost, and — quoting the rule's structure — that eligibility is based on the passport of the main applicant, or of the visa holder who satisfies the primary visa criteria.

Practically, this produces two scenarios worth separating:

• A family member holds a listed passport. Nothing turns on this either way. Their own passport is not the test, though it does no harm.
• A family member holds any other passport. They can still receive the lower cost, provided the main applicant's passport is from one of the 13 countries.

So the reverse case is the trap: a main applicant holding, say, an Australian or other non-listed passport does not open the concession for relatives who do hold Fijian, Samoan or Timorese passports. The chain runs one way only, from the primary criteria holder outward.

Assume an applicant family where the sponsoring arrangements put a Tongan passport holder in the main applicant position and the accompanying siblings travel on documents from a fourth country. On the published wording, the accompanying siblings are charged the lower cost, because the base is the Tongan passport of the main applicant. Change only that variable — make the main applicant a non-listed passport holder — and the accompanying siblings lose the concession even though nothing about them changed.

What the reduced charge does and does not cover

The concession attaches to the visa application charge only. Other expenses are described as separate items and are not reduced by it: health examinations, police certificates, and biometrics are all listed as possible additional costs.

That distinction matters for budgeting. A lower headline charge does not mean a low total outlay, and it is why two families paying the same concession can still pay very different amounts overall depending on medical follow-up and document requirements.

Readers should also keep the permanent nature of the visa in view. Subclass 802 lets the child stay in Australia indefinitely, with Medicare access, work and study rights, free English classes through the Adult Migrant English Program where eligible, and eventual citizenship eligibility. The savings from a concession are one-off; those entitlements are not.

Why no dollar figure appears here

The visa cost field on the official page is presented as the main applicant amount, plus a charge for each dependent child who applies with the same application, alongside a note that the Visa Pricing Estimator is the tool for working out what a given application will cost. The estimator does not include those other costs either. Because amounts change and no figure is published alongside the concession wording on that page, treat the estimator as the only authoritative number for your own lodgement.

What still has to be true for the visa itself

A cheaper application charge does not relax eligibility. The requirements are unchanged:

• The child must be in Australia when the application is submitted and when the decision is made.
• The child must not be in immigration clearance at either of those points.
• The child cannot apply if they are in Australia on another visa carrying a no further stay condition.
• Siblings who also want to apply each need separate applications.
• Dependent children of the main applicant can be added when you apply, or any time before the decision, and they must meet the health requirement.
• Family members who are not coming to Australia may also have to meet the health requirement.
• The applicant and any dependants must obey all Australian laws.

Once granted, permanent residence starts on the day of grant, and the travel facility runs for five years from that date. Travel after that requires a Resident Return visa (subclasses 155 and 157) to re-enter as a permanent resident, or Australian citizenship, which removes the visa requirement altogether. The visa is digitally linked to the passport; no label is issued.

One further practical note: the department states it cannot process an application where the correct visa application charge has not been paid, and may return the application in that situation. Payment accuracy therefore protects the lodgement date, quite apart from the concession itself.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the lower Subclass 802 cost apply automatically from 1 July 2026?

The department's position is that eligible applicants are charged the lower cost during the application process, rather than applying for a concession separately. The eligibility trigger is the date of a valid application lodged from 1 July 2026, together with a valid passport from a listed country in the main applicant's name.

Which countries qualify a main applicant for the reduced charge?

There are 13: Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, the Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and Timor-Leste. The passport must be valid and issued by one of those governments.

Do accompanying family members get the lower cost even on other passports?

Yes, provided the main applicant — or the visa holder satisfying the primary visa criteria — holds a valid passport from a listed country. Family member eligibility is derived from that person's passport, so their own nationality does not have to appear on the list.

My child holds a listed passport but the main applicant does not. Does the concession still apply?

No. The rule operates from the main applicant's passport outward, not from any individual family member's passport toward the rest of the application. In that situation, the child would not receive the lower cost on the published wording.

Does a valid application need a passport that has not expired?

Yes. The department says it recognises eligible applicants when they apply with a valid passport from one of the specified countries. An expired passport would not satisfy that recognition step, regardless of the holder's nationality.

Do siblings share one application and one concession?

Each sibling who wants to apply needs a separate application. The passport test is applied at the level of the main applicant on each of those applications.

Does the reduced charge reduce health exam and police certificate costs?

No. Those are described as additional costs separate from the visa application charge, along with biometrics where required. The concession applies to the visa application charge itself.

Is there anything that voids the application even if the passport is correct?

Yes — the child must be in Australia and not in immigration clearance at lodgement and decision, and cannot apply while on a visa with a no further stay condition. Equally, the department states it cannot process an application where the correct charge has not been paid, and may return it.

Will I get a passport visa label after the grant?

No. The visa is digitally linked to the child's passport. The existing travel facility runs five years from the grant date, after which a Resident Return visa or citizenship is needed for re-entry.

References

Australian Government Department of Home Affairs — Child visa (subclass 802) page