Avoid Surcharge When Paying Australian Partner Visa Cost

The Australian Partner Visa Cost is astronomical.

Currently $8,085AUD (as of the 2022-2023 fiscal year).  And rising.  Holy schnikes.

To top it all off, some of the most convenient payment methods – PayPal and Credit Cards – all involve surcharges of 1-2%.  That’s up to $160.  Talk about salt in an open wound!

But wait.

Online Australian Partner Visa applications can be paid with BPAY – Australia’s electronic bill payment system – with no surcharge.  You need an Australian bank account, but presumably at least the sponsor of your Australian Partner Visa has one.

But what if the money to pay the visa cost is outside of Australia?

Wire transfer fees and currency conversion fees or commissions can end up costing you as much as the PayPal and credit card surcharges.

Unless you know about OFX.

OFX is the best money transfer company I could find when I needed to transfer money in and out of Australia.  I once used XE Money Transfer  (formally HiFX) because they had a fractionally better rate than OFX and regretted it.  Their claim of ‘no hidden fees’ was only true if you believe listing the fees in the fine-print is the same as disclosing them.

Avoid the surcharge, avoid transfer fees

When I called OFX to be sure they hadn’t changed their policies (before writing about why I love OFX) they offered anyone reading this site two free transfers.  You have to use this link to get them.  That means you can transfer your money to pay the visa cost into Australia for free, then use BPAY for free.  And you’ll still have a free transfer in your back pocket if you need to move money later between Australia and the applicant’s country.  Winning!

Good luck with your visa!  ♣

Related:
Our Australian Partner Visa Evidence
Australian Partner Visa Application Tips
Our Australian Partner Visa Timeline