New Surcharge for All Immigration Fees Paid by Credit Card

The Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) will impose a surcharge to credit card payments for immigration-related fees and charges, including Visa Application Charges, beginning April 19, 2014. Originally, the DIBP indicated that the surcharge would take effect on March 22, 2014, but the implementation has been delayed by one month. 

The credit card surcharge will apply to all payments made by Visa, MasterCard, American Express, JCB and Diners credit cards for both onshore and offshore visa applicants and for payments both made online and at a DIBP office. The rate of surcharge will depend on the credit card used to pay the fees as follows: 

• Visa and MasterCard – 1.08% 
• American Express and JCB – 1.99% 
• Diners Club International – 2.91%

The DIBP indicated that it is considering making other payment methods, such as electronic funds transfer or PayPal transactions, available in the future but did not provide further information. 

What This Means for Employers 

Employers should incorporate the new surcharge into their budgets for immigration filings and be aware that the imposition of the surcharge will become increasingly common as the DIBP continues to move towards a system of compulsory online application filings for which credit cards are the only acceptable payment method. 

This alert is for information purposes only. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen or send an email to [email protected]. 

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