The cheapest & most expensive visas

There is no single price — it depends entirely on the visa. Across the visa and permit programs in our database that charge a fixed government fee, the median is roughly US$95, and about three-quarters cost under US$200. Short-stay tourist visas, e-Visas and electronic travel authorisations are the cheapest; work, long-stay and especially investor or residence-by-investment programs are far more expensive.

Electronic permits are the cheapest. Electronic travel authorisations and e-Visas such as Canada’s eTA (CA$7), Australia’s ETA and Armenia’s e-Visa (about US$6) cost only a few dollars, and many countries grant a free visa-on-arrival or visa-free entry to eligible nationalities — covered separately in our visa-free and e-Visa guides.

Residence-by-investment and “golden visa” programs sit far above ordinary visas because the headline cost is an investment or government contribution, not a filing fee — Paraguay’s investor residency and Malta’s permanent-residence programme run into the tens of thousands. Among ordinary travel and migration visas, skilled-migration visas (for example Australia’s subclass 189/190/491) and the UK family visa are the most expensive, at roughly US$2,000–3,000.

Almost never. Most governments charge the fee to process the application, not to grant the visa, so it is non-refundable even if you are refused. A small number of programs distinguish a refundable security or repatriation deposit from the non-refundable application fee — always read the fee schedule before you pay.

We list the official government fee only. The total you pay can be higher because of biometrics, service-centre or VFS Global handling charges, courier costs, mandatory insurance, or third-party agency mark-ups — none of which are government fees. Fees in volatile currencies and the US-dollar conversions are indicative; always confirm the current amount on the official portal before applying.