The ledger
What Australia costs, from Kathmandu
Before you fly
4.5 lakh
Tests, papers, fees, the flight and our charges. Spent whether or not the visa is granted.
Must be in the bank
32.4 lakh
Twelve months of living costs for a single applicant. Your first year of tuition and a return airfare sit on top of it. The department looks at where the money came from and whether you can actually reach it, not only at the balance.
Everything, year one
61.6 lakh
Both of the above plus tuition, living costs and health cover for twelve months.
Converted at NPR 109.10 per AUD, Nepal Rastra Bank’s selling rate published 2026-09-07. The bank could not be reached today, so this rate may be old.
Before you fly
What leaves the house first
None of it comes back if the visa is refused. That is the honest reason to be sure about the application before making it, rather than after.
IELTS. PTE is a little less.
Paid to MoEST through ConnectIPS, eSewa or Khalti. Three to seven working days.
AUD 2,500 · Subclass 500, raised from AUD 2,000 on 1 July 2026, having been AUD 1,600 until July 2025. Not refunded if the visa is refused.
One way, economy, booked about a month ahead.
On signing the service agreement
Before lodgement
The first year there
Once you have landed
Tuition is a genuine range, not a hedge. Which end you land on is decided by the institution, and that decision is worth more than anything else on this page.
AUD 22,000 · Vocational, one year.
AUD 48,000 · Group of Eight master's, one year.
AUD 29,710 · The Home Affairs financial capacity figure for a single applicant. A partner adds AUD 10,394 and a child AUD 4,449.
AUD 650 · Overseas Student Health Cover, single, per year.
The number that actually decides it
NPR 32,41,361
Twelve months of living costs for a single applicant. Your first year of tuition and a return airfare sit on top of it. The department looks at where the money came from and whether you can actually reach it, not only at the balance.
Families often assume this is money they need on top of everything else. Usually it is not: it is the same money, shown before it is spent. What matters is that it is provably yours, in an account, on the day it is asked for.
Before you commit any of it
64 percent of applications to Australia from Nepal were refused in 2025-26. The reality check will tell you where you sit against that.
Other destinations