Visa Processing Times
The Department of Home Affairs has provided an approximate timeframe for processing visa and citizenship applications.
Last updated: 19 September 2018 (for the month ending 31 August 2018)
186 & 187 Visas
| 186 Employer Nomination Scheme | Agreement | Unavailable due to low volume of applications. | Unavailable due to low volume of applications. |
| 186 Employer Nomination Scheme | Direct Entry | 15 months | 19 months |
| 186 Employer Nomination Scheme | Temporary Residence Transition | 14 months | 15 months |
| 187 Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme | Temporary Residence Transition | 13 months | 16 months |
| 187 Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme | Direct Entry | 22 months | 25 months |
| 187 Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme | Agreement | Unavailable due to low volume of applications. | Unavailable due to low volume of applications. |
482 TSS Visas
| 482 Temporary Skill Shortage | Short-Term | 49 days | 77 days |
| 482 Temporary Skill Shortage | Medium-Term | 38 days | 64 days |
| 482 Temporary Skill Shortage | Labour Agreement | 22 days | 56 days |
| 482 Temporary Skill Shortage | Nomination | 35 days | 39 days |
| 482 Temporary Skill Shortage | Sponsorship | 38 days | 64 days |
General Skilled Migration
| 189 Skilled – Independent | Points-tested | 9 months | 11 months |
| 189 Skilled – Independent | New Zealand | 12 months | 13 months |
| 190 Skilled – Nominated | 6 months | 8 months |
Family & Partner Visas
| 100 Partner4 | 17 months | 23 months | |
| 101 Child | 9 months | 16 months | |
| 102 Adoption | Unavailable due to low volume of applications. | Unavailable due to low volume of applications. | |
| 117 Orphan Relative | Unavailable due to low volume of applications. | Unavailable due to low volume of applications. | |
| 143 Contributory Parent (Migrant) | 42 months | 45 months | |
| 173 Contributory Parent (Temporary) | Unavailable due to low volume of applications. | Unavailable due to low volume of applications. | |
| 300 Prospective Marriage | 13 months | 17 months | |
| 309 Partner (Provisional) | 13 months | 17 months | |
| 445 Dependent Child | 12 months | 14 months | |
| 461 New Zealand Citizen Family Relationship (Temporary) | 19 months | 20 months | |
| 801 Partner4 | 18 months | 25 months | |
| 802 Child | 12 months | 15 months | |
| 820 Partner | 20 months | 25 months | |
| 837 Orphan Relative | Unavailable due to low volume of applications. | Unavailable due to low volume of applications. | |
| 864 Contributory Aged-Parent (Residence) | Unavailable due to low volume of applications. | Unavailable due to low volume of applications. | |
| 884 Contributory Aged-Parent (Temporary) | Unavailable due to low volume of applications. | Unavailable due to low volume of applications. | |
| 4Processing time for subclass 801 Partner (permanent) visa and 100 Partner (permanent) visa is from date of eligibility (2 years after the 820/801 or 309/100 application is lodged) to finalisation. | |||
Citizenship
| Conferral (lodgement to ceremony**) | 16 months | 19 months |
| Descent (lodgement to decision) | 2 months | 4 months |
| Evidence (lodgement to decision) | 37 days | 67 days |
Visitor Visas
| Visa Type | Stream (if available) | 75% of applications processed in | 90% of applications processed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Visitor visas | |||
| 651 eVisitor | 1 day | 1 day | |
| 600 Visitor | Tourist1 | 17 days | 31 days |
| 600 Visitor | Business Visitor | 10 days | 19 days |
| 600 Visitor | Frequent Traveller | 13 days | 15 days |
| 600 Visitor | Sponsored Family | 30 days | 49 days |
| 600 Visitor | Approved Destination Status | 1 day | 3 days |
| 771 Transit | 8 days | 13 days | |
Circumstances that affect processing times
The Department of Home Affairs applications on a case-by-case basis, and actual processing times can vary due to individual circumstances including:
- whether you have lodged a complete application, including all necessary supporting documents
- how promptly you respond to any requests for additional information
- how long it takes to perform required checks on the supporting information provided
- how long it takes to receive additional information from external agencies, particularly in relation to health, character, and national security requirements
- for permanent migration visa applications, how many places are available in the migration programme
- for citizenship applications, the time taken to attend a Citizenship Ceremony or receive a Citizenship Certificate.
How to view processing times
These processing times change from time to time. You can check the updated processing times regularly.
To assist the Department to speed up the processing times, we will submit a decision ready visa application. The checklists provided by Australian Skilled Migration will include everything you need to submit complete documents to us.
