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The Department’s March visa processing times are out on schedule. There’s nothing particularly standout this time — grants are still coming through, but not in large numbers.A significant new piece of legislation was also announced today concerning the Subclass 407 Training visa, which will affect many applicants planning to extend their stay after their 485 visa expires. Please read on.

Skilled Migration

189

50% within 4 months, 90% within 5 months — 7 months faster

189 applications are processed in lodgement order. At least half of the August 2025 batch has been cleared, and November invitees are now being processed in bulk

190

50% within 13 months — 2 months faster

90% within 23 months — 2 months faster

491

50% within 20 months — 1 month faster

90% within 20 months — 1 month faster

190 and 491 are being processed on multiple tracks. The most recent grants include applications lodged in early 2025, along with several from 2024 — essentially covering 2023 through 2025. This mixed processing pattern helps bring the average wait times down on paper

491 to 191

50% within 8 months — 1 month slower

90% within 16 months — unchanged

191 grants hit 12,000 in the first four months of FY25-26, but began tapering from July to October, dropping below 1,000 by October. Grant numbers are now steadily decreasing. Processing remains in lodgement order, with the bulk of activity still focused on applications lodged in mid-2025

For more detail on 189/191/190/491 processing, see our earlier FOI data:189 may still issue another 3,000-5,000 grants, with processing now pushing into November! 190 and 491 grants are advancing across the board!

887

50% within 10 months — 3 months faster

90% within 20 months — unchanged

In practice, 887 processing isn’t as slow as the official figures suggest. Most grants come through in 3-4 months, barring exceptional cases. The 887 backlog and application volume are both low, so the data can be skewed by outliers.

858NIV

50% within 4 months — unchanged

90% within 6 months — 1 month faster

The NIV stream is granted quickly after invitation, and invitation numbers are small — processing is therefore fast. Our clients typically receive their grants within a few months.

Employer-Sponsored Visas

482 SID core skills stream-visa

50% within 4 months — unchanged

90% within 7 months — unchanged

482 SID Nomination

50% within 4 months — over 1 month slower

90% within 8 months — 1 month slower

482 SID processing has also slowed since the start of 2026. Expect a 3-6 month wait for nomination approval, and plan for another 6-12 months for the visa grant

186DE

50% within 14 months — 3 months faster

90% within 21 months — 1 month slower

186TRT

50% within 13 months — 1 month slower

90% within 20 months — 1 month slower

186 processing remains broadly stable, currently working through mid-2024 lodgements. DE and TRT processing speeds are similar, with DE slightly faster. We have just had a client with a June 2024 lodgement receive their grant.

494 Regional Employer Sponsored

50% within 7 months — unchanged

90% within 11 months — 2 months slower

407 Training Visa

50% within 88 days — 6 months faster

90% within 11 months — unchanged

We had 407 clients with nominations lodged between April and August 2025 receive their nomination approvals last week — the typical wait is around a year.

Important new 407 Training visa rule

Takes effect tomorrow, 11 March

Under the new rule, the visa application can no longer be lodged together with the sponsorship and nomination — the nomination must be approved first before the visa can be lodged.This means applicants can expect significantly longer wait times. We have just had a nomination lodged in mid-2025 that was only approved in early March 2026,so anyone planning to use the 407 as a bridge visa should start preparing early.

In theory, applications lodged today (10 March) can still include all three components together — please contact us if you need to act now!

Family Visas

Parent Visas

Processing of additional-documents requests for the 143 & 864 Parent visas continues to advance, with no slowdown since the start of the new year.By early December, processing had reached early August 2018; by early February, it had reached around 20 September 2018; and as of early March, it has reached early October 2018,Parent visas are subject to annual quotas. If this financial year’s quota is exhausted early, any documents submitted in response to a request this year will not result in a grant until the new FY26-27 quota becomes available.

101 Child Visa

50% within 20 months — 1 month faster

90% within 28 months — unchanged

We have just had a September 2024 lodgement of the 101 receive its grant

Partner Visas

820 Stage

50% within 18 months — 1 month slower

90% within 31 months — 7 months slower

801 Stage

50% within 8 months — 1 month slower

90% within 16 months — 3 months slower

309 Stage

50% within 16 months — unchanged

90% within 24 months — 1 month slower

100 Stage

50% within 10 months — unchanged

90% within 20 months — 1 month faster

Partner visa processing overall is steady — neither accelerating nor slowing materially. TR-stage processing has reached the second half of 2024, and PR-stage has moved into early 2026 with recent grants actually coming through fairly quickly. As at 30 June, the partner-visa backlog stood at around 95,000. The Department processed fewer applications year-on-year, stating that more time was spent on older and more complex cases.

Temporary visas:

500 Student visa

Official figures: 50% within 28 days, 90% within 5 months

Processing is currently into January and February 2026 lodgements, though a small number from late 2025 remain stuck. Student-visa processing times are never precise, and any delay can hold up the start of studies. Every intake, a handful of our clients find themselves scrambling as the start date approaches, asking us to chase the Department daily — but chase-ups are not guaranteed to work. Anyone applying for S2 2026 intake or S1 2027 intake should contact us as early as possible to allow maximum lead time for visa processing

485Processing continues as normal, with grants coming through in a few weeks. It’s already 10 March — December 2025 graduates should sit IELTS and lodge their 485 promptly. Leaving it to the last minute and failing to achieve IELTS 6.5 creates serious visa complications.

600Currently granted within 2-3 weeks

For any Australian visa concerns, contact our expert team — we are here to help!