407 Visa Reform: Application Steps and Processing Trends

What is the application sequence after the 407 visa reform, and is faster processing now stable?

For Subclass 407, apply for sponsorship, nomination and the visa in sequence, lodging each step only after the previous one is approved. Our cases show more approvals and faster nomination processing, but our data does not represent all applications, and whether the trend will continue remains to be seen.

When preparing a Subclass 407 application, organise all documents at the outset to accommodate faster processing.

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Subclass 407 visa reform reversal: Home Affairs delivers rapid processing — image 1

The 407 reform a few weeks ago, in short, requiresthe sponsorship eligibility, nomination, and visa to be lodged as three separate steps, with each subsequent step only lodgeable after the previous one is approved. This meant the Subclass 407 visa would become a poor renewal option, because each step had long processing times — from a few months to half a year — with high uncertainty, stacking up to 1–1.5 years in total. That simply is not realistic for a renewal option.

For example, someone looking to extend after a Subclass 485 visa only holds a 2-year visa (3 years in some cases). Most will put migration first, so spending a year and a half preparing a visa that does not directly lead to PR is simply not practical.

That was our initial read when we first saw the policy, but we had not factored in that processing speed is also a variable in the Department of Home Affairs’ hands.Since the reform, Subclass 407 processing appears to have come back to life. Our 407 success stories from the past two to three weeks are summarised in the image below:

Recent successful Subclass 407 nomination, sponsorship and visa cases

First:The volume has visibly increased — we are seeing fresh approvals for nominations, sponsorship eligibility, and visas alike

Second:Processing times are dropping: typical cases include a 407 nomination lodged on the 25th and approved on the 26th, and another lodged on the 20th and approved on the 23rd

Subclass 407 nomination lodgement and approval dates

Our data cannot speak for everyone,but we are now seeing some positive signals that we wanted to share,and we will keep monitoring — hoping this is a sustained trend, and that Subclass 407 processing times can ultimately settle into a consistently short cycle.

Of course, faster processing brings another issue:documentation must be fully prepared and organised from the outset, which makes experienced professionals even more essential to compress preparation time as precisely as possible.Below are our recent successful approvals:

Documents from recent Subclass 407 approvals

So at this point, the 407 reform is not as bad as it first seemed. For those with few other renewal options, if you need to apply, apply — and start preparing as soon as possible.

Subclass 407 visa reform reversal: Home Affairs delivers rapid processing — image 8

(Photographed in 2021)

For state nomination, Victoria still leads the way! Marketing/Advertising/Auditing/Accounting received Subclass 190 invitations, plus plenty of IT and Engineering!