There are hundreds of thousands of people waiting for their visa grant,every so oftenwe share the latest visa processing data,the last update was in late January, and here we are again a month later,this time we may have some good news for those who have been waiting a long time — the backlog is being cleared.
For the previous data update, see:Waiting for your grant? | Subclass 190/491 lodgement and grant figures for mainland Chinese applicants — nearly 2,000 Subclass 143 cases processed! A case study: Subclass 491 “converted” to 482, granted in two months!
The Minister for Immigration has stated that, as Australia’s borders reopen, the Department of Home Affairs will progressively clear the older backlog of applications. As everyone knows, from 2022 Australia — eager for talent — rolled out a range of incentives, from visa extensions to financial payments, hoping to attract international students, Subclass 485 holders, and working holiday visa holders back to Australia.
These are all positive developments, and the numbers show both application volumes and returnee figures have grown in response to these measures.But skilled migrants waiting onshore or offshore for their PR or near-PR visa grants are not impressed — what about us?
Take this long-standing Subclass 489 applicant, for example,who has been waiting 30 months for a 48-month (4-year) visa — does that seem reasonable…
In the visa processing time reference updated by the Department of Home Affairs last week, the processing speed for Subclass 489 is as shown, and most applications not yet granted are for offshore applicants
The Department’s response to this is,many of the applications recently finalised were lodged around the time the borders closed, including those in occupations not classified as critical sectors.
As borders reopen, more and more people are able to travel to and from Australia,and many of these applications are now being assessed; as the Department works through these older cases, published processing times may increase.
We hope that offshore applicants, as well as those who lodged between 2019 and early 2020 — who have been waiting the longest — will soon receive positive news on the progress of their applications.
Now, here is the latest visa processing data
The snapshot date for this update is approximately
the Department of Home Affairs’ 2021–22 first-half financial year grant results
*Data covers 1 July 2021 to 17 December 2021,after the 17th, Department staff progressively went on leave, so grants during that period would have been minimal
Granted
Grant numbers
Subclass 190:5,038 granted onshore, 732 granted offshore,totalling 5,770 — representing 51.5% of the total allocation of 11,200
Subclass 491:3,030 granted onshore, 789 granted offshore,totalling 3,819 — representing 34% of the total allocation of 11,200(a small portion of the 11,200 allocation is reserved for Subclass 494 regional employer-sponsored applications; however, entry requirements for this category have been significantly raised, lodgement numbers are lower, and fewer than 3,000 were granted in the full 2020–21 financial year)
Subclass 189:2,408 granted onshore, 329 granted offshore, totalling 2,737,the Subclass 189 allocation is progressively being transferred to the New Zealand Stream
Subclass 489:107 granted onshore, 393 granted offshore; onshore Subclass 489 applicants have largely been cleared,while offshore applications remain stalled
Granted
Occupations granted
Since the pandemic, another habit has formed — looking at which occupations are being granted,it is not unusual at all for applications lodged in the same category, under the same state nomination, at the same time to see a favoured occupation waiting 20 days while a less in-demand occupation waits 20 months
So, for roughly the same first half of the 2021–22 financial year, here is what occupations were granted both onshore and offshore
Subclass 190 onshore:Accountants157 granted,Civil Engineering109 granted,Registered Nurse (nec)322 granted,Registered Nurse (Critical Care and Emergency)120 granted (other nursing specialties also recorded solid numbers, ranging from tens to over one hundred),261111128 granted,261312180 granted,261313229 granted,Social Work77 granted,Cook108 granted
Subclass 190 offshore:essentially none; most occupations had no data, and where data existed it was <5
Subclass 491 onshore:Accountants382 granted,Registered Nurse (nec)220 granted,Registered Nurse (Aged Care)104 granted,Cook108 granted,Enrolled nurse185 granted
Subclass 491 offshore:also essentially none; most occupations had no data, and where data existed it was <5
Subclass 189 onshore:GPs: 55 granted; Registered Nurse (Aged Care): 14 granted
Subclass 189 offshore:Civil Engineering: 5 granted; Mechanical Engineering: 8 granted; 261313: 5 granted — all legacy backlog cases
All occupations granted under Subclass 489in total, less than a page of A4
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On hand
Waiting over six months for a grant
As at17 Decemberapplications that have been awaiting a grant for six months or longer
Subclass 190:3,122 pending onshore,4,837 pending offshore, totalling 7,959
Subclass 491:5,401 pending onshore, 3,315 pending offshore,totalling 8,716
Subclass 189:6,776 pending onshore, 2,037 pending offshore, totalling 8,813,the majority are New Zealand Stream applicants
Subclass 489:only 325 remain pending onshore,3,784 pending offshore,totalling 4,109
On hand
Compared with the end of the previous financial year, the backlog has grown across the board
As at30 Novemberapplication backlog(including all waiting durations)
Subclass 190:11,510 pending onshore, 5,894 pending offshore,totalling 17,404 — up 2,816 from the end-of-financial-year backlog of 14,588 as at 30 June
Subclass 491:12,608 pending onshore, 5,921 pending offshore, totalling 18,529 — up 459 from the 30 June end-of-financial-year backlog of 18,070
Subclass 189:10,885 pending onshore (the vast majority are New Zealand Stream applicants),2,288 pending offshore, totalling 13,173 — up 933 from the 30 June end-of-financial-year backlog of 12,240
Hard to say why, but outside of healthcare and social work — those particularly high-demand occupations —many of us have come to accept that waiting fewer than six months for a skilled migration application has almost become “not even waiting”, that getting a grant within six months counts as a pleasant surprise, and that a backlog growing by a few hundred rather than a few thousand is about as good as it gets — a small comfort at least…
As the Minister for Immigration and the Department of Home Affairs have said, let us hope
that with the reopening of borders
those who have been waiting nearly 2–3 years
in occupations that are not particularly favoured
whether onshore or offshore
will have their applications finalised without further delay
the wait has gone on far too long…
Can I prepare supplementary documents in advance?
In recent weeks, our clients awaiting grants for Subclass 189/190/491 have received requests for additional documents — most of them lodged between late 2019 and the first half of 2020; the most commonly requested documents are police clearance certificates and medical examinations, and given the time elapsed, partner relationship evidence may also be required. Over the past couple of days, a number of our clients have received requests from the Department for an updated Form 80, so we recommend that applicants who also lodged in 2019 or 2020 consider the following:
1. You can proactively apply for a new police clearance certificate.If, after obtaining your Chinese police clearance, you have remained in Australia without departing, you will only need to update your Australian police clearance, and vice versa.
2. A number of our clients (though not all) have received requests from the Department for an updated Form 80,as Form 80 has been updated in recent years and the Department requires applicants to provide current residential and employment information;please start preparing in advance — primarily by accurately recalling your history — so you are ready when the time comes
3. If your application includes a spouse, there is some standardpartner relationship evidence that can be prepared in advance as well
Please note: medical examinations are valid for one year only, but you must wait for the Department’s case officer to contact you with a request — you cannot proactively update your medical.
Granted offshore but unable to make your initial entry within the required timeframe?
When a visa is granted offshore, the grant letter specifies a date by which the first entry must be made. For those unable to make their initial entry within this timeframe for various reasons, the impact on visa validity depends on the circumstances:
1. For family stream categories such as parent migration, child visas, and partner migration (temporary or permanent), you may apply to the Department for an extension of your initial entry date.
2. For skilled migration categories such as Subclass 489/189/190/491 and the Subclass 858 Global Talent (GTI) visa, the Department’s current automated email response still clearly states that arriving after the initial entry date will not, at this stage, affect the visa. Simply bring the accompanying facilitation notice when travelling to Australia and apply via the following link:
https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/help-support/departmental-forms/online-forms/travel-facilitation-letter-request-form
3. Employer-sponsored and Subclass 485 visas granted offshore also require entry within one year; this situation does not fall neatly within either of the two categories above, and the Department has not provided clear guidance on enforcement — in principle, applicants are encouraged to enter Australia as soon as possible.
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