The Department of Home Affairs has recently updated the latest processing times for the main visa categories. Read alongside the processing priorities published earlier, they give a clearer picture of how each visa category is actually moving.
Overall, the gaps between visa categories remain fairly pronounced. Some onshore skilled migration and employer-sponsored applications keep moving, while offshore applications are still slow across the board; family migration shows a similar pattern, and the offshore parent and partner categories in particular are not moving noticeably at the moment.
Skilled migration
189 Skilled Independent migration
For the 189 visa, 50% of applications currently take about 7 months, the same as the previous figures; 90% take about 8 months, around 1 month shorter than before.
Overall, the current wait for the 189 is around six months or more, and processing speed is relatively stable. Recent grants have gradually concentrated on applicants who were invited and lodged in June this year, so applicants who lodged a little later and have no result yet do not need to worry unduly for now.
What to watch next is the new round of 189 invitations and how processing follows on from it.
190 State-nominated skilled migration
For the 190 visa, 50% of applications now take about 5 months, a substantial reduction of around 7 months on the previous figures; 90% of applications still take about 17 months.
Looking at recent grants in practice, the new processing priorities are gradually taking effect. The processing gap between priority and non-priority occupations has begun to widen.
491 Regional skilled migration
For the 491 visa, 50% of applications now take about 16 months, around 4 months longer than before; 90% take about 26 months, around 8 months longer.
Note that the overall processing times published officially do not fully reflect the differences between priority levels. Processing for priority occupations has clearly moved into 2026 lodgements, and we have recently had priority-occupation applications lodged between March and April 2026 granted, while some non-priority occupations are still working steadily through 2025 lodgements.
So for the 190 and the 491, looking only at the overall 50% or 90% processing times may not give an accurate read on your own wait; occupation priority and where the application was lodged both need to be taken into account as well.
191 Permanent Residence visa
For 491 and 494 holders moving to the 191, 50% of applications currently take about 9 months, 2 months longer than before; 90% take about 11 months, which is in fact around 2 months shorter.
Most recently approved 191 applications are still concentrated among cases lodged between late 2025 and February 2026, and there are now also cases lodged in early March 2026 that have been approved.
887 Skilled Regional visa
For the 887 visa, 50% of applications currently take about 9 months, around 2 months longer; 90% of applications still take about 18 months.
Looking at recent cases, we have had applications lodged in December 2025 approved.
858 National Innovation Visa
Processing times for the 858 National Innovation Visa (NIV) have remained stable overall.
50% of applications currently take about 4 months and 90% take about 7 months, broadly in line with the previous figures.
Employer-sponsored visas
482 Skills in Demand nomination
For 482 SID nomination applications, 50% of cases currently take about 57 days, noticeably slower than before; 90% of cases take about 9 months, unchanged overall.
Note that a large swing in the 50% processing time does not mean every 482 nomination will be delayed in the same way; actual speed still depends on factors such as occupation priority, where the application is lodged and the documents in the individual case.
482 SID Core Skills Stream visa
For the 482 SID Core Skills Stream visa, 50% of applications currently take about 4 months, close to 2 months longer than before; 90% take about 9 months, around 1 month shorter.
Looking at recent cases, 482 SID processing overall has gradually reached applications lodged at the end of 2025.
186 Direct Entry
For 186 Direct Entry, 50% of applications currently take about 13 months, around 3 months longer; 90% take about 21 months, around 7 months longer.
186 TRT
For 186 Temporary Residence Transition, 50% of applications currently take about 14 months, around 3 months longer; 90% take about 22 months, around 7 months longer.
Although the official overall processing times have lengthened, our client cases show that the 186 has not stalled completely. A good number of applications lodged around September 2024 have recently been approved.
The overall processing times published officially are therefore better used to understand the broad trend, and cannot be read directly as how much longer any individual application still has to wait.
494 Regional employer sponsorship
For the 494 visa, 50% of applications currently take about 4 months, close to 4 months longer than before; 90% take about 12 months, around 1 month longer.
Looking at the latest priority processing data, a difference in processing speed has gradually opened up between onshore priority occupations such as construction, healthcare and education and other categories.
407 Training visa
The 407 Training visa has also seen a greater volume of processing recently.
Official data currently shows that 50% of applications take about 38 months, close to 10 months shorter than before; 90% take about 13 months, around 4 months shorter.
One point deserves particular attention: alongside the rise in 407 processing volumes, there have also been some nomination refusals. For applicants who have been in Australia for many years, or who already have lengthy work experience in the same role, demonstrating that the training is genuine, that it is necessary and what the application is for is a key consideration when preparing a 407 application.
Family visas
143 Contributory Parent migration
Progress on 143 parent migration document requests remains fairly slow.
Based on the actual cases we can see, it is broadly still sitting at applications lodged in early December 2018. As we cannot see all of the Department’s case data, the exact date may be somewhat out.
Most 143 applications granted so far this financial year are cases that received a document request in the previous financial year and had already completed the follow-up paperwork.
101 Child visa
For the 101 Child Visa, 50% of applications currently take about 23 months, 3 months shorter than before; 90% take about 33 months, essentially unchanged.
Partner migration visas
820/801 onshore partner visa
At the 820 stage, 50% of applications currently take about 23 months, around 5 months longer; 90% take about 29 months, around 3 months shorter.
By contrast, the 801 permanent residence stage is clearly faster. 50% of applications currently take about 3 months, around 2 months shorter; 90% take about 17 months, around 5 months longer.
Looking at recent cases, some 801 applications that meet the criteria and have complete documentation can get a result in a relatively short time.
309/100 offshore partner visa
At the 309 stage, 50% of applications currently take about 21 months, around 4 months longer; 90% take about 39 months, around 9 months longer.
At the 100 stage, 50% of applications currently take about 9 months, around 1 month longer; 90% take about 18 months, also around 1 month longer.
Some offshore family applications, including the 143, the 309 and the 100, are still moving fairly slowly overall. Onshore family applications, by contrast, continue to make progress, and the actual processing speed at the permanent residence stage of some partner migration cases stands out in particular.
The onshore and offshore processing gap is worth watching
A little over two months into this financial year, the current data and real cases show that offshore applications are still moving noticeably more slowly than some onshore applications.
On 21 August 2026, Australia’s migration agents’ association, the MIA, took part in the Joint Standing Committee on Migration’s public hearing on the value of skilled migration. At the hearing, the MIA again raised the question of skilled migration processing speed, including 482 employer sponsorship and the slow progress of some offshore skilled migration applications under the new processing priorities.
Earlier, at quarterly meetings with the Department of Home Affairs, the MIA had also expressed concern about the processing of some offshore family migration and offshore skilled migration applications.
The key things to watch next are whether processing of offshore categories will gradually increase as this financial year goes on, and how the new priority arrangements will continue to affect different occupations and different visa categories.
For those who have already lodged, the 50% and 90% processing times published by the Department are overall statistics and cannot simply be read as a guarantee that your own application will be approved within that time. Occupation priority, whether the application was lodged onshore or offshore, how complete the application documents are and how complex the individual case is can all affect the actual processing time.
