Since late February and into March, Australia’s 189/190/491 visa grants have picked up quite a bit compared to before, especially for applicants who are onshore — compared with before, when medical and shortage occupations dominated, popular fields such as accounting have recently seen batches of grants, wave after wave of visa grants.
Some have been granted their visas, but others are still waiting, watching people from the same period — or even those who lodged later — already get their grants, while their own turn still hasn’t come, which can make the anxiety worse. Visa processing really is very case-by-case, and while there was still some order and pattern before the pandemic, that’s largely been broken since the pandemic.
At a briefing on 12 March, a Department of Home Affairs official also said 2020 wasn’t easy for them either, because they’ve had to constantly respond to changing requirements, and various shifts in priorities — they’re working hard, hard, hard…
We wonder whether learning about others who’ve been waiting just as long as you might ease your anxiety a little…
Figures obtained from the Department of Home Affairs, current to 31 January 2021,
show the number of 189/190/491 applicants, onshore or offshore,
waiting across different time bands —
you might just find you’re not waiting alone.
A few notes —
*Some have asked why the latest figures only run to the end of January — compiling statistics always takes time, and everyone knows how fast (or slow) the Australian government moves.
*The figures below refer to applicants currently onshore or offshore now — not their status at the time of lodgement.
*The figures below include both primary and secondary applicants
189 Skilled Independent visa
(should include the points-tested New Zealand stream)
Onshore applicants waiting:
6-9 months: 2,549 people
9-12 months: 2,618 people
12-18 months: 1,049 people
18-24 months: 518 people
Offshore applicants waiting:
6-9 months: 205 people
9-12 months: 473 people
12-18 months: 410 people
18-24 months: 795 people
The offshore base is much smaller than the onshore one, but relatively speaking, a higher proportion have been waiting longer, which is also a result of the pandemic’s impact.
In the visa-processing reference times updated on 18 March, for 189 points-tested visas granted in February 2021, 75% took 13 months — slower again compared with the last update — and 90% took 13 months or less, though there have been several rounds of 189 grant waves over the past few weeks, concentrated on applications lodged in March 2020, clearing a batch of the backlog.
190 State Nominated visa
Onshore applicants waiting:
6-9 months: 1,673 people
9-12 months: 1,477 people
12-18 months: 1,661 people
18-24 months: 420 people
Offshore applicants waiting:
6-9 months: 792 people
9-12 months: 1,381 people
12-18 months: 2,269 people
18-24 months: 719 people
Onshore, the numbers are mostly concentrated in the 6-18 month range, and the distribution is fairly even. In the visa-processing reference times updated on 18 March, for 190 State Nominated visas granted in February 2021, 75% took 9 months or less — 3 months slower — and 90% took 14 months or less — 4 months slower. The recent rounds of 190 grant waves have likely also cleared a fair amount of the onshore backlog, with accounting occupation applications now being processed up to those lodged in late May to early June 2020.
491 Skilled Work Regional (State Nominated) visa
Onshore applicants waiting:
6-9 months: 2,013 people
9-12 months: 832 people
12-18 months: 32 people
Offshore applicants waiting:
6-9 months: 1,216 people
9-12 months: 1,543 people
12-18 months: 52 people
Because the 491 visa only took effect in November 2019, and factoring in the time spent waiting for an invitation, even the earliest applications were lodged in late 2019, so the waiting time is shorter than for the 190 and 189; however, 491 grants so far have only trickled through, with no large-scale wave of grants yet.
In the visa-processing reference times updated on 18 March, for 491 State Nominated stream visas granted in February 2021, 75% took 9 months or less — 2 months slower — and 90% took 10 months or less — 1 month slower. 491-For the family-sponsored stream, 75% took 11 months or less — 1 month slower — and 90% took within 11 months, unchanged.
A recent summary of Newstars’ visa grants and invitations across all categories: you can press and hold below to view it, the page will be updated continuously, and we’d strongly recommend you save and bookmark it!
Worth a special mention — in the past few days there were two cases where the primary and secondary applicants were granted while located onshore and offshore respectively —
a 189 Electrical Engineer application lodged in late October 2019, with the primary applicant now offshore and the secondary applicant onshore, granted on 29 March 2021!
and a 190 ICT Business Analyst application lodged in mid-November 2020, with the primary applicant now onshore and the secondary applicant offshore, 2021.3.2granted on the 9th!
Travel exemptions for non-PR, non-citizen entrants
On the positive side, among the popular categories — apart from parent migration — most categories should have enough of this financial year’s PR grant quota to go around; 189 exceeded its quota in the first quarter, and the second quarter is back on track with expectations. Here’s hoping this wave of grants is a good sign — and that the 491 and more other occupations start moving too!
Leave professional matters to the professionals — there’s no such thing as a small visa issue
If you need help lodging a visa,
or want to apply for an entry or exit exemption,
feel free to contact our customer service team below.
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