The Department of Home Affairs has finally updated its visa processing time guide after nearly two months — the last update was in mid-December, with no update in January.

Skilled Migration

189

50% now takes 3 months — 7 months slower; 90% takes 12 months — 1 month slower.

Subclass 189 is processed in lodgement order. The December 2024 and November 2024 cohorts have largely been cleared, and quite a few August 2025 invitees who then lodged are now under assessment. We had a September 2025 lodgement grant last week, but no November 2025 invitees have received grants yet.

190

50% now takes 15 months — 2 months faster.

90% now takes 25 months — 2 months faster.

491

50% still takes 21 months — unchanged from the previous update.

90% now takes 29 months — 1 month slower.

Subclass 190 and 491 applications are no longer processed strictly by lodgement date. To keep overall wait times from looking too bad, the Department is now processing the earliest mid-2023 cohort alongside applications lodged in 2024 and even early 2025. We recently had a client who lodged in June 2023 finally granted, so on average applicants should be prepared for a 1–1.5 year wait.

491 to 191

50% still takes 7 months — unchanged.

90% now takes 16 months — 1 month slower.

Subclass 191 grants reached 12,000 in the first four months of the 2025–26 financial year, but numbers have gradually dropped from July to October, falling to under 1,000 by October. Processing has not fully stalled, but the concentrated rain of grants seen earlier is over. Subclass 191 is still processed in lodgement order, with the main cohort now up to mid-2025 lodgements.

For more information on 189/191/190/491 processing, see our earlier FOI data:Latest Skilled Migration Visa Data! Subclass 190/491 grants surge, Subclass 191 exceeds 12,000 grants in four months, Subclass 189 August round has nearly 70% acceptance rate!

887

50% now takes 10 months — 3 months faster.

90% still takes 20 months — unchanged.

Subclass 887 processing is not as slow as the official data suggests. Most grants now come through in 3–4 months, except for extreme cases. The 887 backlog and application volume are both small, so the data is more easily skewed by outliers.

858NIV

50% still takes 4 months — unchanged.

90% now takes 7 months — 1 month slower.

Since the last update, the Department has now published grant data for the new Subclass 858 NIV. NIV-stream grants come through quickly after invitation — our clients have all had grants within a few short months.

Employer-Sponsored

482 SID core skills stream-visa

50% still takes 4 months — unchanged.

90% still takes 7 months — unchanged.

Subclass 482 SID Nomination

50% now takes 81 days — 40 days slower.

90% still takes 7 months — unchanged.

The Subclass 482 SID pipeline is also slowing down. Nominations are taking 3–4 months, and the total wait to visa grant is now around six months.

186DE

50% now takes 17 months — 8 months slower.

90% now takes 20 months — 1 month slower.

186TRT

50% now takes 12 months — 1 month faster.

90% still takes 19 months — unchanged.

Subclass 186 processing is overall steady, currently sitting in the mid-2024 lodgement range. The DE and TRT streams are running at similar speed, with DE slightly faster. We recently had a client who lodged in June 2024 granted.

Subclass 494 — Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional

50% now takes 7 months — 1 month faster.

90% now takes 9 months — 3 months faster.

Subclass 407 Training Visa

50% still takes 9 months — unchanged.

90% now takes 11 months — 1 month faster.

Subclass 407 grants have been few and far between. We have clients who lodged in the second half of 2024 who have only recently received nominations.

Family

Parent Visa

Parent visa subclass 143 & 864 request-for-more-information processing is continuing to move along, and has not slowed down since the new year.By early December it had reached early August 2018, and by early February it was up to around 20 September 2018. Of course, parent visas are subject to annual caps — if this financial year’s quota runs out early, even applicants who receive a request notice and complete their submission will have to wait until the new quota in the 2026–27 financial year before their visa can formally be granted.

A few weeks ago the Department issued batch Queue Letters (QL) to applicants who lodged in 2023. See details:

Subclass 101 Child Visa (Child Visa)

50% now takes 21 months — 1 month faster.

90% still takes 28 months — unchanged.

We recently had a September 2024 lodgement for Subclass 101 granted.

Partner

820 Stage

50% now takes 17 months — 1 month slower.

90% now takes 24 months — 1 month slower.

801 Stage

50% now takes 7 months — 1 month faster.

90% now takes 13 months — 9 months faster.

309 Stage

50% now takes 16 months — 2 months slower.

90% now takes 23 months — 1 month faster.

100 Stage

50% still takes 10 months — unchanged.

90% still takes 21 months — unchanged.

From the 2025 Christmas period through now, there have been a large number of PR-stage 801 and 100 grants, and that has finally shown up in the data.

The Partner category overall looks normal. The TR stage has moved into the mid-to-late-2024 lodgement range, with a slight slowdown recently, while the PR stage has moved into early 2025 and is actually running comparatively quickly at the moment. As of 30 June, the partner visa backlog sat at 95,000. The Department’s year-on-year decision numbers fell last year — they said they spent more time processing older and more complex applications.

Temporary visas:

Subclass 500 Student VisaMost grants coming through right now are for applicants who lodged in November or December last year. Most students will still make their 2026 Semester 1 start; anyone needing to apply for Semester 2 should contact us as soon as possible to leave the visa assessment as much runway as possible.

485Processing has been steady lately — but December graduates, make sure you sit IELTS and lodge your Subclass 485 quickly. Leaving it to the last minute and failing to hit IELTS 6.5 creates real visa headaches.

600Currently being granted within 2–3 weeks.

If you are facing any difficulty with your Australian visa, feel free to contact our professional team to find out more!

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