Source: Department of Home Affairsmost figures dated checked
These figures may be out of date.Our last successful check of the official pages was (over 36 hours ago). The Department's pages may be down for maintenance, or our collection has a problem.Last successful check over 36 hours ago.Official page
485 visa page: new official banner, 13 Nov.Read it
Pick a visa, enter your lodgement date, see where it sits. Official processing times for 74 visa streams.
50% decided within means half of the applications decided (granted or refused) in the latest reporting period took this many days or fewer, counted from lodgement to decision. The 90% figure works the same way. Applications still waiting are not counted. For the 801 and 100 partner visas the count starts at the date of eligibility, two years after the combined application was lodged. Stream codes: DE = Direct Entry, TRT = Transition, AGR = Agreement, PT = Points-Tested, CS = Core Skills, ST = State/Territory, HE = Higher Education, ES = Employer Sponsored. Where it comes from: the Department of Home Affairs global visa processing times tool. We copy the figures and keep the history. Dates: Most official figures dated 2 Nov 2026; 191, 403 MATES, 482 and 858 Distinguished Talent updated 9 Nov 2026. Checked by us 15 Nov 2026. Each visa shows its own official date.
50% decided within means half of the applications decided (granted or refused) in the latest reporting period took this many days or fewer, counted from lodgement to decision. The 90% figure works the same way. Applications still waiting are not counted. For the 801 and 100 partner visas the count starts at the date of eligibility, two years after the combined application was lodged. Stream codes: DE = Direct Entry, TRT = Transition, AGR = Agreement, PT = Points-Tested, CS = Core Skills, ST = State/Territory, HE = Higher Education, ES = Employer Sponsored. Where it comes from: the Department of Home Affairs global visa processing times tool. We copy the figures and keep the history. Dates: Most official figures dated 2 Nov 2026; 191, 403 MATES, 482 and 858 Distinguished Talent updated 9 Nov 2026. Checked by us 15 Nov 2026. Each visa shows its own official date.
Lodgement month being processed, by group:Priority sectors Nov 2025 (occupations: Direction 122, section 5, PDF) · In Australia Mar 2025 · Outside Australia, applying alone Nov 2024 · Outside Australia, all others Jul 2024
The 50% and 90% figures cover every group together. The lodgement months are per group, and groups lower in the processing order sit further back.
Kept in this browser only, so the date is here next time.
Count from the day the visa application was lodged, not the nomination or invitation. Processing group: under Ministerial Direction 122 the Department states a lodgement month for each group: priority sector occupations (construction, healthcare, teaching, agriculture, aquaculture, fishing, resources, law enforcement and defence) and groups based on where the main applicant was when they lodged.
Not sure which processing group? Answer up to 3 questions
50% of applications decided within670days39 days longer than on 29 Sep 2026Lodgement to decision, among applications already decided. Not the time left on yours.
90% of applications decided within727days30 days shorter than on 29 Sep 2026Nine in ten decided applications took this long or less.
Now processing, lodged inchoose a groupset your processing group aboveThe Department states a month for each group.
25%50–90%
25%47816 months
50%67022 months
75%69723 months
90%72724 months
Days from lodgement to decision, among applications already decided. 25% means a quarter of them took this many days or fewer. Black marker: your day count.
Priority sectorsNov 25
In AustraliaMar 25
Outside Australia, aloneNov 24
Outside Australia, othersJul 24
May 2024today
Filled bar: lodgement months the Department says it has reached. The axis runs from May 2024 to today only so that every month shown fits.
Enter the date you lodged the visa application to see where it sits among the official figures.
Example resultvisaprocessingtime.com.au
Day 670ExampleExample: a 186 Direct Entry Pathway application lodged on 14 January 2025 is on day 670. Enter your date above.Days counted in Australian Eastern time
50%: 670 d90%: 727 d
Day 670 is between the 50% mark (670 days) and the 75% mark (697 days).
Choose your processing group above to compare your lodgement month with the month the Department states for that group.
What this can't tell you
When your own application will be decided. Nobody outside the Department can see individual cases.
Whether anything is wrong with an application that has passed a percentile.
How occupation, nationality or requests for more documents change the wait. The official figures are not split that way.
Your date stays in this browser unless you share it: the link and the image include it, so the person who opens them sees the same result. Our statistics count the visa, stream, processing group and band, never the date. Privacy and statistics
Cite this page:Visa Processing Time, "186 visa processing time (Direct Entry Pathway)", Department of Home Affairs figures dated 2 November 2026, retrieved 15 November 2026, https://visaprocessingtime.com.au/visa/186/direct-entry/
<a href="https://visaprocessingtime.com.au/visa/186/direct-entry/">186 visa processing time (Direct Entry Pathway)</a>
Days at the 50% mark. "Was" is the 50% figure from each stream's previous official update. Longer means applicants waited longer. On each bar the dashed tick is "Was", the solid tick is "Now" and the shaded band runs from 25% to 90%, on one time scale marked at 1 month and 1 year.
Visa processing time for all 74 streams, November 2026
As of 15 November 2026, the Department publishes a processing time for 74 visa streams. At the latest official update, on 2 November 2026, 36 of 74 streams got slower at the 50% mark, 24 got faster and 14 did not change. The largest move at the 50% mark was subclass 408 Research Activities, 371 days faster. The full visa processing time table has its own page.
Show the processing time for all 74 visa streams
25% to 90% of decisions, thin break at 75%50% now50% at the previous updateOne time scale for every bar, marked at 1 month and 1 year, stretched at the short end so days and years both fit.
Days from lodgement to decision, decided (granted or refused) applications only. For the 801 and 100 partner visas the Department counts from the date of eligibility, two years after the combined application was lodged. "Change at 50%" and the dashed tick compare with each stream's 50% figure from its previous official update (an update counts when the 50% or the 90% figure moved, so the change can be zero). Each row links to that stream's own page.
Which lodgement months is Home Affairs processing now? 7 skilled visas, read 15 November 2026
For 7 skilled visas the Department states the lodgement month each priority group has reached under Ministerial Directions 121 and 122. It is a second official signal next to each processing time. Whether the Department is catching up is too early to tell. The current directions set up 28 new groups from September 2026, and we call a group's pace only once two statements after that are at least 90 days apart, from 30 December 2026. The table shows each group's month and how far it has moved so far.
The 482 visa also lists the Specialist Skills stream: Jul 2026, too early to tell.
We compare each group's statement of 1 to 2 Oct 2026 with the latest (2 to 3 Nov 2026). The first statement under the current direction (19 to 24 Sep 2026) is left out: it set up the new groups. The Department says on its visa pages that while it moves to the new priorities, “published allocation dates and processing timeframes may fluctuate. Some timeframes may temporarily increase as applications are reprioritised.” Catching up: the month moved further than the calendar did, so the gap to today narrowed. Falling behind: it moved less, so the gap widened. We only call it once the two statements are at least 90 days apart; before that it reads Too early to tell. For these groups that is from 30 Dec 2026. It describes official statements only and is not a wait time for any application. How it is worked out.
Lodgement month being processed, applicants in Australia, 7 visas
Each dot is an official statement that moved the month, dated as the Department dated its banner. Between statements the line stays flat: nothing is estimated. Statements seen before 14 Nov 2026 come from Wayback Machine copies of the official pages, later ones from our daily copies.
Are visa processing times getting faster or slower? At the 50% mark, 36 streams slower, 24 faster in November 2026
At each official update since June 2025: how many visa streams saw their 50% processing time rise, and how many saw it fall.
16 official updates compared, counts of visa streams. Figures before November 2026 come from two public archives of the official tool on GitHub, TomazMPP/Australian-Visa-Tracker and Maydaytyh/visa.
When will Home Affairs next update visa processing times? Half of the past gaps between updates put the next one between 29 Nov and 6 Dec 2026
The Department refreshes the figures in the global processing times tool about once a month, on no published schedule. These are the dates it did so, read from daily copies of the tool.
Last full update
13 days before our latest check
Gaps between updates
18 to 38 days8 gaps since March 2026
Next update
29 Nov to 6 Dec 2026Half of the past gaps were 27 to 34 days
This describes how the Department has published in the past. It does not announce a schedule, so an update can come earlier or later. It says nothing about any single application. How the dates are found.
9 official updates since March 2026
Update
Days since previous
Streams changed
34
69
24
68
32
67
38
66
33
68
35
68
27
68
18
67
first on daily record
66
An update is a day on which at least a quarter of the streams changed their 50% or 90% figure. Copies before 27 February 2026 were not taken daily, so earlier updates are left out here. With the 7 found in a public archive, back to June 2025, there are 16 update reports.
What did Home Affairs change on its visa pages? 8 latest banners, newest 13 November 2026
Banner notices the Department placed on its visa pages, newest first. When a banner changes, it appears here.
485
485 web updates - Members of Family Unit
Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) rules have changed
From 13 November 2026, new rules will change which family members you can include in your Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) application.
Rest of the banner, 2 more paragraphs
The eligibility requirements for primary applicants stay the same.
We prioritise applications for the Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) (subclass 191) visa under Ministerial Direction No. 122. We are currently processing applications that were lodged in or before:
Rest of the banner, 5 more paragraphs
March 2026 – Visa applications where the primary applicant was in Australia at the time they lodged their application.
March 2026 – Visa applications where the primary applicant was outside of Australia at the time they lodged their application and whose application is not combined with another person’s application at any time.
January 2026 – All other visa applications from applicants who were outside Australia when they applied.
For this visa, you must provide notices of assessment issued by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) for three income years out of the five years of your eligible visa.
If you or any of your family members owe money to the ATO, provide evidence you have paid it back or have an approved payment plan in place to prevent processing delays.
We prioritise applications for the Skilled – Independent (subclass 189) visa (Points-tested stream) under Ministerial Direction No. 122. We are currently processing applications that were lodged in or before:
Rest of the banner, 5 more paragraphs
October 2026 – Construction, Healthcare, Teaching, Agriculture, Aquaculture, Fishing, and Resources sectors, or in Australia's law enforcement and defence interests.
June 2026 – Visa applications where the primary applicant was in Australia at the time they lodged their application.
December 2025 – Visa applications where the primary applicant was outside of Australia at the time they lodged their application and whose application is not combined with another person’s application at any time.
December 2025 – All other visa applications from applicants who were outside Australia when they applied.
Please note, while we transition to the new processing priorities under Ministerial Direction No. 122, published allocation dates and processing timeframes may fluctuate. Some timeframes may temporarily increase as applications are reprioritised.
We prioritise applications for the Skilled – Nominated (subclass 190) visa under Ministerial Direction No. 122. We are currently processing applications that were lodged in or before:
Rest of the banner, 5 more paragraphs
October 2026 – Construction, Healthcare, Teaching, Agriculture, Aquaculture, Fishing, and Resources sectors, or in Australia's law enforcement and defence interests.
April 2026 – Visa applications where the primary applicant was in Australia at the time they lodged their application.
February 2025 – Visa applications where the primary applicant was outside of Australia at the time they lodged their application and whose application is not combined with another person’s application at any time.
February 2025 – All other visa applications from applicants who were outside Australia when they applied.
Please note, while we transition to the new processing priorities under Ministerial Direction No. 122, published allocation dates and processing timeframes may fluctuate. Some timeframes may temporarily increase as applications are reprioritised.
We prioritise applications for the Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) (subclass 491) visa under Ministerial Direction No. 122. We are currently processing applications that were lodged in or before:
Rest of the banner, 5 more paragraphs
June 2025 – Construction, Healthcare, Teaching, Agriculture, Aquaculture, Fishing, and Resources sectors, or in Australia's law enforcement and defence interests.
March 2025 – Visa applications where the primary applicant was in Australia at the time they lodged their application.
February 2025 – Visa applications where the primary applicant was outside of Australia at the time they lodged their application and whose application is not combined with another person’s application at any time.
February 2025 – All other visa applications from applicants who were outside Australia when they applied.
Please note, while we transition to the new processing priorities under Ministerial Direction No. 122, published allocation dates and processing timeframes may fluctuate. Some timeframes may temporarily increase as applications are reprioritised.
We prioritise visa applications for the Skills in Demand (subclass 482) visa under Ministerial Direction 121. We are currently processing visa applications that were lodged in: June 2026 – Construction, Healthcare, Teaching, Agriculture, Aquaculture, Fishing, and Resources sectors, or in Australia's law enforcement and defence interests.
Rest of the banner, 5 more paragraphs
July 2026 – Visa applications in the Specialist Skills stream.
January 2026 – Visa applications from applicants who were in Australia at the time they lodged their application.
October 2025 – Visa applications where the primary applicant was outside of Australia at the time they lodged their application and whose application is not combined with another person’s application at any time.
October 2025 – All other visa applications from applicants who were outside Australia when they applied.
Please note: While the Department transitions to the new processing priorities under Ministerial Direction 121, published allocation dates and processing timeframes may fluctuate. Some timeframes may temporarily increase as applications are reprioritised.
We prioritise visa applications for the Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186) visa under Ministerial Direction 122. We are currently processing visa applications that were lodged in:
Rest of the banner, 5 more paragraphs
November 2025 – Construction, Healthcare, Teaching, Agriculture, Aquaculture, Fishing, and Resources sectors, or Australia's law enforcement and defence interests.
March 2025 – Visa applications from applicants who were in Australia at the time they lodged their application.
November 2024 – Visa applications where the primary applicant was outside of Australia at the time they lodged their application and whose application is not combined with another person’s application at anytime.
July 2024 – All other visa applications from applicants who were outside Australia at the time they lodged their application.
Please note: While the Department transitions to the new processing priorities under Ministerial Direction 122, published allocation dates and processing timeframes may fluctuate. Some timeframes may temporarily increase as applications are reprioritised.
We prioritise visa applications for the Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) (SESR) (subclass 494) visa under Ministerial Direction 122. We are currently processing visa applications that were lodged in:
Rest of the banner, 5 more paragraphs
December 2025 – Construction, Healthcare, Teaching, Agriculture, Aquaculture, Fishing, and Resources sectors, or Australia's law enforcement and defence interests.
September 2025 – Visa applications from applicants who were in Australia at the time they lodged their application.
September 2025 – Visa applications where the primary applicant was outside of Australia at the time they lodged their application and whose application is not combined with another person’s application at any time.
October 2025 – All other visa applications from applicants who were outside Australia at the time they lodged their application.
Please note: While the Department transitions to the new processing priorities under Ministerial Direction 122, published allocation dates and processing timeframes may fluctuate. Some timeframes may temporarily increase as applications are reprioritised.
Source: banners now on official Department of Home Affairs visa pages, read 15 November 2026. The date on each card is the date the Department shows on the banner. We have copied these pages every day since 14 November 2026. 69 banners on file. Each card quotes the Department's banner in full, with its links. No interpretation added. Every change, word by word.
What do the 74 visa processing time figures leave out? 5 things
They count decided applications only. Cases still waiting are not in the percentiles.
The figures describe the recent past. They are not a forecast.
They are not split by country, occupation or whether the applicant was in Australia.
Separate steps such as nominations and sponsorships have their own processing time.
Only streams the Department lists in its global processing times tool have a figure here.
Most viewed: 8 visa processing times, November 2026
12 questions about visa processing times, answered from November 2026 figures
How long do Australian visas take to process right now?
It depends on the visa. In November 2026 the official 50% processing time ranges from less than 1 day (155 Five Year Resident Return, subclass 155) to 75 months (117 Orphan Relative, subclass 117).
How long does Australian visa approval take?
From lodgement to decision, the official 50% processing time in November 2026 runs from less than 1 day (155 Five Year Resident Return) to 2,280 days (117 Orphan Relative). Many people call this the approval time. The official figure counts days from lodging the application to the decision.
What are the global visa processing times?
Global visa processing times is the name of the Department of Home Affairs tool that publishes these figures. It shows the current month only. This site saves every update, so each of the 74 streams has a history.
Where can I check my visa processing time?
Pick your visa at the top of this page and enter the date you lodged. The official source is the Department of Home Affairs global visa processing times tool, which we check every day.
Why do visa processing times change every month?
The Department recalculates each processing time from applications decided in its most recent reporting period, so the figure moves with the cases that were decided. At the latest official update, on 2 November 2026, 36 of 74 streams got slower at the 50% mark, 24 got faster and 14 did not change.
What does 50% of applications processed in X days mean?
Half of the applications decided in the recent period took that many days or fewer, counted from lodgement to decision. The 90% processing time works the same way. For the 801 and 100 partner visas the Department counts from the date of eligibility, two years after the combined application was lodged.
Which visa processing time changed the most this month?
At the 50% mark, compared with 29 September 2026: subclass 408 Research Activities went from 448 to 77 days, 371 days faster.
Which Australian visa has the longest processing time?
Among streams with a published figure, subclass 117 Orphan Relative is longest at the 50% mark: 2,280 days.
Does a processing time tell me when my visa will be granted?
No. A processing time describes applications already decided. It is not a prediction for any single application and this site does not give migration advice.
How often are visa processing times updated?
Roughly once a month. The Department's last full update of the processing times came on 2 November 2026. The 8 gaps between its updates since March 2026 ran from 18 to 38 days. Half of the past gaps between updates put the next one between 29 Nov and 6 Dec 2026. The Department does not publish a schedule. We check the official tool daily.
Is Home Affairs catching up on skilled visa applications?
Whether the Department is catching up is too early to tell. The current directions set up 28 new groups from September 2026, and we call a group's pace only once two statements after that are at least 90 days apart, from 30 December 2026. The table shows each group's month and how far it has moved so far. Catching up means the lodgement month being processed moved further than the calendar did between the two statements. It is not a wait time for any application.
Is this a government website?
No. Visa Processing Time is independent and is not affiliated with the Department of Home Affairs.