189 visa landing page banner
We prioritise applications for the Skilled – Independent (subclass 189) visa (Points-tested stream) under Ministerial Direction No. 122.
189 New Zealand visa processing time, November 2026
Skilled - Independent, New Zealand: 50% decided within 1,690 days, 90% within 1,888 days. Department of Home Affairs processing time figures.
50% decided within means half of the applications decided 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.
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: latest official update 9 Nov 2026, checked by us 14 Nov 2026. Each visa shows its own official date.
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: latest official update 9 Nov 2026, checked by us 14 Nov 2026. Each visa shows its own official date.
189 90 days Points-Tested 90% 288 29 d longer189 1,690 days New Zealand 90% 1,888 38 d longer186 670 days Employer Nomination DE 90% 727 39 d longer190 240 days Skilled Nominated 90% 482 108 d longer482 174 days Skills in Demand CS 90% 287 43 d longer491 521 days Skilled Regional ST 90% 920 365 d longer500 25 days Student HE 90% 207 9 d longerSee all visasall 74 streams
Home Affairs is processing 189 visa applications lodged in or before June 2026
189 New Zealand processing time: 50% decided within 1,690 days, 90% within 1,888 days.
Official figures dated · Checked by us · Official source · 189 visa page
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: latest official update 9 Nov 2026, checked by us 14 Nov 2026. Each visa shows its own official date.
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 sectors (construction, healthcare, teaching, agriculture, aquaculture, fishing, resources, law enforcement and defence), and groups based on where the main applicant was when they lodged.
50% decided within1,690days38 days longer than on 29 Sep 2026Lodgement to decision, among applications already decided. Not the time left on yours.
90% decided within1,888days26 days longer than on 29 Sep 2026Nine in ten decided applications took this long or less.
Now processing, lodged in or beforeJun 20265 months before todayOfficial statement, lodged in Australia. First recorded 14 Nov 2026, no change since.
Pressure index, 18975/ 100Elevated, full readings from 14 Nov 2026How the official figures moved. 50 is a flat month.
25%1,50249 months
50%1,69056 months
75%1,79359 months
90%1,88862 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 sectorsOct 26
In AustraliaHome Affairs is hereJun 26
Outside, aloneDec 25
Outside, othersDec 25
Dec 2024today
Filled bar: lodgement months the Department says it has reached. Vertical line: your lodgement month.
Day 440189 New Zealand, since 31 August 2025 (example date, enter yours above)
50%: 1,690 d90%: 1,888 d
- If the latest figures held, 50% of applications lodged on that date would be decided by 17 Apr 2030 and 90% by 1 Nov 2030. This is arithmetic on the official percentiles, not a predicted decision date.
- For applications lodged in Australia, the Department says it is processing applications lodged in or before June 2026. Your lodgement month is at or before that month.
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.
Cite this page: Visa Processing Time, "189 visa processing time (New Zealand)", Department of Home Affairs figures dated 2 November 2026, retrieved 14 November 2026, https://visaprocessingtime.com.au/visa/189/new-zealand/
189 Processing Pressure Index: 75 out of 100, elevated, November 2026
75out of 100Elevated
- Slower share
- 2 of 2 streams
- Drift
- +24.9% median
- Queue lag
- 7.0 months
All visas 53 Moderate
In plain words: 2 of 2 streams of the 189 visa got slower at the latest official update, the typical change was +24.9% and the lodgement months being processed trail today by 7 months on average. A reading above 50 means the published figures moved towards longer waits; below 50, towards shorter ones.
Calculated from official processing time figures only. It describes how published figures moved, not a prediction, and it is not advice. How the index is built.
Show the formula and today's working
PPI = 100 × (0.35 × slower share + 0.30 × drift + 0.35 × queue lag)
- Slower share: streams whose 50% figure rose since the previous official update, divided by all streams with a figure.
- Drift: median percentage change in the 50% figure, clipped to plus or minus 25% and mapped to 0 to 1.
- Queue lag: average number of months between today and the lodgement month the Department says it is processing, divided by 24 and capped at 1.
Every input is a figure the Department of Home Affairs publishes. Bands: 0 to 39 Low, 40 to 59 Moderate, 60 to 79 Elevated, 80 to 100 High. The index describes how the published figures moved. It says nothing about any single application and it is not advice.
| Component | Score 0 to 1 | Weight | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slower share2 of 2 streams have a higher 50% figure than at the previous official update. | 1.00 | 0.35 | 35.0 |
| DriftMedian change in the 50% figure is +24.9%. Minus 25% scores 0, no change scores 0.50, plus 25% scores 1. | 1.00 | 0.30 | 30.0 |
| Queue lagPublished lodgement months are 7.0 months behind today on average. Scale tops out at 24 months. | 0.29 | 0.35 | 10.2 |
| Reading | 75.2 |
189 lodgement months being processed (MD 122)
Priority sectorsOct 20261 months before today
Lodged in AustraliaJun 20265 months before today
Lodged outside Australia, applying aloneDec 202511 months before today
Lodged outside Australia, all othersDec 202511 months before today
Stated on the official 189 page, last changed . Archived daily from .
189 processing time since 29 Sep 2026, 50% mark
| Stream | Was | Now | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Points-Tested | 61 | 90 | 29 days longer |
| New Zealand | 1652 | 1690 | 38 days longer |
Days. "Was" is each stream's figure before its latest change.
189 processing time then and now, 50% mark
| Stream | First | 1 yr ago | Now | vs 1 yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points-Tested | 144 | 284 | 90 | 194 days shorter |
| New Zealand | 1245 | 1315 | 1690 | 375 days longer |
Days. First figure on record for New Zealand: 9 Jun 2025. Longer means applicants waited longer than a year ago.
Which lodgement months is Home Affairs processing for the 189 visa? June 2026 in Australia, December 2025 at the back
The Department prioritises 189 applications under Ministerial Direction 122 (MD 122), a direction from the Minister on processing order. It works through them in 4 groups and states, for each group, the month of lodgement it is processing (official wording: lodged in or before that month). This statement sits alongside the 189 processing time percentiles and is published separately.
| Visa | Priority sectors | In Australia | Outside, alone | Outside, others |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 186 visaMD 122 | Nov 202512 mo behind | Mar 202520 mo behind | Nov 202424 mo behind | Jul 202428 mo behind |
| 189 visaMD 122 | Oct 20261 mo behind | Jun 20265 mo behind | Dec 202511 mo behind | Dec 202511 mo behind |
| 190 visaMD 122 | Oct 20261 mo behind | Apr 20267 mo behind | Feb 202521 mo behind | Feb 202521 mo behind |
| 191 visaMD 122 | not listed | Mar 20268 mo behind | Mar 20268 mo behind | Jan 202610 mo behind |
| 482 visaMD 121 | Jun 20265 mo behind | Jan 202610 mo behind | Oct 202513 mo behind | Oct 202513 mo behind |
| 491 visaMD 122 | Jun 202517 mo behind | Mar 202520 mo behind | Feb 202521 mo behind | Feb 202521 mo behind |
| 494 visaMD 122 | Dec 202511 mo behind | Sep 202514 mo behind | Sep 202514 mo behind | Oct 202513 mo behind |
189 lodgement month being processed, by group
Recording started 14 Nov 2026. One month on record so far. Dashed boxes are months with no reading yet; each new official statement adds a step.
| 189 group | Processing, lodged in or before | Recorded |
|---|---|---|
| Priority sectors | Oct 2026 | |
| Lodged in Australia | Jun 2026 | |
| Lodged outside Australia, applying alone | Dec 2025 | |
| Lodged outside Australia, all others | Dec 2025 |
Is the 189 New Zealand visa processing time getting faster or slower? 38 days slower since 29 September 2026, 375 days slower than a year ago
As of November 2026, the Department of Home Affairs reports that 50% of Skilled - Independent (subclass 189) New Zealand applications are decided within 1,690 days and 90% within 1,888 days. The 50% processing time was 1,245 days in June 2025.
90% decided within50% decided within
| Recorded | Points-Tested 50% / 90% | New Zealand 50% / 90% |
|---|---|---|
| 90 / 288 | 1690 / 1888 | |
| 61 / 245 | 1652 / 1862 | |
| 223 / 240 | 1611 / 1859 | |
| 202 / 271 | 1601 / 1849 | |
| 170 / 231 | 1605 / 1849 | |
| 179 / 216 | 1596 / 1848 | |
| 171 / 191 | 1565 / 1825 | |
| 131 / 169 | 1556 / 1828 | |
| 131 / 156 | 1519 / 1818 | |
| 131 / 156 | 1524 / 1818 | |
| 99 / 359 | 1524 / 1818 | |
| 312 / 331 | 1372 / 1693 | |
| 284 / 300 | 1315 / 1597 | |
| 256 / 267 | 1275 / 1579 | |
| 231 / 242 | 1264 / 1524 | |
| 189 / 207 | 1260 / 1521 | |
| 180 / 196 | 1260 / 1521 | |
| 144 / 161 | 1245 / 1499 |
New Zealand in the chart, all 2 streams in the table, days. 16 changes recorded since 9 June 2025. Figures before November 2026 come from public archives of the official page.
189 pressure index history: latest reading 75
Slower share and drift only, rebuilt from archived figures
The full index needs the lodgement month statements, which we began archiving on 14 November 2026. The dotted line uses the two components that can be rebuilt back to June 2025; it is not the same scale as the full reading.
What did Home Affairs post about the 189 visa? 4 banners, newest 2 November 2026
Banner notices on the Department's visa pages that mention the 189 visa, newest first.
189 visa permanently closed to new applications on 1 July 2023
The Skilled Independent (subclass 189) (New Zealand stream) visa permanently closed to new applications on 1 July 2023.
189 visa permanently closed to new applications on 1 July 2023 - 2nd version
The Skilled Independent (subclass 189) (New Zealand stream) visa permanently closed to new applications on 1 July 2023.
189 visa landing page
The Skilled Independent (subclass 189) (New Zealand stream) visa is currently closed to new applications and will permanently close to new applications on 1 July 2023.
Source: banners on official Department of Home Affairs visa pages, archived daily since 14 November 2026. 69 banners on file, read 14 November 2026. Titles and first sentences are the Department's own wording. No interpretation added.
What do the 189 processing time figures leave out? 4 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.
- The percentiles are not published by occupation, by state, or by whether the applicant was in Australia.
- Only streams the Department lists in its global processing times tool have a figure here.
9 questions about the 189 New Zealand visa processing time, answered from November 2026 figures
How long does a 189 visa take to process in 2026?
In November 2026 the Department of Home Affairs reports a 189 visa processing time of 1,690 days for 50% of New Zealand applications and 1,888 days for 90%. Points-Tested is 90 and 288 days.
What is the 189 New Zealand processing time right now?
Half of New Zealand applications are decided within 56 months (1,690 days), a quarter within 1,502 days and three quarters within 1,793 days. These are the official processing time figures dated 2 November 2026.
Is the 189 visa processing time getting faster or slower?
The 50% processing time for New Zealand moved from 1,652 days on 29 September 2026 to 1,690 days now, 38 days slower. The first figure we have on record is 1,245 days in June 2025.
Is the 189 processing time counted from the day of lodgement?
Yes. The published processing time runs from the day the visa application was lodged to the day it was decided, and it covers decided applications only.
Which lodgement month is Home Affairs processing for the 189 visa?
The official 189 page lists 4 groups under Ministerial Direction 122: priority sectors, October 2026; applications lodged in Australia, June 2026; applications lodged outside Australia, applying alone, December 2025; applications lodged outside Australia, all others, December 2025. We read this on 14 November 2026.
Is 189 processing time different for onshore and offshore applicants?
The percentile figures are not split by location. The lodgement month the Department says it is processing is split: June 2026 for applications lodged in Australia, December 2025 for the group furthest back.
How often is the 189 visa processing time updated?
The Department usually refreshes its processing time figures once a month. The latest official date for the 189 visa is 2 November 2026. We check the official page every day and record any change with its date.
Does the 189 processing time tell me when my visa will be decided?
No. A processing time describes applications that were already decided. It is not a prediction for any single application and this site does not give migration advice.
What is the Processing Pressure Index for the 189 visa?
A 0 to 100 reading calculated from official figures only: how many 189 streams got slower, by how much, and how far behind today the lodgement month being processed is. The 189 reading is 75 (elevated); across all visas it is 53. The formula is printed on this page.