Processing times by visa
Skilled visas
Median: 8 months for Skilled (Permanent) and 134 days for Skilled (Temporary). Skilled applications are not always processed in the order received, because Ministerial Directions set priorities. See skilled processing times.
Partner visas
Median: 23 months for Partner (Provisional/Temporary). Applications lodged while the sponsored person is in Australia generally get the highest priority under Ministerial Direction 117. See partner processing times.
Student visas
Median: 22 days. Offshore applications lodged before 14 November 2025 fall under Ministerial Direction 111, and later ones under Direction 115. See student processing times.
Visitor visas
Median: under 1 day across subclasses 600, 601 and 651 combined. The 600 can take much longer than the ETA or eVisitor. See visitor visa 600.
Working holiday visas
Median: 2 days. Onshore applications are prioritised, and some offshore ones may take about three months. See working holiday visas.
FAQ
Does this predict my wait?
No, it reports past medians.
Where is the live figure?
In the Home Affairs global processing times tool.
Can I speed it up?
Lodge a complete application with all documents and reply quickly to requests. See how processing times work.