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Employer Nomination Scheme visa (186) - Labour agreement stream
Check estimated processing times for the Australian Employer Nomination Scheme visa (Subclass 186) - Labour agreement stream stream. Based on data from 4.5 million visa decisions obtained from the Department of Home Affairs via FOI.
Your estimated processing time
8 months
Typical processing timeAugust 2026
25% decided within30 days
75% decided within10 months
90% decided within10 months
Employer Nomination Scheme visa processing times by nationality
How long the Employer Nomination Scheme visa takes can vary depending on your passport, based on real decided applications: choose a nationality below for the full breakdown.| Nationality | Outside Australia | In Australia |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 4 months | 6 months |
| Nepal | – | 5 months |
| Philippines | – | 12 months |
About Employer Nomination Scheme visa processing times
About this data
The times shown above are monthly averages for the Employer Nomination Scheme visa, aggregated across all applicants. Your actual processing time may differ significantly based on your citizenship and where you apply from.Where this data comes from
This data is derived from approximately 4.5 million visa grants obtained from the Department of Home Affairs via Freedom of Information request (Reference: DA25/10/00449), covering July 2024 to September 2025. View the released document.Methodology
Processing times shown are monthly averages for this visa subclass and stream, aggregated across all countries and application locations.Times are presented as percentiles (25th, 50th, 75th, 90th) showing what proportion of applicants received decisions within each timeframe.Data is updated monthly when new information becomes available from the Department of Home Affairs.