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Employer Nomination Scheme visa (186) - Temporary Residence Transition stream

Check estimated processing times for the Australian Employer Nomination Scheme visa (Subclass 186) - Temporary Residence Transition stream stream. Based on data from 4.5 million visa decisions obtained from the Department of Home Affairs via FOI.

Your estimated processing time

11 months

Typical processing time
August 2026
25% decided within7 months
75% decided within14 months
90% decided within16 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.
NationalityOutside AustraliaIn Australia
South Africa5 months
Sri Lanka5 months
South Korea5 months
Philippines5 months
Nepal6 months
Germany11 months
Italy11 months
Malaysia11 months
Brazil12 months
Canada12 months
People's Republic of China12 months
India12 months
Ireland12 months
United Kingdom13 months13 months
France13 months
Spain13 months
United States of America13 months
Medians only: half of applications were decided faster, half slower. A dash means too few decisions from that location for a reliable figure.
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Processing times vary significantly based on your citizenship and location. Find out what the wait really looks like for someone like you.
Free. Based on FOI data from 4.5 million visa decisions.

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.

Get a personalised estimate

The figures above are averages across everyone. Your citizenship and location can make a big difference. Our Visa Time Checker gives you a personalised estimate based on your specific situation, not just these aggregated figures.

Check other visa types

Looking for a different visa? Use our visa processing time checker to see estimates for any Australian visa type.

Want to understand this better?

Read our guide explaining how processing times work, what affects them, and how to interpret these estimates: Australian visa processing times guide