491 Visa Processing Time 2026 by Stream and Priority

491 Visa Processing Time by Stream

Home Affairs publishes processing times by percentile. Each figure is the time within which that share of applications was decided. The source is the Global visa processing times page.

​

State or Territory Government Nominated Regional Stream

• 25% of applications: 4 months

• 50% of applications: 5 months

• 75% of applications: 16 months

• 90% of applications: 18 months

• Longest case decided: 678 days, about 22 months

​

Family Sponsored Regional Stream

• 25% of applications: 71 days

• 50% of applications: 4 months

• 75% of applications: 5 months

• 90% of applications: 7 months

• Longest case decided: 297 days, about 10 months

​

How to Read These Numbers

A percentile is not a promise. If 50% of applications are decided within 5 months, the other half take longer.

Three points help you read the table:

• The figures describe applications that have already been decided. They do not predict your case.

• The clock starts at lodgement, not at EOI submission or nomination.

• Home Affairs updates the figures regularly, so the numbers change from month to month.

Check the current table before you plan a start date, a job change or a move.

​

Which Lodgement Dates Home Affairs Is Processing Now

The percentile tables describe applications that have already been decided. Home Affairs also publishes, on its subclass 491 page, the lodgement months it is currently working through under Ministerial Direction 122. It is currently processing applications lodged in or before:

• March 2025: applications in the construction, healthcare, teaching, agriculture, aquaculture, fishing and resources sectors, or in Australia's law enforcement and defence interests

• March 2025: applications where the primary applicant was in Australia when they lodged

• February 2025: applications where the primary applicant was outside Australia when they lodged and the application is not combined with another person's application at any time

• February 2025: all other applications from applicants who were outside Australia when they applied

​

In plain terms, applications lodged after those months in each group are still waiting to be reached. As at 14 October 2026, March 2025 is about 19 months ago and February 2025 is about 20 months ago.

​

Home Affairs adds that, while it moves to the new priorities under Direction 122, published allocation dates and processing timeframes may fluctuate, and some timeframes may temporarily increase as applications are reprioritised.

​

The percentile tables and the allocation dates measure different things, and Home Affairs does not reconcile them. If you are lodging now, plan around the more cautious of the two.

​

Why the State Nominated Stream Takes Longer

The two streams look similar at the midpoint and then separate. In the state nominated stream, the time jumps from 5 months at 50% to 16 months at 75%. In the family sponsored stream, the same step goes from 4 months to 5 months.

​

In practical terms, about half of state nominated applicants get a decision within 5 months, but the next quarter wait much longer.

Home Affairs does not explain the gap on its processing times page. Two documented factors can affect the order and pace of decisions:

• Processing priority. Ministerial Direction 122 sets the order in which 491 applications are considered. The tiers are covered in the next section.

• Available places. The Regional category of the 2026-27 permanent Migration Program is 14,110 places nationally, down from 33,000 in 2025-26, according to the Home Affairs planning levels page. Our 2026-27 planning levels breakdown explains the change.

​

Home Affairs also says that submitting all required information with your application may help it be processed faster. See its page on processing skilled visas.

​

Processing Order Under Ministerial Direction 122

Since 19 September 2026, Ministerial Direction No. 122 sets the order for provisional and permanent skilled visas, including the 491. It replaced Direction No. 119. Home Affairs lists the order on its skilled visa processing priorities page.

​

The order is:

1. Applications in priority sectors, or for Australia's law enforcement and defence interests

2. Applicants who were in Australia when they lodged

3. Primary applicants who were offshore when they lodged, where the application has not been combined with another person's application at any time

4. All other applications

​

The priority sectors are construction, healthcare, teaching, agriculture, aquaculture, fishing and resources.

Priority affects the order in which applications are considered. It does not decide whether a visa is granted.

​

For a 491 applicant, this means:

• If your occupation is in a priority sector, you are in the first group wherever you applied from.

• If you applied while in Australia, you are in the second group.

• If you applied from offshore on your own, you are in the third group.

• If you applied from offshore and your application is combined with another person's, such as a partner or child, it falls into the last group.

Our article on Ministerial Direction 122 covers the full text and what changed from Direction 119.

​

The Full Timeline From EOI to Decision

The Home Affairs figures cover only one stage. A realistic 491 timeline has several:

1. Submit an EOI. There is no waiting-time statistic for this stage. See our EOI checklist.

2. Wait for an invitation. There is no fixed schedule for invitation rounds. Track them in our SkillSelect invitation rounds guide.

3. Obtain state nomination or family sponsorship. State deadlines are strict. NSW Pathway 2 invitees must apply within 14 days, and Victoria requires the visa application within 60 days of nomination.

4. Lodge the visa application. This is when the Home Affairs clock starts.

5. Health, character and document checks.

6. Decision.

Steps 1 to 3 can take longer than step 6 for many applicants. Plan for the whole sequence, not only the published decision time.

​

Onshore and Offshore Applicants

Where you are when you lodge matters under Direction 122, as shown above. Onshore applicants sit in a higher priority group than offshore applicants who are not in a priority sector.

​

If you apply onshore, you may be able to stay lawfully while you wait. Read our guide to the Bridging Visa A (subclass 010) for how it works.