HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO GET AN AUSTRALIAN VISITOR VISA?

I am always getting asked this question by people who want to apply for Visitor visa Australia: “how does it take to get an Australian Visitor visa?” And you might think that there is an easy answer to the question. Sometimes there is, but also – sometimes there isn’t. The Australia Visitor visa processing time can actually vary greatly for many reasons. To start with, there are a number of different types of Visitor visa, including the Tourist stream, the Business Visitor visa Australia, the Sponsored Family stream, Approved Destination Status, Frequent Traveller, and even the APEC Business Visitor. All of these different streams can take different times to process. The Australian Government Department of Home Affairs (DOHA) – is in charge of visa applications, and they will tell you that, currently (October 2019), 75% of Tourist Stream Applications take about 20 days to process, and 90% of these applications will be processed in about 25 days. For the Business Visitor visa Australia it is 12 to 18 days for the same percentages, and for the Sponsored Family stream it is 20 to 39 days.

Many Different Factors Influence the Processing Time

However, the above processing times are just estimates. Your Australian Visitor visa application processing time can vary based on lots of factors. For example, where you submit your application can make a difference. Some Australian Embassies and Consulates will take more time than others because they may have less staff or a bigger case load.

When you submit your application can also make a difference. There are definitely peak application periods like for holidays such as Easter, Christmas and other local holiday periods in the country where the application is made. During peak periods, applications can take much longer to process – days or even weeks. And conversely, there may be quiet periods where your application might be processed relatively quickly.

Which country passport you have can also make a difference. There are a number of countries with close economic and political ties with Australia where applications will generally be processed more quickly because they possibly will not face the type of blanket scrutiny that many other country applications will face who do not have such close ties.

Furthermore, and most importantly, at the end of the day, each application is different and stronger applicants with better prepared applications are far more likely to be processed more quickly than poorly prepared applications for less suitable applicants. If, for some reason, you did not fill in the application properly, if you accidently contradicted yourself in the application, or if you did not provide all of the correct supporting documents in the application – then all of these things could delay your Australia Visitor visa processing time.

Apply for Visitor Visa Australia

Applying even for an Australia Visitor visa can be complex and we recommend that you get expert advice from a Migration Agent such as us here at Australian Visa Advice (AVA). Feel free to contact us. Good luck with your Australian Visitor visa application!