r/AusVisa

We applied for my wife’s spouse visa in Jan 2025, the RFI came through in December 2025. It took us a while to get the police clearance etc done and they came back to us a further 3 times for RFI. The last bit of information was submitted on May 26th 2026. It’s been 18 months since the initial application was submitted. Anything we can do to help speed up the process or all we can do is wait? I know of a few people who applied after we did and they got theirs granted around April….

What is everyone doing with your lives while you wait?

It could be next week it could be next year. I feel like I can’t do anything, no point in dating, no point in trying to grow my business, no point in buying anything too expensive, no point in selling anything, no point in investing any kind of time into anything really.

It’s cruel that they’ve taken thousands of dollars off everyone then decided to change the whole process.

Hello,

After getting my visa granted I had a look at the questions and I think I made a mistake on this one :

« In the last five years, has any applicant visited, or lived, outside their country of passport, for more
than 3 consecutive months? Do not include time spent in Australia. »

I said no cause I thought they meant 3 months consecutive in ONE country, I feel dumb now.
I got my visa granted, but these are the travels I did last year :

Thaïland : 17/02 → 24/03 — 35 days
Vietnam : 24/03 → 27/04 — 34 days
Cambodia : 27/04 → 19/05 — 22 days
Laos : 19/05 → 01/06 — 13 days
Thaïland : 01/06 → 06/06 — 5 days
UK: 06/06 → 14/06 — 8 days
USA : 14/06 → 05/08 — 52 days

So a total of 5 months and a half outside my country ( France ).

I was about to book my flight but now I’m really stressing out, should I contact them through the form 1023, or should I just not stress out and book my flight ?

Thanks a lot for your help

Seeing a lot of people waiting on visas to be approved, or going for the health check updates. Just wondering are auto approvals gone too?

I lodged my Australian Visitor Visa (subclass 600) on 4 August from India, along with my family, purely for tourism.

Haven’t heard back.

I’ve been seeing recent posts about 8503 (No Further Stay) being commonly attached to Tourist stream visas. Has anyone who applied recently received 8503?

Hi all,

Am waiting for a WHV 417 to be approved, application date of July 9th. Seeing a lot of people that have been approved prior to the new financial year, but not many since the start of July. Just wondering if people have been approved?
Also seeing some people say that they called up and were able to get them to leave a note on their file/progress things further but when I have I just get the generic advice and nothing else, any tips on this?

Thanks so much and all the best to everyone also still waiting!

Occupation: Economist

EOI: 14/11/25

Submitted: 10/12/25

S56: 23/06/26

Grant: 12/08/26

8 years in the making; arrived here for university in 2018. What a journey.

Some reflections and learnings:

1. Compartmentalise - At one point I was reading all these invitations and feeling like the ship had sailed without me in every invitation round. I slowly came to terms with the fact that I might not receive an invitation, and may have to apply offshore. Once I accepted this possibility, I was able to fully enjoy my days here in Australia and take in everything this place has to offer.
2. Evidence > Word of mouth - I came across some useful tools during the times when I would find myself spiralling into a worrying fit and would often anchor myself in the numbers through visa data aggregation platforms and tools provided by the Australian government like the Skillselect.
3. Build a support network, lean on them - Throughout my journey, I went through potential job losses, breakups, short notice termination of rental leases, subtle racist public exchanges and a whole slew of other challenges. Did I think about giving up and going home? Absolutely. When I was in that head space, I would ring up a trusted friend or family member, and let them know what was on my mind. Knowing they had my back, and for me - it was the knowledge that I would be readily accepted if I were to return (rather than to view it as a personal failure) was a massive weight off my shoulders.
4. Find a good migration agent - I started off with a not-so-great migration law firm in Sydney, and often received really professional but negative feedback where the lawyers would tell me, "it's 1 in a million to receive an ITA, I am waiting for mine too". I then switched over to a more professional agent who had experience working at VetAssess and the Immigration Department directly and had started his own practice and felt a lot more optimistic. A good agent is supposed to keep you grounded but should also make you feel like it is within reach.
5. Celebrate!!! Treat yourselves; I had a hard time justifying it as it came along so suddenly and unexpectedly, and a lot of the celebrating was done when the ITA was received. But life is short. How did everyone else here celebrate?

Not sure about everyone else here, but the feeling of elation was greater when I received the ITA as opposed to the grant itself; the ITA was like winning the lottery ticket, and the grant was like when the money finally cleared and showed up in my account. The grant provided a sense of surreal relief, and I hope that everyone in this subreddit will experience it. Onwards and upwards my friends.

Waiting

I am an overseas applicant figuring out the process myself, so apologies if this is obvious, but I can’t find a clear answer.

Vetassess assessed my 3.7 years of employment as 2.7 years skilled employment, which was expected.

I submitted my EOI yesterday. It only asked for my employment start date, so I entered my actual start date and received 5 points for work experience. I haven’t misrepresented anything, and I can’t find anywhere that DHA says the EOI must use the Vetassess DDS.

My question is about timing. I will complete 3 years according to the Vetassess DDS on Dec 4, 2026. Let us assume I receive an invitation on Sept 30th draw and have 60 days to lodge the application, I lodge near the end of November, I will be around 10 days short of 36 months. Would I still be okay?

I’ve also seen DHA material suggesting the assessing authority’s opinion should be considered, but that the final decision is ultimately up to the officer, who should avoid an unnecessarily harsh outcome where a more favourable interpretation is reasonable.

So, am I understanding this correctly?

• Should I use my actual employment start date in the EOI?
• Does DHA strictly have to follow the Vetassess DDS at the visa stage?
• If I’m only 10 days short at lodgement but reach 36 months shortly afterward, could the officer consider my actual employment period?

Would really appreciate any insight from someone who has dealt with this or knows the relevant DHA policy.

I applied for my first Australian Working Holiday visa on 17 June and I’m still waiting for a decision. I’ve also completed my health assessment, but the status is still showing as “Received”.

I’m from Denmark and supposed to be in Australia in just 3 days for an au pair position I’ve already secured.

Is anyone else in the same situation or applied around the same time? And is there anything I can do to get an update or move things along?

Hello! I just arrived in Australia on a WHV and am trying to apply for my TFN. I am stuck on the first step, residential address.

I am having my number mailed to a hostel but do I use my address back in the states as my residential address or the hostel address?

Thanks for your help!

Invite: 13 Nov 2025

Lodge: 21 Dec 2025

S56 (request for more info): 3 Jul 2026, partner points evidence + relationship evidence

Grant: 19 Aug 2026

Onshore, self applied, further information requested, with partner (de facto)

90 pts breakdown:

Age (30 pts), English superior (20 pts), Australian employment experience (5 pts), Education Bachelor degree (15 pts), Australian study requirement (5 pts), Partner Australian citizen (10 pts), Credentialled community language (5 pts, added after invitation)

Nearly 4 years from first arriving to grant day. The S56 was annoying but straightforward once I got the evidence together. Grateful this chapter is done.

We are thinking of nominating ourselves for subclass 482, we own a small cafe and its been around 9 months since we opened. We are on a tight deadline as our current visa expires in a month. Has someone been in a similar boat and share their opinion or experience?

Hello! I’m a Filipino college student planning to travel to Australia in February 2027 to watch the BTS ARIRANG concert, and I’d love some advice from anyone who has recently applied for an Australian tourist visa.

My mom and I already booked our flights last July, so the trip has been planned for quite some time and I want to make sure I prepare my visa application properly.

Our travel dates:

• Feb 17: Philippines → Singapore (8-hour layover)
• Feb 18: Arrive in Australia
• Feb 27: Leave Australia → Singapore (8-hour layover)
• Feb 28: Return to the Philippines

Some details about me:

• College student in the Philippines
• My mom already has an Australian visa
• My mom will be financially supporting my trip
• I have previous travel history to Japan, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand
• I have a grandaunt in Australia (my mom’s aunt)
• I have university classes during my trip and will need to return to the Philippines afterward
• Planning to apply around November 2026

For the school requirement, do I need an excuse/permission letter from my university because I’ll be missing classes, or would my Certificate of Enrollment and Student ID be enough?

I’d also like to ask:

• What other documents should I prepare as a college student?
• What financial documents should I provide if my mom is paying for the trip?
• Is my mom’s Australian visa helpful to include?
• Does my previous travel history help?
• Should I mention my grandaunt in Australia if she isn’t sponsoring my trip?
• Do I need to make a cover letter/statement explaining that my main reason for visiting Australia is to attend the BTS ARIRANG concert? If so, how should I explain this properly?
• My mom will be submitting/managing my application through her ImmiAccount since she already has an Australian visa. Is this okay, or should I create my own ImmiAccount and submit my Visitor Visa application separately?
• Do my college grades/academic performance affect my chances of getting a tourist visa? Should I include my transcript, or is proof of enrollment enough?
• Based on the information I’ve provided, does my application seem strong enough?
• If there are any weaknesses in my profile, what additional proof or documents would you recommend I provide to strengthen my application and show that I’m a genuine temporary visitor who will return to the Philippines?
• How likely is it to get approved on the first application if I provide complete and consistent documents?

Would really appreciate advice from Filipinos who have recently applied, especially students who were in a similar situation. Thank you so much in advance! 🥹💜

My employer wants to sponsor me - I've worked part-time / casual hours (between 17.5 and 32 hrs a week) for the last 4 months, going up to full-time this week.

I'm 25, have no dependants and I'm on my last 417 WHV Visa.

I'm from the UK, have an undergraduate degree in Law and Business (BA with Hons) from England. English is my second language but I speak it like a native.

Myself and my employer had a discussion with a migration lawyer this week about keeping me here and working for him - she did make a point of saying that there is a risk it could be denied because of my experience, but she also mentioned that she does not take lost-cause cases on as it reflects badly on her, so feeling mixed.

I really want to stay, this particular area has been my home for almost three years now. By the time my 417 is up (end of February 2027) I'll have 8 months of experience in sales - the migration lawyer is looking at a technical sales rep role or a sales and marketing manager role. Obviously, this doesn't satisfy the 1-year minimum with a relevant degree, but she's willing to take the risk and hope that the processing time on the bridging visa will allow for the experience to reach 1 year.

I'm worried the 'technical' part of the technical sales rep role won't apply to me - I do b2b sales for a smaller liqueur supplier. I'm also worried that if we go the sales and marketing route, there isn't enough evidence of my role fitting into it. I do have hospitality management/supervisory experience which has allowed me to excel in my current position compared to my colleagues as I have market/consumer knowledge, but I don't believe that experience would count as 'relevant' in the yees of the government.

My boss (and CEO and founder) is 100% prepared to do this and says he'll throw whatever he needs to towards it - he sees that this is my home now and is willing to do anything to keep me working for him (I've been performing very well, according to ym supervisors.)

I'm not too sure how confident I feel and I don't want to waste my employers' money and time. I really, really want to stay and I do love my current job. Any opinions? Anybody experienced anything similar?

How hard is it apply to trade school as an international student who has a bachelor degree , would I be applicable for this because I want to leave my country for a better opportunity or safety as a queer person

So I know there are lots of posts, and I know they don’t recommend booking flights until the visa is granted. But I booked my flight a day after I submitted my 417 on the 5th of July , I fly on the 5th of September so I thought I’d have plenty of time…
I’m a UK passport holder.
It’s still on received and just hoping someone can offer some advice, or if anyone is in a similar position etc. people have said to call them, but I assume they will just tell me to wait?
has anyone’s been approved since July?

Hi,

I'm waiting for an update on my Australian Visitor Visa (Subclass 600 – Tourist stream)

Applied: 1st August 2026
Status: Received
Stream: Visitor 600 – Tourist

Travel date: 27th Aug
Applied from: India

I understand that the timelines are too close but the travel plan was impromptu since my brother got granted a work visa around the same time, so we also applied last minute. He’s already in Australia and we’re waiting for our visas.

Is there anyone who applied on or after 1st Aug’26 and has been granted a visa? Personally, I do have a decent enough travel history, went to Europe last year also. Not sure if that helps but what will be a realistic scenario, if anybody can please help? It’s supposed to be our first family holiday with my little 3yo niece.

Hey!

What do you think, will I get a student visa approved to study a trade course in TAFE, if I worked in construction on my WHV? I also worked in a place where I did fencing, so I have experience with different tools, especially since I’m doing construction.

At home I have an unfinished university, I quit my studies because I wasn’t interested in that field. And that was in 2022.

I’m from a low risk country with enough funds, and ties to my home country. 2 houses that I own, and during my WHV, I even went home for a month to visit family, however I don’t know if this plays any role at all.

I also really looked into differences between courses in my home country and the same in Australia.

Heyy i myself is an offshore sc 189 applicant waiting for my visa to be granted i lodges my visa on 3rd December 2025. Just wondering how many of you (offshore 189 applicants) have been waiting since August and November 2025 invitation?