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Australia Visa Processing Priorities: Priority Processing for Visa Applications

One important factor to consider before deciding which visa subclass to apply for is the priority processing order for visa applications. The priority processing order first came into effect on 1 January 2009.

Before reading on, please understand that priority processing DOES NOT affect your visa eligibility in any way, and ONLY determines how quickly your visa application will be entered into processing upon lodgement to DIAC.

How does the Australia visa priority processing order work?

Essentially, the priority processing order determines how quickly your visa application will be processed after lodging it to DIAC.

Should you be eligible for multiple visas, it is vital that you understand the huge differences in processing times BEFORE deciding which visa option is right for your personal circumstances.

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Current Australian Visa Processing Priorities - Updated 28/07/2010
Processing Priority Group	Group Criteria	Processing timeframe
Priority Group 1	Applications from people who are employer sponsored under the Employer Nominated Scheme (ENS) or Regional Skilled Migration Scheme (RSMS)	Applications will be processed according to ENS/RSMS Service Standards
Priority Group 2	Applications from people who are nominated by a state or territory government agency with a nominated occupation that is specified on that state or territory’s State Migration Plan.	Applications will be finalised 12 months from date of lodgement.
Priority Group 3	Applications from people who have nominated an occupation on the new Skilled Occupation List (SOL).	Applications lodged PRIOR to 1 July 2010 will be finalised by 31 December, 2011. Applications lodged ON OR AFTER 1 July 2010 will be finalised 18 to 24 months from date of lodgement.
Priority Group 4	All other applications are to be processed in the order in which they are received.	All Priority Group 4 applications will only be entered into processing and finalised once all cases in priority groups 1–3 are finalised.

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