Other Family visas – queue release dates and processing times
Capping and Queueing of Other Family visa applications
All Other Family, visa applications are subject to
capping and queueing. This includes:
- Carer (subclasses 116 and 836)
- Aged Dependent Relative (subclasses 114 and 838)
- Remaining Relative (subclasses 115 and 835).
What this means
‘Capping’ means there is a maximum number of visas that we can grant each migration program year. Once we reach that number, we cannot grant more visas in that year. All remaining visa applications will stay in the ‘queue’ until a place becomes available in a future program year. See Glossary.
How we queue applications
We assess all Other Family visa applications in lodgement date order.
When we receive a valid Other Family visa application, we assess it against the core visa criteria. These include health and character requirements, where applicable.
We assign applications that meet the core visa criteria a queue date and place them in a queue. We will tell you of your application’s queue date in writing.
If your application does not meet the core visa requirements to be assigned a queue date, we will refuse it. We will notify you of this in writing.
Queue release dates
We release queued visa applications in queue date order for final processing throughout the year. If we have already met the migration program outcomes for the year, we will not release any more visa applications in the current migration program year.
As at 30 April 2025, we have released the following applications for final processing:
- Carer visa applications with a queue date up to 31 July 2023
- Remaining Relative visa applications with a queue date of up to 28 February 2013
- Aged Dependent Relative visa applications with a queue date up to 28 February 2013.
Key processing milestone dates as at 30 April 2025
| Visa Type | Acknowledge New Application | Visa Assessment (Queue Release Date) |
|---|
| Carer | Approximately 4 weeks | Date queued up to 31 July 2023 |
Remaining Relative
| Approximately 4 weeks | Date queued up to 28 February 2013 |
| Aged Dependent Relative | Approximately 4 weeks | Date queued up to 28 February 2013 |
We update this information when the latest final processing dates are available.
We encourage you to keep up to date with the above queue release dates. We will contact you in writing when we release your queued visa application for final processing.
Processing times
The demand for Other Family visas is greater than the number of places available each year. As a result, processing times for these applications can be lengthy.
We can’t give exact processing timeframes for these visas. These visas are subject to
capping and queueing.
Visa application status updates
We will not respond to individual visa application status enquiries. This is due to the volume of applications we process.
New visa applications
If you lodge a new application, the processing time frame will vary. This depends on the type of visa you apply for. We estimate these time frames based on the current number of places available per year.
Processing time frames for new applications
| Visa | Processing time frame (estimate) |
|---|
| Carer visas | 8 years |
| Remaining Relative and Aged Dependent Relative visas | 27 years |
Note: We generally update this information on a yearly basis at the end of each program year.
For more information on Migration Program outcomes against planning for each migration program year refer to the Reports on Migration Programs.
Changes to processing times
Other Family visa processing times may change because of:
- changes in planning levels
- the number of visa applications submitted
- the number of applications that are withdrawn or refused
- Administrative Review Tribunal outcomes
- Ministerial Intervention cases
- changes to processing directions.
Estimated visa processing times do not indicate how long your individual visa application may take to process. Your application processing time can vary due to individual circumstances. These may include:
- whether you have lodged a complete application and included all necessary supporting documents
- how promptly you respond to any requests for more information
- the length of time required to perform checks on the supporting information provided
- the length of time it takes to receive extra information from external agencies, especially for health, character, and national security requirements
- the number of places available in the migration program.
Contact us
Find answers to commonly asked questions, make an enquiry or submit documents to the
Other Family Processing Centre.
