Processing times · Subclass 403 · Updated September 2026
Temporary Work (International Relations) visa (403) processing time — September 2026
Short answer: 50% of applications decided within 12 days and 90% within 45 days (Department of Home Affairs figures published 29 September 2026, checked by us 6 October 2026). Stream-by-stream figures below. This page re-reads the Department's data every month, so the numbers are always the current ones.
By Keshab Chapagain, registered migration agent (MARN 1576536) since 2015 · WIDEN, Sydney · Reviewed September 2026
Keshab Chapagain · MARN 1576536 · Registered since 2015 - Government Agreement
- 12 days · 45 days
- Foreign Government Agency
- 50 days · 4 months
- Domestic Worker (Diplomatic or Consular)
- 27 days · 78 days
- Pacific Australia Labour Mobility Scheme
- 15 days · 30 days
- Figures published
- 29 September 2026
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Current Temporary Work (International Relations) visa (403) processing times
| Stream | 25% | 50% | 75% | 90% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Government Agreement | 5 days | 12 days | 29 days | 45 days |
| Foreign Government Agency | 13 days | 50 days | 85 days | 4 months |
| Domestic Worker (Diplomatic or Consular) | 7 days | 27 days | 57 days | 78 days |
| Pacific Australia Labour Mobility Scheme | 13 days | 15 days | 18 days | 30 days |
| Mobility Arrangement for Talented Early-professionals Scheme (MATES) | 3 months | 4 months | 4 months | 5 months |
Source: Department of Home Affairs global visa processing times, published 29 September 2026; read by WIDEN on 6 October 2026. Percentages are the share of applications decided within that time, measured from lodgement to decision.
How to read the percentiles
The 50% figure is the median — half of all Temporary Work (International Relations) visa (403) applications are decided faster than this. The 90% figure is the realistic worst case for a normal application: nine in ten are decided within it. Where your application lands depends mostly on whether it was decision-ready at lodgement: complete, consistent, with every criterion evidenced so the case officer never has to issue a request for more information.
What pushes a 403 application toward the slow end
- Missing or inconsistent documents at lodgement — the single biggest cause of delay.
- Health or character complications that need referrals (police certificates, medicals lodged late).
- Requests for further information — each one can add weeks to months.
- Peak periods after program changes or fee indexation each July.
Compare every visa on the full processing-times table, or see what moved this month.
General information only, not migration advice. Processing times are the Department's published statistics and are not a promise about any individual application. Migration advice is provided by Keshab Chapagain (MARN 1576536) after a paid consultation under the Migration Agents Code of Conduct.
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Questions we get asked first
How long does the Temporary Work (International Relations) visa (403) take right now?
As published by the Department of Home Affairs on 29 September 2026: Government Agreement: 50% within 12 days, 90% within 45 days; Foreign Government Agency: 50% within 50 days, 90% within 4 months; Domestic Worker (Diplomatic or Consular): 50% within 27 days, 90% within 78 days; Pacific Australia Labour Mobility Scheme: 50% within 15 days, 90% within 30 days; Mobility Arrangement for Talented Early-professionals Scheme (MATES): 50% within 4 months, 90% within 5 months. These are global processing times measured from lodgement to decision, including time waiting on requests for more information.
What do the 50% and 90% figures mean for the 403 visa?
Half of all Temporary Work (International Relations) visa (403) applications are decided within the 50th-percentile time, and nine in ten within the 90th-percentile time. If your application is complete and decision-ready at lodgement, you are more likely to sit at the fast end; requests for further documents typically push an application toward the 90% figure.
Can I speed up my 403 application?
You cannot buy priority processing, but you control the biggest variable: lodging decision-ready. That means every criterion evidenced up front — identity, health, character, and the visa-specific documents — so the case officer never has to stop and ask. A registered migration agent's file review before lodgement is the cheapest way to avoid the slow lane.
Where do these 403 processing times come from?
They are the Department of Home Affairs global visa processing times, published on the Department's website (stamped 29 September 2026). WIDEN republishes them as a table and refreshes this page every month — the figures here are read directly from the Department's own data, never estimated.
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