Subclass 117 Processing Times in 2026: What Slows an Application Down

How long the Orphan Relative visa (subclass 117) takes in 2026, how to read the official guide tool, and what slows decisions.

Published: 10 July 2026 Reading time 12 min

There is no single published waiting period for the Orphan Relative visa (subclass 117). The Department of Home Affairs' official Orphan Relative visa (subclass 117) page, as at the August 2026 version, directs applicants to its Global Visa Processing Times guide tool, which shows processing times for recently decided applications and is stated to be a guide only, not specific to any one application. What the same page does set out plainly is a timeline marker you can rely on — acknowledgement of the application within approximately one month of lodgement — and four named reasons an application takes longer than others. The rest of this article explains how to read that tool and how each of those four reasons plays out in practice. Everything below describes how the published process works; it is general information rather than advice on an individual case, and current requirements should be checked against the Department's latest published pages or with appropriately qualified professional help.

Is there a set processing time for Subclass 117?

No. The subclass 117 page does not publish a fixed or target timeframe. Instead, it refers applicants to the Global Visa Processing Times guide tool for an indication of processing times for this visa.

That distinction matters more than it first appears. A published service standard would tell you what the Department aims to achieve; the guide tool tells you what recently happened to real applications. The same applies to any figure quoted by third-party sites — with no published standard to anchor to, those numbers are observations about past files, not commitments about yours.

How should you read the Global Visa Processing Times guide tool?

Read it as a record of decided applications, then adjust for your own file.

The tool shows processing times for applications that have already been decided. Two consequences follow. First, an application that stalled for months and was then refused still lands in that data, so the figures describe completed files rather than a queue position you can track against. Second, because the Department describes the tool as a guide only and not specific to your application, there is no point at which a published figure becomes something you can hold the Department to.

Where the tool is genuinely useful is as a rough benchmark for planning: whether it is realistic to arrange travel or schooling around a certain date, and how long the silence after lodgement is likely to last before it means anything.

What are the four things that slow a subclass 117 application?

The subclass 117 page names four causes in its own words. Each maps to a decision you make before the application leaves your hands.

Cause named by the Department	How it typically shows up	What reduces the risk
Not filled in correctly	Details that don't match across forms and supporting documents; forms not completed in English	Completing Forms 47CH and 40CH together, checking names and dates against passports and certificates
Missing documents, or further information needed	Requests for more material after lodgement	Lodging evidence of the child's circumstances as a complete set
Time taken to verify information	Checks on identity, relationship or family status that extend beyond the departmental assessment	Supplying official documents — birth, death, marriage or adoption records — rather than secondary explanations
Full payment not made at lodgement	The application cannot be processed	Paying the correct application charge before posting, and including evidence of payment

Two of these deserve more attention than the others, because they affect whether the application is processed at all rather than merely how fast.

Why does payment sit at the centre of this list?

Because non-payment stops processing rather than slowing it. The Department states that it cannot process an application if the correct visa application charge is not paid, that it will let you know if this happens, and that it may return the application. The paper lodgement instructions repeat the point from the applicant's side: you must pay the application charge before you post the application.

The amount itself is not a figure to memorise. The subclass 117 page sends applicants to the Visa Pricing Estimator to work out the total, and notes separately that health checks, police certificates and biometrics may add further costs that the estimator does not include.

What else has to be right before the clock really starts?

Lodgement validity. Subclass 117 is a paper-only visa, and the margin for error here is narrow.

The following conditions come directly from the Department's step-by-step instructions:

The child must be outside Australia when the application is made, and outside Australia when the Department makes its decision, in order for the visa to be granted.
The application is made by completing Form 47CH (Application for migration to Australia by a child) and Form 40CH (Sponsorship for a child to migrate to Australia), which must be sent together.
Forms must be completed in English.
Both forms go by post with correct prepaid postage to the Child and Other Family Processing Centre, Locked Bag 7, Northbridge WA 6865, or by courier to the same centre at Wellington Central, 836 Wellington Street, West Perth WA 6005.
Applications cannot be submitted in person, and submitting at any other office or in any other way means the application is not valid and cannot be considered further.
Only certified copies of documents should be sent; originals should not, and you should keep a copy of the completed application and supporting documents for your own records.

If any of these steps are incomplete, the application may be invalid, and the Department does not process invalid applications.

There is also a 2026 cost rule worth noting. From 1 July 2026, a lower application cost applies to eligible Pacific Island and Timor-Leste citizens who lodge a valid application, recognised through a valid passport from one of the listed countries — the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. Family members are eligible too, based on the primary applicant's passport. The reduced charge is applied during the application process rather than claimed back afterwards.

Which documents, if left out, most often trigger a delay?

The evidence that carries the legal test for this visa: proof that the child has no parents capable of caring for them.

Alongside standard identity material — current passport pages showing photo, personal details and issue and expiry dates, a national identity card if held, and proof of any change of name — the Department asks for four recent photographs (45mm x 35mm, under six months old, plain light background), a certified copy of the travel document the child will enter Australia on plus any passports held since, and relationship evidence such as a birth, marriage, adoption or family status certificate.

The core of the file is harder to assemble:

A death certificate or other official document, or evidence such as a medical report showing why the parents are unable to care for the child.
If the parents cannot be found, evidence of how long they have been missing and what efforts were made to contact or find them.

Character documents apply to children over 16: police certificates from every country they have spent 12 months or more in over the last 10 years since turning 16, and Form 80. Military service records or discharge papers are required from anyone in the application who has served in the armed forces of any country. Australian certificates must be AFP National Police Certificates applied for under Code 33 — Immigration/Citizenship; state and territory police certificates are not accepted. For immigration purposes, certificates are valid for 12 months from the issue date, so timing them too early can mean doing them twice.

For every dependent child under 18 who is applying with the child, the Department asks for identity documents, proof of the child's relationship with them, like a birth certificate, and character documents where applicable. The Department also allows dependent children to be added at any time before a decision is made — useful, but adding people to a file mid-assessment is a different thing from a clean lodgement.

What happens between lodgement and a decision, and when will you hear?

You should receive an acknowledgement letter within approximately one month of lodgement, and that letter is what unlocks the useful online tooling.

After acknowledgement, a paper application can be imported into ImmiAccount using the application ID, the child's date of birth, and an identity document number. New applications made in Australia, and existing applications made outside Australia on or after 1 April 2020, can be imported. Once imported, ImmiAccount can be used to attach supporting documents, view messages, update details, check application status, apply for a bridging visa, or withdraw the application. Where ImmiAccount isn't available, or the application was lodged outside Australia before 1 April 2020, additional documents and forms go through the Child and Orphan Relative Visa Processing Centre online form instead.

On updates, the Department is explicit: it cannot provide updates on the progress of an application within normal processing times. Contact comes either as a request for further information, using your authorised method of contact, or with the outcome. Health examinations are requested when it is time to arrange them, and biometrics may be requested.

Two behaviours during this period cause avoidable damage. Travel should not be arranged for the child until the Department advises in writing that the visa has been granted. And any error in an already-lodged application should be notified as soon as possible using Form 1023 (Notification of incorrect answers), rather than left until the case officer raises it. Changes to the child's address, phone number, passport or relationship status, the birth of a child, or a decision to withdraw also need to be notified.

What comes with the decision, and what deadlines follow?

The decision arrives in writing, and the grant letter contains the deadlines you'll actually be managing.

A grant notification letter sets out the visa grant number, the date the visa starts, any visa conditions, and the date by which the child must enter Australia — generally set at 12 months from the date of grant. The visa is permanent, the child may stay indefinitely, and travel to and from Australia is allowed for five years from the grant date, after which a Resident Return visa or Australian citizenship becomes relevant. If the application is refused, the notice states why and whether the decision carries review rights, and the application fee is not refunded.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does the Orphan Relative visa (subclass 117) take in 2026?

The Department of Home Affairs does not publish a fixed processing time for subclass 117. Indications come from the Global Visa Processing Times guide tool, which reflects recently decided applications and is described as a guide only. For a baseline, expect acknowledgement of lodgement within approximately one month.

Will I get progress updates while my application is being processed?

No, not within normal processing times. The Department states it cannot provide progress updates during that window. Contact comes either as a request for further information or as notification of the outcome.

What can I do if my documents weren't complete at lodgement?

Provide anything missing as soon as possible. If the application has been imported into ImmiAccount, upload the documents there; otherwise use the Child and Orphan Relative Visa Processing Centre online form. Acting before the Department asks reduces the chance of a verification request later.

What happens if the application charge isn't paid in full?

The Department says it cannot process the application if the correct visa application charge is not paid. It will notify you, and may return the application. Payment must be made before the paper application is posted.

Can the child travel to Australia once the application is lodged?

No. Travel should not be arranged until the Department advises in writing that the visa has been granted. Once granted, the child generally has 12 months from the date of grant to make their first entry.

Is subclass 117 lodged online or on paper?

On paper. The application requires Forms 47CH and 40CH sent together by post or courier to the Child and Other Family Processing Centre. It cannot be submitted in person, and lodgement at any other office or by any other method means the application is not valid.

Can other family members be added after the application is lodged?

The child's dependent children can be added at any time before a decision is made. Siblings who also want to apply must each make a separate application.