Australia Skilled Visa Processing Time and Fees From Kenya (2026)

The full timeline from starting your skills assessment in Nairobi to landing in Australia ranges from 18 months to 3 years depending on your occupation and which visa subclass you're pursuing. Most online sources give processing times for the visa application phase only — which is the shortest part. The longer waits happen before the visa application is even lodged.

Understanding the full timeline — and the full cost — is essential for planning. Both are more demanding than most Kenyan applicants initially expect.

Phase-by-Phase Timeline

Phase 1: Skills Assessment (2–6 months)

Every skilled visa pathway starts with a skills assessment. There is no shortcut. The relevant assessing authority reviews your qualifications and work history before you can submit an Expression of Interest.

University transcripts from Kenyan institutions can themselves take 4–8 weeks to arrive. Request them the week you decide to start — don't wait until everything else is ready.

Phase 2: English Test and EOI (1–2 months)

Once you have your skills assessment, you need a valid English test result before submitting your EOI. If you haven't already sat the PTE or IELTS, add this time to Phase 1.

After submitting your EOI, you're in the SkillSelect pool waiting for a state or federal invitation. This waiting period is the most unpredictable part of the timeline.

Phase 3: Invitation Wait (1–18 months)

The time between submitting your EOI and receiving an invitation varies enormously:

Nursing (high priority): Several states have issued invitations rapidly for nursing occupations — sometimes within weeks. Dedicated healthcare priority rounds can significantly compress this phase.

Engineering: WA invitation rounds for engineers occur frequently. Offshore Kenyan engineers with solid scores have typically received WA SNMP invitations within 1–6 months of submitting an EOI in recent rounds.

IT (competitive): Software engineering and ICT roles are in heavy demand from applicants globally. Offshore applicants without Australian experience compete against a large pool. Waits of 6–18 months for 190 invitations are common in highly competitive ICT occupations from offshore.

Accounting: Invitation frequency is lower than healthcare or engineering. Accountants without a competitive point score (90+) may wait 12–24 months or longer for a 190 invitation in many states.

Phase 4: Visa Application Lodgement to Decision

Once you receive a nomination and lodge the visa application, the Department of Home Affairs publishes processing time benchmarks. Current figures for 75% of applications:

These are the times after you lodge — not after you start the process. Priority processing has applied to healthcare worker applications in some periods, compressing 190 visa decisions to 3–6 months. Standard occupations process at the full timeframe.

What triggers delays in the visa application phase:

• TB concerns from chest X-rays requiring sputum culture (adds 8–10 weeks)
• Requests for Further Information (RFIs) from the Department of Home Affairs
• Police clearance delays (if DCI certificate expires during processing)
• Missing or inconsistent documentation

Full Cost Breakdown for a Kenyan Applicant

These are the unavoidable costs for a single applicant (not including dependants). Costs are approximate at mid-2026 exchange rates.

Approximate total for an IT professional (single applicant, 190 visa):

• ACS + PTE + Visa + Medical + Police clearance + biometrics
• AUD ~6,200 / KES ~550,000

For a nurse:

• ANMAC + IELTS + Visa + Healthcare Medical + Police clearance
• AUD ~5,400 / KES ~480,000

These figures assume first-attempt success on English and skills assessment. Two rounds of PTE or a resubmitted skills assessment adds cost.

Dependants Increase the Visa Fee Significantly

The visa application fee scales with family members:

A family of four — two adults, two children — pays AUD 9,280 (approximately KES 820,000) in visa fees alone. Children under 18 also require medical examinations at IOM Nairobi (fees range from USD 110 for under 2 years to USD 155 for ages 11–14). Factor these costs into your savings plan well in advance.

Paying the Visa Fee From Kenya: The M-Pesa Solution

The Department of Home Affairs requires payment in Australian Dollars through ImmiAccount. For Kenyan applicants, the most practical payment method is the M-Pesa GlobalPay Virtual Visa Card.

Activation: Through the M-Pesa App or via USSD *334#
Transaction limit: KES 150,000 per transaction; KES 300,000 per day
Forex markup: 3.5% on the transaction value
CVV: Dynamic, refreshes every 30 minutes — generate it immediately before use

The daily limit creates a challenge. A Subclass 190 visa fee of AUD 4,640 is approximately KES 410,000 at current rates — above the single-day limit. Options:

1. Pay KES 300,000 on day one (part payment via GlobalPay), then KES 110,000+ on day two using a second card or alternative method
2. Use a Kenyan bank's international Visa card with a higher limit (check your bank's daily international transaction cap first)
3. Ask a friend or family member with an Australian bank account to pay from their account

Some Kenyan banks (Equity, KCB, NCBA) issue international Visa cards that can process AUD transactions, but foreign transaction fees and currency conversion rates vary. Compare the cost against M-Pesa's 3.5% markup before choosing.

What DCI Police Clearance Validity Means for Timeline

The DCI Certificate of Good Conduct is valid for 12 months. It must be valid at the time your visa is granted — not just when you lodge the application.

If your visa application takes 14 months to process (within normal range for a 190), and you obtained your DCI certificate at the start of the process, it will have expired before the visa is granted. You'll need to apply for a new one.

The strategic approach: obtain your DCI certificate after receiving your state nomination and immediately before lodging the visa application, not at the start of your overall process. The biometric appointment at DCI Kiambu Road can take 1–2 weeks to schedule, so build in that buffer.

The full timeline, fee structure, and payment logistics — including the M-Pesa GlobalPay process step by step — are covered in the Kenya to Australia Skilled Migration Guide.

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