Share your timeline: how long did your visa actually take vs the official estimate?

Official processing time estimates are often wildly off from reality. Let's build a community timeline tracker. Please share: - Country + visa type - Date applied - Date decision received - Any RFE or additional documents requested I'll start: Australia Subclass 189 — applied March 2025, received grant September 2025 (6 months). Official estimate was 9–14 months. Got lucky with a skills shortage occupation (nursing).

Community posts share personal experience, not legal advice. Confirm requirements with an official government source.

Anonymous

28 June 2026

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2 Replies

Reply #1

Germany Skilled Immigration Act (Fachkräfteeinwanderungsgesetz) — Nursing. Applied January 2026, recognition authority took 3 months, visa appointment at the German embassy Colombo in April 2026, visa granted in 5 working days after the appointment. Total: ~4.5 months. The bottleneck was the professional recognition, not the visa itself.

Anonymous

29 Jun 2026

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Reply #2

Canada Express Entry — FSW stream. Applied October 2025, ITA received in 3 weeks (high CRS round), submitted documents 60 days later, PPR in 6 weeks, passport returned 10 days after that. Total: ~4 months. Fastest I've heard for FSWP.

Anonymous

30 Jun 2026

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