Yes, for any single kanji I expect to first rely on mnemonics, and after a while, I wouldn’t need them anymore.
But what happens now is that for a new kanji, I sometimes disregard the mnemonics from the beginning. I wonder if, by the time they reach the Enlightened stage, I will forget all of those kanji and have to basically start them again, with the mnemonic (until I don’t need the mnemonic anymore).