australia

Both Australia and New Zealand offer working holiday visa programs. These programs allow foreign citizens to enter the country for an extended holiday and work during their stay. Both programs allow visitors between the ages of 18 and 30 from certain countries to apply for this type of visa. This gives young people from around the world have a chance to see new countries with less financial stress.

Australia offers two types of working holiday visas: the Working Holiday Visa (Subclass 417) and the Work and Holiday Visa (Subclass 462). Both visas allow foreign citizens to vacation and work in Australia for 12 months, and the type of visa you apply for is based on your home country. Currently, Australia only lets citizens of certain countries enter on this type of visa: US, UK, Canada, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Ireland, Poland, Italy, Turkey, Cyprus, Estonia, Denmark, Belgium, Norway, Germany, Netherlands, Malta, Finland, France, Japan, Sweden, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailand, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Taiwan, and South Korea. You must also meet additional criteria such as proof of having enough money to support yourself during your trip and not having any children. Upon receiving your visa, you have 12 months to enter Australia. Once you have entered the country once, you may exit and re-enter as many times as you like. You can only work for up to six months during your stay, but you can study for four months as well. If you wish to extend your stay, you are able to apply for a second working holiday visa if you meet certain requirements such as a specific region and three months of work in a specified region.

New Zealand has multiple working holiday visa schemes based on your home country. These visa schemes typically allow citizens to stay for up to 12 months as well as enter multiple times. Some countries are only allowed shorter stays in the country with two examples being Singapore and Malaysia. While New Zealand also does not offer this type of visa to citizens of every country, it offers visas to citizens of more countries including China. Each country has various application requirements as well as restrictions on work and study, so it is necessary to check with the New Zealand immigration department for the relevant information. Your initial entry to the country must be completed within 12 months of receiving your visa. If you wish to extend your stay past twelve months, you may see if you are eligible for an alternative visa. You cannot receive more than one working holiday visa, even if you do not use your first one. The only exception to this rule are citizens of the UK or Canada. If you are a citizen of one of these countries, you may apply for a 12 month visa and apply to extend it to 23 months, or simply apply for a 23 month visa at the start. If applying for a 23 month visa, you must also submit general health and chest x-ray certificates.