Brazil, Canada, Australia, and many other countries. The working holiday program is a special 18-30-year-old visa that allows you to travel for one year and gives you the right to work in Europe and 14 countries outside Europe to finance part of your stay.
1. What is the WHV?
You can travel for months (up to a year) through a country and discover its culture while working on site to supplement your resources and thus finance your stay. With 58 member states in Europe, America, and Asia, the latest WHV agreement came into force in 2018 and allowed you to fly for up to 12 months in Brazil.
However, the jobs you do will rarely be related to your university degrees. These are usually small jobs that do not require any special qualifications.
2. Who can benefit from a WHV?
Working holiday visa (WHV) is for young people aged 18 to 30 (and even up to 35 for Argentina and Canada) on the date of visa application. Unlike other mobility programmes, there are no study or diploma requirements.
For young Europeans students, with the Erasmus+ program, you must be a student or apprentice in training and go through an organization (university, school, apprenticeship training center, etc.) to leave. To obtain a WHV, all you have to do is make an individual visa request to the diplomatic representation (embassy, consulate…) of the country concerned.
3. What are the conditions to be met?
Apart from the required age, you must not have already received a WHV in the chosen country, except in Australia.
You must not be accompanied by no children, except in Canada where you can go with the kids up to two years of age. You must have the means to purchase your return flight. You must also provide proof of private insurance covering the risks related to illness, maternity, disability, hospitalization and repatriation during your trip. Warning: some countries may also ask you for a medical certificate and a clean criminal record.
4. Before, during or after school: when to leave?
It’s a personal choice. You may want to take a break after high school, during your higher education or after it. With a WHV, you travel and work for up to a year outside of any school curriculum. If the break period (up to one year) is a right recognized since 2015, the last word to grant it or not is up to your training institution.
A WHV trip is halfway between a personal and a professional project. Before leaving, contact the international department of your university or school to avoid being caught short and lose your student status. Since priority is to the diploma, many prefer to wait until it is obtained to undertake a trip with a WHV.
