How to Get Your Australian Working Holiday Visa

Finding out about the Australian Working Holiday Visa is without a doubt one of the best things that ever happened to me. Not only did it kick off my lifestyle of long term working travel, but it also allowed me to meet incredible people, have one-off experiences, make and save money, and (saving the best for last!) I met Steve while I was here working and travelling on the visa. 

Australia’s working holiday is considered one of the best and most accessible in the world, allowing young people from over 40 countries to apply to its program. If you’re wanting the opportunity to live down in Australia on a temporary basis, the working holiday is a fantastic visa to get if you’re eligible. It’s relatively easy to apply for, offers a lot of flexibility with where you can work, live and travel, and is always regarded as one of the best locations for solo travellers, female travellers and long term travellers on a whole.

The WHV allowed me to travel and work all across the country and by year’s end I had been based in Queensland, Western Australia and New South Wales. As we say in our post on long term travel, one best things of living abroad is having different ‘backyards’ to explore on your time off.

What is a working holiday?

Sometimes referred to as international experiences or working holiday schemes, the working holiday is a visa which allows young people to temporarily work, live and travel in a new country, regardless of what they choose to do for a job or where they’d like to be based. It’s a fantastic way to experience living abroad while making an income and offers a lot of flexibility with how you choose to spend your time.

Read our generalised guide on the working holiday visa for a brief overview of what it is, how to start your application, and what you can do for work.

What’s in this post:

• Which visa do you need?

• How to apply for your visa

• Visa conditions

Stay tuned for a follow up post on deciding where your base should be, how to find a job in Australia and planning your move.

Australia has a unique working holiday program in that it allows you to be eligible to extend it for a second and third year if you partake in 88 days of regional work (a separate post about this will follow). Steve and I got the opportunity to do our 88 days in the Western Australian Outback, which was one of the most insane but incredible experiences we’ve ever had.

Which visa do you need?

Although Australia has a number of visas, they only have two specified Working Holiday Visas. The first is the Working Holiday visa (subclass 417) and the second is Work and Holiday visa (subclass 462).

Which one you’re eligible for will largely depend on where you’re from, but they both have a few widespread criteria of eligibility which include:

• Hold an eligible passport (see more below)

• Be within the 18-30 or 18-35 age range, which depends on where you’re from

• Not have applied to either the 417 or the 462 before, and not have had a previous visa rejected or cancelled 

• Proof of funds, in 2022 this was about 5,000 AUD. This is to show you can support yourself and pay your way back to your country of residence.

• Meet health and character requirements. For the 462 specifically, you’ll also need to meet education requirements, have a certain English language proficiency and a letter of support. 

Which passports are eligible for which visa?

As of 2022, you’d be eligible for the Work and Holiday visa (subclass 462) if you’re a citizen and hold a valid passport from the below countries:

Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Chile, China (People's Republic of), Czech Republic, Ecuador, Greece, Hungary, Indonesia, Israel, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mongolia, Peru, Poland, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, Uruguay, United States of America, Vietnam

As of 2022, you’d be eligible for the Working Holiday (subclass 417) if you’re a citizen and hold a valid passport from the below countries:

Belgium, Canada, Republic of Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Republic of Ireland, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Taiwan (other than an official or diplomatic passport), The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

For more details on eligibility and to see more detailed information about both of these visas, see the Australian Immi site here:

Working Holiday (subclass 417)
Work and Holiday visa (subclass 462)

I first came down on a 417 in 2016 as I held a Canadian visa, and au paired for my first four months in the country. As a young, solo female traveller, it was the perfect setup as I completely lucked out with my family. They gave me amazing experiences, a really solid home base and helped me find job opportunities for the rest of the year.

If you’re considering au pairing or another energy exchange, start here:

Ineligible for the WHV but still want to live and travel within Australia?

If you’re over the age limit or otherwise ineligible for the working holiday, it’s very possible you’ll still be able to find a way to live and work in Aus. They have dozens of visa options for visitors, students, trainers, carers, partners and families, skilled workers, business owners or investors, temporary workers, refugees, maritime crews… the list goes on! Depending on how long you want to stay, and what you’re hoping to do, there is no doubt a visa that fits in with your situation.

How to apply for your visa

Once you know which visa you’re able to apply for, there are simple steps to applying, which will include the following:

1. Before you apply - Doing Pre-Application work including checking if applications are still open for the country of your passport

2. Gather your documents - This includes proving your identity and getting all of the documents required to submit your visa application correctly.

3. Apply for the visa - Create an ImmiAccount and fill in the online application using this account, including paying the application fee,

4. After you apply - You may be asked for extra information including biometrics and health exams.

5. Visa outcome - Which will dictate if you were successful or not, the date your visa starts, and your visa conditions. Usually you have up to 12 months to activate your visa, but ensure you read through this in your unique conditions.

For step by step up to date information directly from the Australian Government site, see the steps for the 462 here and the 417 here.

As visa processing can take up to four months, we always recommend gathering any necessary documentation before you submit the visa in case there are any delays. They may ask you for identity documents and certifications that can take weeks of processing times if you don’t have them to hand.

Visa Conditions

Once you’ve received your visa, also referred to as your ‘grant letter’, you’ll be given a list of conditions that make the visa valid including work limitations, adequate health insurance, a maximum 4 months study period, and limiting you to how long you can stay with 1 employer.

As most travellers choose to work on the working holiday, the last condition usually comes with quite a lot of questions. Briefly, both the 417 and 462 limit you to a maximum period of 6 month’s with 1 employer, unless given permission. Although some people on a working holiday will choose multiple opportunities to explore as much of the country as they can, some choose to use the working holiday to advance their skillset or career in a new place and want to stick with one job. If you’re in the latter category, know that you can apply for permission to work longer than 6 months with one employer, see more about this here.

Whether you choose to work multiple jobs across your visa or seek permission to stay with one for the duration of your time, definitely take some time to explore the country! The best part about the WHV is that it allows you to flexibly work and travel anywhere.

One of our favourite travel experiences within Australia were the multiple road trips we took around the country, including over the Nullarbor from Perth to the Snowy Mountains. For our essentials on roadtrips across Australia, see our post below;

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If you’re eligible for the visa, and are willing to sort the paperwork needed to go down, it’s absolutely well worth it and one of the best places to live, work and travel to.

Any questions about applying for the visa, feel free to send our way!

Happy Travels,
Sam

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More on visa info….