How I got a Working Holiday Visa: Australia

Kangaroo at Lysterfield Lake, Melbourne

I applied for my Australian Working Holiday Visa (WHV) on the 20th of July 2023, and it was granted immediately. Although the initial application was somewhat easy in comparison to the Canadian WHV, there have been a few changes recently especially for UK citizens including age increase and the removal of the specified work requirement. I’ll explain below the process I went through to get the visa and how to go about getting the full 3 years once you’re here. Please bear in mind, the information below is specifically for UK citizens. The conditions for other countries are different, specifically around the specified work requirement. If you have questions and you are not from the UK, feel free to email me or you can look on the Australian Immigration website linked at the bottom of this post.

Contents:

1. Are you eligible?

2. Do you need to do ‘specified work’ to get a second visa?

3. Can I work for the same employer for more than 6 months?

4. Useful Pages

5. Want to know more?

Are you eligible?

To be eligible for your First WHV (Subclass 417) you must hold a UK passport, be between the ages of 18-35 (this changed on 1st July 2023), you must apply online from outside of Australia, not be accompanied by dependant children or family members, and not have previously entered Australia on a subclass 417 or 462 visa. This visa entitles you to an initial 12-month stay, which you can extend twice more for a total of 3 years. The current cost of the visa is AUD635 (roughly £330 at the day of writings conversion rate).

If you meet the above criteria and are thinking about applying, also consider that you will have to provide a copy of your bank statement to show you have the equivalent of AUD5,000 plus the fare to where you are going after Australia. When I applied, I had to provide a scan of my passport and a bank statement. My visa was granted almost immediately. Once your visa is granted, you have 12 months to enter the country and activate your visa. Your visa will not start until you enter, so once you enter you then have 12 months until your first WHV expires.

Do you need to do ‘specified work’ to get a second visa?

 In short, no, you don’t if you are from the UK and have not yet entered Australia. The change is coming into effect on the 1st of July 2024, but if you are applying for your second or third WHV after this date, you will not be required to show you have done the previous requirement of 3 or 6 months ‘specified work’. I entered Australia in November 2023, and as I can apply for my second year visa after July 2024, I have not and will not need to do the specified work to get my second visa. This new change means UK citizens can get a total of 3 years WHV in Australia, without having to do specified work.

Bear in mind, you will have 3 separate visas, the second and third WHV is not necessarily an ‘extension’ of your first visa. Therefore:

·       You will have to pay a new fee for each WHV.

·       The initial eligibility will count for each new visa e.g. if you turn 36 on your first WHV, you cannot go on to apply for a second or third. You must be 35 or younger to apply for any of the WHV’s.

Can I work for the same employer for more than 6 months?

This is the biggest downfall I have personally found to the Australia WHV, and that is visa condition 8547. This condition applies to anyone in Australia who holds any kind of WHV, so not just UK citizens. In short, the condition is that you cannot work for the same employer for more than 6 months. From the 1st of January 2024, some exemptions were introduced, including working in sectors such as hospitality, tourism, and industries in more remote locations – click here for information. However, if you are planning to come to Australia to kick-start your career in something corporate, or are fresh out of university in the UK and hoping to get a job in your chosen field, you might want to factor this in. The first questions you are likely to be asked when interviewing is ‘what is your right to work in Australia?’ and as soon as you mention a WHV, most employers looking for ‘long-term employees’ will rule you out. This is not going to be the case for everyone of course but has been something I have come across.

The biggest reason they have this condition is because the visa is a work and holiday visa, so they are promoting you to utilise it in that way. They want you to work to support your holiday/travels around Australia, it is not a visa to allow you to set up a new life here. Just remember that. There will of course be ways to move here initially on a WHV and then gain sponsorship and eventually permanent residency, but finding an employer willing to do that will take some research. Be prepared to come to Australia and work in hospitality, tourism, regional work, warehousing etc.

Useful pages:

·       The Australian Immigration website is incredibly useful and breaks down exactly what you need for each visa depending on which country you are from.

·       The Facebook group ‘Working Holiday Australia 2024’ has over 250k members and is a support group for backpackers on their WHV or looking to obtain one. Use this to search for or ask any questions you may have.

Want to know more?

I am currently only on my First WHV, and contemplating whether I will stay for my second. Therefore, I cannot give too much advise on the application for the second or third WHV as I have not done it. However, please reach out to me if you have any questions and make sure to subscribe along for more content. I have another blog post on Setting Yourself Up In Australia and plan to write about finding accommodation and work soon!