How to apply online for a one year Australia working holiday visa if you’re 18-30. You can work, study and holiday. Rinse and repeat for an extended stay.
If you want a working holiday in Australia then this visa (subclass 417) is your best option.
To apply you must be between 18 and 30 (inclusive), be outside Australia and hold a passport from one of the countries below.
Can I Get This Visa?
To get an Australia working holiday visa you must carry a passport issued by one of these countries (European Union and national identity cards cannot be used):
| Belgium Canada Cyprus Denmark Estonia |
Finland France Germany Hong Kong SAR Republic of Ireland |
Italy Japan Republic of Korea Malta The Netherlands |
Norway Sweden Taiwan United Kingdom |
If your country is not listed here, have a look at this working holiday visa for Australia page for more countries (with slightly different rules).
For How Long Can I Work and Travel?
You have 12 months from the date your visa is granted to travel to Australia. This time cannot be deferred or extended.
The Australia working holiday visa remains valid for a year from the date of your first entry.
In this time you can leave and re-enter the country as often as you like.
During the term of the visa you can study for up to four months (17 weeks) and work for any one employer for up to six months.
There is no limit on the number of employers you can work for, from Sydney to the outback.
If you perform specified work in an eligible (regional) area for at least three months (88 days) then you may be eligible for a second Australia working holiday visa. You can apply for this without leaving the country.
Australia Working Holiday Visa Conditions
You must be between 18 and 30 years of age when you apply, hold a passport from one of the countries above and be outside Australia both when you apply and when the visa is granted.
You must apply for the visa within 12 months of your intended date of travel. You have to arrive, in Sydney or elsewhere in the country, within 12 months of obtaining the visa.
No Australia working holiday visa!
You must not be accompanied at any time by any dependent children.
If you have dependent children you cannot apply over the internet. You must make a paper application, even if those children won’t be coming with you.
If the children will join you at any time you will need to apply for a different visa altogether, such as an ETA electronic travel authority, or an eVisitor visa if you hold a European passport.
If you wish to stay for a longer period with dependent children then go to long stay visitor visa Australia (subclass 600). But note that you are not able to work under any of these visas. They are strictly for holidays only.
More Australian Working Holiday Visa Requirements
You will need to meet health, character and financial requirements. Some specific provisions below may apply to you, they will not necessarily all do so.
- Health: you may need to have a medical examination which could include a chest x-ray, HIV, Hepatitis B and/or Hepatitis C test. Details on health examinations for Australia working holiday visas.
This will be at your cost. It is not included in the cost of the visa application.
- Character: You may be required to provide a Penal Clearance Certificate, or Police Clearance Certificate, from countries in which you have stayed for more than 12 months.
- Financial: You must have enough money to support yourself for the first part of your holiday and you should have a return or onward ticket, or the means to acquire one.
AUD$5000 seems to be the current benchmark for cash. You may need a bank statement as evidence.
You must not have previously entered Australia on a 462 Working Holiday Visa. And you must not have previously been here on a 417 Visa either, unless the application you are making is for a second 417 Australia Working Holiday visa.
Here’s how to become eligible for a second working holiday visa.
You simply work for at least 88 days in specified work (often work in the horticultural industry and harvest jobs) in an eligible regional area during your first work visa period. Details here
For the purposes of this visa, eligible areas are defined as almost all of Australia outside Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and major regional centres.
It includes almost the whole of the Northern Territories and Tasmania so it’s not hard to fit a regional area into your itinerary.
Making Visa Applications
There is a non-refundable application fee. This may be increased annually on 1 July. Go here for current fees.
You can apply online or by paper application. Online applications are processed more quickly.
Paper applications must be made on Form 1150. Download the pdf form here
Make your online Australia working holiday visa application here to start your cheap extended stay downunder.