Working Holiday Visa in Australia: What it Allows and How to Get It

Posted by Mark Rechard on October 26th, 2019

The Working Holiday Visa is a permit offered by the Australian Government to citizens of Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Malta, Norway, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Sweden and Taiwan , aged between 18 and 30 years (31 years of age), offering the opportunity to stay - working and traveling - in Australia for twelve consecutive months. It is designed to facilitate intercultural exchange between young people from different parts of the world and allows them to do so without weighing on anyone's pockets, not even their own. It is in fact allowed to work throughout Australia (and, if desired, to undertake a course of study), even if with time limits, imposed to ensure that the main purpose always remains the holiday, the visit, and not the attempt to settle permanently.

This visa, created to promote intercultural exchange in Australia, allows you to finance your vacation, which should be the main reason for the trip, working for short periods, not exceeding six months with the same employer.

The best way to Apply Australia visa online, directly from the Australian immigration site. Before applying, however, you need to make sure you have all the necessary requirements. In addition to not having completed 31 years, in fact, you must:

Being in possession of a passport valid for at least one year from entering Australia;

Being outside Australia at the time of application;

Not having already obtained a Working Holiday visa in Australia in the past;

Do not have dependent children when entering Australia;

If you meet these requirements, you can proceed with the application by registering with the immigration site and creating an account that will then be used to complete the application.

Just Create an Immiaccount (Individuals). During the opening of the account you will be asked to enter some personal data, to record five security questions and answers and to create a password to be used later to access your profile. Once the Immiaccount is confirmed you can proceed with the Working Holiday visa application.

For the application of the Working Holiday visa it is necessary to fill in a series of forms concerning one's personal situation. The questions are relatively simple to answer and relate to your health condition, your criminal record, the economic situation and the plans for the trip to Australia. Most of the questions are direct and quick to solve, while for others it is necessary to pay particular attention.

Health state

There are some medical requirements to be met in order to obtain a visa. If you have had health problems in the past, these must be declared and the immigration office will consider your application to decide if the visa can be granted without further analysis, if it is necessary to show other documents or if it is better to deny the entry permit to Australia. The visa is not granted to whom:

Represents a risk to public health or to the community in Australia;

It represents a cost for the Australian community in terms of health services;

You will be likely to use limited health services, precluding access to the Australian community.

For minor health problems or conditions that are now complete and belonging to the past, medical reports or a recent chest X-ray may be required. The X-ray must be done in a certified center and tends to be requested if:

You are resident in a country at risk of tuberculosis;

You have spent at least 3 months in the last 5 years in a country at risk of tuberculosis;

You have been in contact with a person suffering from tuberculosis;

Past radiographs showed anomalies;

The probability exists that you will need to use Australian hospitals;

There is a likelihood that you will work in a childcare center.

If you have never had any particular illnesses, never had any health problems and there is no reason to think that you are a risk to the community, no proof will be required. In any case it is not necessary to attach any medical document to the application unless this is specifically requested.

There is no official list of health conditions that are considered a risk and there is no way of knowing in advance if your situation will create problems. Any suspicious application is examined individually by the immigration office.

A note regarding stays of more than three months in a country at risk of tuberculosis, before entering Australia: the individual country is meant, therefore, technically, if in the past five years you have traveled through several countries at risk of tuberculosis, without ever exceeding the limit of three months in each, it is not necessary to declare anything.

Economic situation

The questions on the economic situation mainly concern two things: the possession of a return ticket and the funds needed to survive in Australia.

First, a return ticket is not mandatory. There is no law that prohibits leaving for Australia with a Working Holiday visa with a single ticket. The second point, which creates more worries, is what treats how much money you have to prove to have upon arrival in Australia. The government suggests $ 5,000 as a sufficient figure. If, at the time of departure, you have this amount, it is a good idea to bring a copy of the statement with you. And if there are no $ 5,000 in the bank? The unofficial advice is to leave anyway. Controls rarely occur and everyone knows that those arriving with a Working Holiday are in Australia to work and will therefore be able to support themselves. Usually, on arrival at the airport, the question is not even mentioned.

Criminal record

Another important point is what concerns possible crimes committed in the past. If your record is clean, just skip this step. If you have committed crimes of any kind, they must be declared. It is not said that having committed a crime precludes the possibility of obtaining a visa and it is therefore a good idea to declare it. Declaring a crime and obtaining a visa is better than obtaining it by hiding one's past, as if what was omitted surfaced on arrival or during the application of different visas in the future this would certainly be an obstacle. It is not possible in any way to know in advance if the application will be accepted or not, as in the case of a criminal record, each case is examined individually.

Travel Plans

The questions regarding your plans in Australia are generic and it is not necessary to be too precise. The only headache in this section is the one dealing with the arrival date. It is asked, in fact, to indicate the day on which you intend to enter Australia, even if this is impossible to know if you have not already purchased a plane ticket. The date to be indicated is indicative and immigration makes it clear that you should not buy any flights before obtaining a visa. Even if the programs change, there is no problem, from obtaining the visa you have a year to enter Australia and you are free to do so when you think best, not considering the date provided at the time of visa application. The visa will then be active from the day of entry into Australia and will then be valid for 365 days.

Costs

Today the Working Holiday visa costs 440 Australian dollars, and this figure is regularly reviewed every July 1st. The visa is to be paid in advance by credit card and it is not possible to obtain a refund if the application is refused.

In most cases the application ends in a few tens of minutes and if the answers are normal, no further clarification or documentation is required. With your data you can access the immigration site at any time and check the progress of your application. If during the application you realize that you have doubts you can save and continue later. Once the application is completed, the answer should arrive in electronic form in your e-mail within a week, although at certain times of the year it may take longer, up to three weeks. The visa is invisible and what you will receive via e-mail is only a reference code. It is recommended to print it, although it is rarely necessary to show it, as the visa is already linked to your passport. It might be useful, though, have a visa sticker visible in the passport, especially if an employer asks for proof of your status before hiring you. You can get the sticker in your passport by requesting it free of charge at any immigration office, but even this is not mandatory.

 

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Mark Rechard

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Mark Rechard
Joined: July 22nd, 2019
Articles Posted: 6

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