Have you been thinking about visiting Australia? What if I tell you that you can come and stay to explore this beautiful enormous land for a year! YES! A whole year. You can also legally make some money between now and then to continue your exciting journey. I am talking about a Working and Holiday visa (462)
It is the best opportunity for anyone who is fascinated by this country to come and open their eyes to the real Down Under.
I first came to Australia with this visa, and it was a life-changing experience. It has been three years coming four, but I still haven’t seen it all. There was little information when I started researching about this visa. So, I think it’s a good idea to share my experience with you today.
What is a Work and Holiday visa?
This visa allows people from 18 to 30 years old to have an extended holiday in Australia.
What makes it special over other visas is that it lets you stay here for 12 months, do short-term work, study up for 4 months and multiple-entry for travelling to neighbouring countries. Additionally, there are actually two similar visas that even got me confused nowadays. Which one you go to depends on your nationality on your passport.
The first one is a Work and Holiday visa (subclass 462) which is what I applied for. If you hold a passport from one of these countries on the list, you must apply for a Work and Holiday visa (subclass 462);
- 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
And if you hold a passport from one of the countries below, you must apply for a Working Holiday visa (subclass 417);
- Belgium
- Canada
- Republic of Cyprus
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China (including British National Overseas passport holders)
- 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
What can you do with this visa?
As I said, you could stay here for 12 months and just travel around Australia. But you can also do other things too.
If you don’t have a big pocket, you can fund your trip with any type of work. But you can work for the same employer only for 6 months.
You can also take a short course that is less than 4 months during your stay, which is a great option!
And if you want to go to Bali a bit, New Zealand, or any country, you can travel from Australia and come back with a multiple-entry option on this visa.
The last fantastic you can do is stay here for another year or two! After the first year, you can apply for a second or third Work and Holiday visa if you meet the criteria and requirements. I will explain it later.
Can you apply for this visa?
A Work and Holiday visa (subclass 462) has quite a few requirements, unlike a Working and Holiday (417), which is more flexible. Unfortunately, you can’t choose the 417 one just because it’s easier.
Besides holding a passport from the country I mentioned above, you must make sure you tick all the boxes;
- You must be aged 18 to 30 years old when you apply.
- You haven’t entered Australia on this visa (Work and Holiday).
- You have got specific education requirements that vary on what passport you hold. You can check more information here. For example;
- I hold a Thai passport, so I need to have a tertiary qualification.
- If you hold a USA passport, you might need a Senior Secondary Certificate of Education or equivalent.
- You have functional English. This ensures you have the essential skill to communicate and survive in Australia. However, it may get inconvenient for some countries.
- So if you are a citizen of the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Canada, New Zealand or the Republic of Ireland, you don’t have to do anything. Of course, because English is your native language.
- If you hold an Israeli passport, you have to complete an English Bagrut exam in the level of 3 study units.
- Finally, if you hold another country’s passport, you must have undertaken education that instructed in English for certain years or got an English language test result. For example, if you have completed a degree in Thailand with at least two years of full-time instruction in English, then you can use your degree as proof of your functional English. Alternatively, you have got a 4.5 average band score on IELTS. For more information about the English requirement, click here.
- You will need a letter of support from your government if you are from Ecuador, Greece, Indonesia, Luxembourg, Malaysia (Good Conduct Certificate), Mongolia, Peru, Poland, San Marino, Slovenia, Thailand, and Turkey.
- You have about AUD5,000 for financial support while you are in Australia.
- Meet the health requirement. For more information, click here.
- You meet the character requirement. For more information, click here.
- You haven’t got a visa cancelled or rejected while you were in Australia before.
Woohoo, that sounds like a lot. But if you meet all the criteria and requirements, then it will be very easy for the visa process.
You can also find more information on the immigration website here.
What is the visa process like?
So if you meet all the criteria and requirements, it’s time to apply! The process is straightforward, and you can do it yourself.
- Get all the proper documents!
The secret of perfect application is reading and attaching every required document correctly. It’s simple documents like your identity, education, English language test result, a letter of support from the government, bank statement, overseas police certificate, and other support documents depending on your circumstance.
But if you feel overwhelmed, you can always get the agency to help you with the application. For more information about the required document, click here.
- Submit your application online by creating an account on the immigration website, uploading all documents, and paying the application fee.
- After that, you might have to do biometrics and health examination if required.
- The last step is waiting for your visa to be granted. This could take from just a day up to 83 days.
The cost of it
The total cost of this visa is very sensible. I only paid for the visa fee, English language test, and health examination to get a Work and Holiday visa. But there were some other costs you might have to consider too. This is my expense before flying in.
- English language test AUD410
- Health examination AUD150
- Documents translation AUD50
- Work and Holiday visa (462) AUD510
- One-way flight from Thailand AUD300
- Hostel for a week AUD120
So it’s about AUD1,540 to start with, less or more depending on your situation. I guess it’s pretty cheap and worth trying for a visa that allows you to stay in this beautiful country for a whole year.
How can I make the most of it?
Now that you got your visa, you must plan to enter Australia within a year after your visa is granted. And the visa will start to count down from the first day of your arrival.
I still remember my first year here. I met so many backpackers and locals that had super different kinds of personalities. Some of my friends like to stay in the countryside, like Far North Queensland or even Alice Springs, some want to be in the big city, and some want road trips across the county.
When you get here, it’s a buffet of choices. You can do whatever you like for a year. I am not very adventurous, but I have seen and learnt much more than I expected. Especially trying to survive during Covid in a foreign country made me so proud of myself.
Once you land in Australia, a year has passed quickly, and you want to see more. The good news is that you can do it! You can apply for a second Work and Holiday visa to stay for another year or two.
If you are not over 30 years old and have been working with specified work for 3 months or 6 months for a third Work and Holiday visa.
You must also check the industries and areas for specified work to ensure you can use the payrolls for visa applications.
For all information about the Australian visa, please check: https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing
I spent a year planning and preparing my application, so when I submitted the process was straightforward. But as I said, if your situation is complicated, you can get someone specialising in this matter to help you.
I hope this blog will help you understand more about a Work and Holiday visa and inspire you to visit Australia. Coming up, I will be sharing about my first year as a backpacker working in the most iconic gay resort in Far North Queensland and how I can get through Covid in the second year and the third year before settling in Australia.
Xoxo, have a gorgeous day 🌈❤️💛
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