Working Holiday Visa is a permit to enter New Zealand with the opportunity to stay, travel and work or study with an unlimited number of entering and exiting the country. This visa is specially made for travelers to whom it gives an opportunity to make some extra money for their trip. It is potentially also a kind of sublevel to get the more difficult to obtain a working visa.
Note: Each country has a different agreement with New Zealand Immigration department which provides the different condition to people which depends on a contract.
These visas are available just for young people, usually aged 18-30 or 18-35 in a select few countries. As was said, they let you travel and work in New Zealand for up to 12 months, or 23 months if you’re from the UK or Canada. You need to have a return ticket or enough money to pay for one and becoming mainly to the holiday, with work being a secondary intention.
Main conditions to get the visa:
- Apply online
- Good health condition
- Citizenship of the concerned country
- Clean criminal records
- Minimum age 18 years old
There is a huge interest in getting this visa because they are very favorable and useful. Therefore there are limited spaces for people from some countries. This capacity is different for each country. Check yours below:
Europian countries
Country | Next visa opens | Capacity (people/year) | Maximum stay (months) | Age range (age) | Visa price (NZD) | Method | Time of process | Required money (per person) |
Austria | 2019 | 100 | 6 | 18 - 30 | $ 245 | Online | 22 days | 2250 NZD |
Belgium | Open all the time | Unlimited | 12 | 18 - 30 | $ 245 | Online | 22 days | 4200 NZD |
Croatia | 16.8.2019 10:00 NZT | 100 | 12 | 18 - 30 | $ 245 | Online | 22 days | 4200 NZD |
Czech Republic | 2019 | 1200 | 12 | 18 - 35 | $ 245 | Online | 22 days | 4200 NZD |
Denmark | Open all the time | Unlimited | 12 | 18 - 30 | $ 245 | Online | 22 days | 4200 NZD |
Estonia | 2019 | 100 | 12 | 18 - 30 | $ 245 | Online | 22 days | 4200 NZD |
Finland | Open all the time | Unlimited | 12 | 18 - 35 | $ 0 | Online | 22 days | 4200 NZD |
France | Open all the time | Unlimited | 12 | 18 - 30 | $ 245 | Online | 22 days | 4200 NZD |
Germany | Open all the time | Unlimited | 12 | 18 - 30 | $ 245 | Online | 22 days | 4200 NZD |
Great Britain | Open all the time | Unlimited | 12 or 23 | 18 - 30 | $ 245 | Online | 22 days | 350 NZD |
Hungary | 2019 | 100 | 12 | 18 - 35 | $ 245 | Online | 22 days | 4200 NZD |
Ireland | Open all the time | Unlimited | 12 | 18 - 30 | $ 245 | Online | 22 days | 4200 NZD |
Italy | Open all the time | Unlimited | 12 | 18 - 30 | $ 245 | Online | 22 days | 4200 NZD |
Latvia | 2019 | 100 | 12 | 18 - 30 | $ 245 | Online | 22 days | 4200 NZD |
Lithuania | 2019 | 100 | 12 | 18 - 30 | $ 245 | Online | 22 days | 4200 NZD |
Luxembourg | Currently open | 50 | 12 | 18 - 30 | $ 245 | Online | 22 days | 4200 NZD |
Malta | 2019 | 50 | 12 | 18 - 30 | $ 245 | Online | 22 days | 4200 NZD |
Netherlands | Open all the time | Unlimited | 12 | 18 - 30 | $ 245 | Online | 22 days | 4200 NZD |
Norway | Open all the time | Unlimited | 12 | 18 - 30 | $ 245 | Online | 22 days | 4200 NZD |
Portugal | 2019 | 50 | 12 | 18 - 30 | $ 245 | Online | 22 days | 4200 NZD |
Poland | 2019 | 100 | 12 | 18 - 30 | $ 245 | Online | 22 days | 4200 NZD |
Slovakia | 2019 | 100 | 12 | 18 - 35 | $ 245 | Online | 22 days | 4200 NZD |
Slovenia | 2019 | 100 | 12 | 18 - 35 | $ 245 | Online | 22 days | 4200 NZD |
Sweden | Open all the time | Unlimited | 12 | 18 - 30 | $ 245 | Online | 22 days | 4200 NZD |
Is this not enough for you? Find more info at New Zealand Immigration website or check the Visa fees calculator.
Arrival conditions
- Fill in the arrival card (you will get it in the plane or at the airport after the landing) – fill all your personal data + information about your luggage
- Return fly ticket or flight ticket away from New Zealand (or enough money to buy one)
- Travel insurance for the whole time of your visit
- Passport
- Working holiday or another visa allowing you to enter the country
Conditions of stay in New Zealand
- You can work as long as your maximum stay of Working Holiday visa is but you can’t get a permanent job or work with the same employer for more than 3 months.
- You can also study for a maximum of 6 mounts.
- You can not carry a baby with you and if you want to travel with a friend or partner he has to apply for his own visa.
- You can enter and leave the country as many times as you want just need to watch the expiry date of the visa to which you must definitely leave the country or apply for extending.
How to boost the chance to get Working Holiday Visa
If you are a citizen of a country with an unlimited capacity for visas than you’re lucky. The only thing you need to do is to meet the conditions and apply.
But there are also many countries with a very limited number of participants per year and some of them can be full in a few hours or even minutes. If you want to be sure you will succeed with your application then it’s important to be ready.
You can make an account at the immigration website in advance to save time. Then in the day of opening the visa applications just log in. Be ready in the comfort your home or at a place where you won’t have to leave soon because it can take some time and wait for the website to open. Don’t forget that the presented time of opening is from the New Zealand time zone which differs from yours so make sure to take that into account.
Most important is having a good and stable internet connection. Websites can be overloaded in the time of application opening so it can take some time to upload. Be patient and ready to fill the form as soon as possible.
What you need for fill the applycation form
- Passport – check the expiration of your passport it should be valid during the time of your visit and more.
- Second identity document – ID card etc. Don’t forget to check the expiration too
- Credit or debit card with enough money to pay the visa fee 2018 NZD and make sure to activate online payment in advance. Use a credit card which you are sure that works. If you are not sure you can try to buy something small on the internet to make sure everything works or prepare another one in case it doesn’t
- Computer – make sure your computer is fully charged or you have the charger with you. You can also prepare more computers or try to log in on your mobile phone or tablet as well. You can also ask your friends for help.
- Be signed up and ready to apply
To get the visa you should be between first ones who finished the application form. There is one good advice on how to be as quick as possible. You can read all the information in advance and not waste your time later. While reading, you can also learn what kind of question is where so you will be ready to fill them quickly. How to do that? Choose one of the countries with an unlimited capacity(you can find them in the table above) at the immigration website and just train filling out the form. These countries have their forms open all the time so they don’t need to rush the way you do when you train. Be careful and don’t use your personal data during your training and of course, don’t go to payment. After reading the former you will know exactly what kind of personal data you will need so you can also have them prepared written in Microsoft Word or somewhere else to just copy and paste to avoid mistakes and pressure in a stressful situation.
Are you ready?
OK. It’s time to wait. When the time is coming close, log into the system and wait till the time comes. An “APPLY” but will show up. Click it and start the filling-in.
Don’t lose your mind if it’s not working for a while. There’s probably a big number of people trying to log in the same so the system can be overloaded. Be patient, wait and click and wait again. If you finish the payment at the end of your form there is a big possibility you got it. You just need to wait a few days for an answer but if you meet all the conditions you will probably get it. Sometimes, you may also be asked to send the medical check so be ready to provide it as soon as possible.
You should get information about results in your email but you can also check your account on the website.
If you succeed than read the article I got Working Holiday Visa which will give advice on what to do next. If you were unlucky this year there is an article for you too. Read I didn’t get Working holiday visa with more advice on what to do.