If you want to do a work and travel in Australia, you need a working holiday visa (WHV). This allows you to live and work in Australia for up to 12 months — sounds great. In any case, take care of the application for the visa early, since the processing time can take a few weeks.In this post you will find out everything you need for a WHV and how you can easily apply for it yourself to avoid the costs of a visa service.

There are two different types of visas: the work-and-holiday visa (subclass 462) and the working-holiday-visa (subclass 417). The names can easily lead to confusion, so just remember your subclass. Depending on which country you live in or in which country you have a valid passport, you have to apply for the respective visa.

Work-and-Holiday-Visa | Subclass 462
Argentina, Bangladesh, Chile, China, Indonesia, Israel, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Austria, Peru, Poland, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Thailand, Czech Republic, Turkey, Hungary, Uruguay, USA and Vietnam (2019)

Working-Holiday-Visa | Subclass 417

Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Finland, France, Hong Kong, Republic of Ireland, Italy, Japan, Canada, Republic of Korea, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Taiwan, United Kingdom and Republic of Cyprus. (2019)

Current changes whether additional countries are added and more detailed information can generally be found on the website of the Department of Home Affairs.

Da ich in Deutschland lebe und dementsprechend mein Reisepass auch hier ausgestellt wurde, kann ich dir hier nur den Ablauf der Beantragung zu der Subclass 417 erklären. Allerdings sieht das die Prozedur der Subclass 462 ähnlich aus. 

Aufenthalt
Mit deinem WHV darfst du 12 Monate lang Australien bereisen. Die Zeit läuft sobald du am Flughafen deinen Einreise Stempel bekommen hast. Solange dein Visum gütig ist, darfst du beliebig oft das Land verlassen und wieder einreisen. 

Arbeitserlaubnis
In diesen 12 Monaten kannst du dich für verschiedene Arbeitsverhältnisse bewerben: Vollzeit, Teilzeit, Aushilfe, Freiwilligendienste und was es sonst noch alles gibt. In den meisten Jobbeschreibungen steht auch oft ausdrücklich drin, dass Personen mit einem WHV gesucht werden. 

Achtung: Du darfst in den meisten Fällen nur maximal 6 Monate für einen Arbeitgeber arbeiten. Die Ausnahme gilt bei landwirtschaftlichen Betrieben, wenn du den Arbeitsort nach 6 Monaten wechselst oder in einigen bestimmten Branchen im Norden von Australien. Kläre das vor dem Antritt deiner Arbeit auf jeden Fall mit deinem Arbeitgeber ab!

In order to receive a WHV, you obviously have to fulfill conditions.

• you must be between 18 and 30 years old (Canadians, French and Irish 18 to 35 years old)
• your citizenship belongs to one of the approved countries
• you have a country passport valid for the time
• you can show that you have sufficient funds for your stay (at least 5.000 AUD). All you need is an account statement with your name, bank stamp and the amount that is not older than four weeks. Since I did not have these funds at the time (my money was slowly running out in Asia), I was also able to provide proof of my dad’s account.
• many guides tell you that you need a valid return flight ticket. However, if you have sufficient financial funds, this is not a must and you can plan your departure flexibly.
• your name should not be in the criminal record
• if you suffer from illnesses, the visa can only be applied under certain conditions / after consultation with the Australian Embassy (including: tuberculosis, blood disorders, cancer, hepatitis B / C, HIV positive, kidney and liver diseases, mental and respiratory disorders and heart disease.
  I was not in my home country but traveling in Asia more than three months in a row before applying, so I also had to do a health examination. You also have to do this if you want to work with schoolchildren,students, needy or the disabled people.

The mandatory health check-up can generally be done in every country and is in any case chargeable. If you are unsure of where you can have an exam done abroad, it is best to contact the largest medical centers / clinics in the country. I had my health examination done in Manila (Philippines).
After you have been assigned a number, your identity will first be sufficiently checked with your passport. Fingerprints are taken, biometric photos are taken and you have to answer a short interview why you have to do your health check.
Then you get a sexy green coat. X-rays, blood, urine, chair tests, an interview about existing diseases in the family […]. Just follow the instructions and get all signatures on your test card after each examination. You hand in this test card at the end of reception and the clinic will automatically send the results to the Australian Embassy for you after a few days. Easy

Unfortunately, spontaneous work and travel in Australia is not possible. You should allow enough time when applying for a visa. The Australian Embassy speaks of a processing time of 12 days for 75% of applications and 35 days for 90% of applications. As we know, there can always be delays with authorities, or you have to submit some documents or just carry out the above-mentioned health check.

Good to know: You can apply for your visa a maximum of 12 months before entry. Once the visa has been approved, you have to enter the country within 12 months. The visa is valid as soon as you have entered Australia and have your stamp in your passport.

Cost: Meanwhile you have to pay 485 AUD for the visa (Healt Examination not included!)

You can only apply for the visa ONLINE. On the website www.border.gov.au/immiaccount you have to create a so-called Immi Account and apply for the visa. All you need is your personal data (name, address, date of birth, etc.), your own password and three security questions that you have to determine.

After you have created your account you will find a variety of possible applications at the menu item “new application” — at the bottom: Work & Holiday
Pay attention to your subclass again when making your selection!
Then you have to agree to the terms and conditions and then the real fun starts. It takes around 20 to 30 minutes. Simply go through each question step by step and answer everything truthfully.

For example, I did not know at the time that I had to do a health examination and, of course, I clicked no when they asked whether I should have done one. After the application I received the information to do an health examination.

You can’t do anything wrong while applying, because you can answer every question. Personal information, passport details, questions about criminal involvement, etc.

Important: At the end, all your answers will be listed again. Go through them again, so that you have entered everything correctly. Then you will be redirected to the payment methods. To pay the costs you definitely need a credit card!

And that’s it. Now all you have to do is waiting. You can always track the status of your application in your Immi Account. There you will also find the information if you still need to submit documents. In addition, you will always be notified by email.

There is always the possibility to apply for a second working holiday visa. So you can then spend another 12 months in Australia. For applying you must have already used the first visa and have worked in certain jobs in Australia (e.g. farm work) for at least three months. Once you’ve worked in a job that contains the criteria for the second visa, you can apply for the second visa.

After a few weeks you will finally have your working holiday visa — your work permit for Australia! Here are tips for finding a job and what preparations are important.

Lots of Love ♥