NZ Working Holiday Visa

New Zealand has working holiday scheme agreements with many countries, allowing applicants to work in and explore New Zealand.

Overview

Length of stay 6 months – 23 months
Age Range 18 – 30 years
Processing Time 76 days
Costs $280

Eligible Countries

Working Holiday Visas are available to young people, usually aged 18 to 30, but 18 to 35 in a selected few country. The visa lets you travel and work in New Zealand for up to 12 months, or 23 months if you are from the UK or Canada. If you apply for a 23-month visa, you must provide a General Medical Certificate.

To be eligible, you must be a passport holder from one of the eligible countries:

Working Holiday Visa Schemes
Argentina
Austria
Belgium*
Brazil
Canada*
Chile
China
Croatia
Czech
Denmark*
Estonia
Finland*
France*
Germany*
Hungary
Hong Kong
Ireland*
Israel
Italy*
Japan*
Korea
Latvia
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malaysia
Malta
Mexico
Netherlands*
Norway*
Peru
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden*
Taiwan
Thailand
Turkey
United Kingdom*
USA*
Uruguay
Vietnam

Criteria

The Working Holiday Visa criteria differ between countries. For example, if you are from the UK or Canada, you may be eligible to stay longer than 12 months. Whilst applicants from China, Korea, Japan, USA, Spain etc are given 12 months on their Working Holiday Visa.

In addition, it is essential to remember that some countries have quotas on the Working Holiday Visa. For example, the quota for Spain is 200 per year and it is 1150 per year for Malaysia.

Therefore, it is important to check the criteria and quota before applying.

General Criteria

In general, the criteria for a Working Holiday Visa are

1

Copied
1

Meet health and character requirements

2

Copied
2

You must genuinely intend to meet the conditions of your visa

3

Copied
3

Must meet the age requirement

4

Copied
4

You must be a citizenship of the country

5

Copied
5

You must have a ticket to leave New Zealand or enough money to buy one

6

Copied
6

You must have enough money to live on while in New Zealand (this is dependent on the countries you are from and the duration of your stay. In general, you must have at least NZD 350 for each month of your stay)

7

Copied
7

You must not have had approval for a New Zealand Working Holiday Visa before

8

Copied
8

You must have full medical insurance for the length of your stay

Meet health and character requirements

You must genuinely intend to meet the conditions of your visa

Must meet the age requirement

You must be a citizenship of the country

You must have a ticket to leave New Zealand or enough money to buy one

You must have enough money to live on while in New Zealand (this is dependent on the countries you are from and the duration of your stay. In general, you must have at least NZD 350 for each month of your stay)

You must not have had approval for a New Zealand Working Holiday Visa before

You must have full medical insurance for the length of your stay

Mohamed Anas Sirajur Raheem

BA (Political Studies), LLB (VUW)

Mohamed is a New Zealand Immigration Consultant with VisaEnvoy and an enrolled Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand.

He is a former New Zealand Immigration Officer (Visa Services) and Border Officer at Auckland International Airport. He has several years of experience working in various Government Departments in New Zealand and has also worked as a Licensed Immigration Adviser at a prominent New Zealand Immigration firm.

His areas of expertise and interest are in the fields of General Skilled Migration, Temporary Work (Long and Short Stay), Business visas, Partner, Parent and Child Visa streams.

Mohamed was inspired to pursue a career in immigration by his own migration experiences. Over the years he has assisted individuals, families, large corporations, Professional sportspeople, and Entertainers (singers, speakers, and actors) to come to New Zealand.

Book appointment

Recent News

Green List and other immigration changes

Employing overseas chefs and median wage threshold

New Zealand’s International Border Reopening Plan

Claiming Points for your Age

Claiming Points for your Partners Recognised Qualifications

Claiming Points for Recognised Qualifications