If you're a young individual with a goal of going to Australia to holiday and work for a period of up to a year, then you will need to know the details and requirements involving the Working Holiday visa (subclass 417).
What is it?
The Working Holiday visa (subclass 417) is a temporary visa that is meant to encourage closer ties and cultural exchanges between Australia and eligible countries. As previously mentioned, it is a visa that young people can obtain so that they can work and holiday in Australia for up to a year.
What are the requirements?
To secure this type of visa, you will need to be at least 18 years of age, but not yet 31 years of age. You must not have a dependent child accompanying you at any time during your stay in Australia. And you must have a valid passport or other travel document from an eligible country (check the list of eligible countries at the Department of Immigration and Border Protection’s website).
If you plan to get a new passport, you need to do so before you apply for the visa. However, if you get a new passport after applying for the Working Holiday visa, you can provide your new passport's details to any of the offices of the Department of Immigration and Border Protection.
What can you do when you have this visa?
With the Working Holiday visa, you are allowed to stay in Australia for up to 12 months, work in Australia for up to six months with each employer, study for up to four months, and leave and re-enter Australia any number of times while the visa is valid.
What other qualifications should an applicant meet?
· You must not have previously entered Australia on a Work and Holiday (Temporary) visa (subclass 462)
· You must be a genuine visitor who wants to holiday in Australia
· You should have enough money to support yourself on a working holiday in Australia (about AUD 5,000)
· You should also have enough money to purchase a return or onward travel ticket at the end of the stay
· You must meet certain health and character requirements
· You must have health insurance since you will be responsible for all health costs during your stay
· You must have no, or must have arranged to repay, any outstanding debts to the Australian Government before the visa can be issued
How do you apply for the Working Holiday visa?
You need to prepare your documents to prove the claims you make in your visa application. A document checklist can be obtained from the Department’s website. Since some documents may take longer to secure than others, it's recommended that you complete them all and have them at hand before you make an application to reduce any delays in processing.
Next, you can apply for the visa application online (if you do not have any dependent children). Provide all the relevant documents and pay the visa application charge using a credit card.
Remember to provide an email address where the Department can communicate with you.
If you have dependent children, you can only submit a visa application by post or in person. If it is your first Working Holiday visa application, you can download a form from the Department's website and then lodge your application at one of the immigration offices outside Australia. The personnel in these offices will inform you of available modes of payment.
Once the application and required documents have been lodged, the Department will let you know that the details have been received, and you will then have to wait for the decision. Processing times for each applicant will vary, particularly if you require character or health checks (including x-rays), if you need to provide more information, or if your application is incomplete.
If the visa is granted, you will be informed of when you can use the visa, the visa grant number, and any conditions attached to the visa.
If, however, the application has been denied, the Department will get in touch with you to share why the visa was refused, your review rights (if any), and the time limit for lodging an appeal.