First Working Holiday visa

• do short-term work in Australia to help pay for your holiday
• study for up to 4 months
• travel to and from Australia as many times as you want
• do 3 months of specified work to become eligible for a second Working Holiday visa

Work

You can do any kind of work on this visa.

Usually, you can only work for the same employer for 6 months.

If the main purpose of your stay is to work, consider a work visa. Explore visa options.

Study

You can study for up to 4 months (17 weeks).

If the main purpose of your stay is to study, consider a Student visa.

This is a temporary visa. You must enter Australia within 12 months of the date we grant it. We will not extend or defer this timeframe.

The visa's period of stay starts on the date you enter Australia. Once you have entered, you can:

• stay in Australia for up to 12 months
• leave and re-enter Australia as many times as you like in those 12 months

Note:

• If you have dual citizenship and hold more than one passport, you must enter Australia on the passport linked to your Working Holiday visa grant.
• You do not need to apply for another visa to enter Australia, such as an eVisitor (subclass 651) visa, once you have been granted your Working Holiday Visa.
• If you apply for and are granted another visa (such as subclass 651 visa) after the grant of your Working Holiday visa, your Working Holiday visa (and related work rights) will cease on the date that visa is granted.
• If your first Working Holiday visa ceased due to the grant of another visa, such as an eVisitor visa, and you entered Australia on that other visa, you will not be able to apply for another first Working Holiday visa while you are in Australia.

You have another visa

You must only apply for a Working Holiday visa once you are ready to enter Australia on that visa.

The Working Holiday visa period will start on the date you enter Australia, regardless of the reason for your visit. This applies even if we have also granted you an Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) (subclass 601).

For more information, see Before you travel.

You can't stay in Australia longer by extending this visa. If you want to stay in Australia longer, apply for another visa.

Explore your visa options to stay longer in Australia.

You could apply for a second Working Holiday visa if you are eligible.

Stay longer on a Visitor visa

The total time you will be permitted to stay on your first Working Holiday visa and then a Visitor visa is 12 consecutive months.

If you want to apply for a Visitor visa to stay longer in Australia and the Visitor visa would result in you staying longer than 12 consecutive months in Australia, you must show there are exceptional circumstances.

For this visa, exceptional circumstances might be that a close family member in Australia has died or is seriously ill and you are required to stay in Australia to provide assistance or support.

You cannot include family members in your application.

You cannot be accompanied by dependent children while you are in Australia on this visa.

AUD840.00

You might also have to pay for health checks, police certificates and biometrics.

You must be outside Australia when you apply for this visa and when we decide your application.

You must declare your current location correctly on your Working Holiday visa application form.

If you change location after you apply

We cannot grant your visa if you come onshore holding another visa, such as a Visitor visa. You must depart Australia for us to grant your Working Holiday visa.

For an indication of processing times for this visa, use the visa processing time guide tool. This will show the processing times for recently decided applications. It is a guide only and not specific to your application.

Your application might take longer to process if:

• you don't fill it in correctly
• you don't include all the documents we need or we need more information from you
• it takes us time to verify your information

You must comply with all visa conditions and Australian laws.

Learn more about conditions for this visa.

Tax

You must pay taxes when you work in Australia on this visa.

Superannuation

Australia has compulsory superannuation - a retirement savings scheme. Your employer must pay superannuation into your superannuation fund if you earn over a certain amount.

You can access your superannuation when you leave Australia.

We strongly recommend you take out health insurance to cover any unforeseen medical treatment you might need in Australia. You are personally liable for all your healthcare costs while you are in Australia. Insurance can help limit your financial liability.

See what we consider adequate health insurance.

Learn more about health insurance for overseas visitors.

Reciprocal healthcare agreements

Some countries have a reciprocal healthcare agreement with Australia. Find out more from Services Australia about reciprocal healthcare agreements.

You can travel outside Australia and return as many times as you want while the visa is in effect.

Time you spend outside Australia after your first entry does not extend the visa's 12-month period of stay in Australia.

We will digitally link your visa to your passport. You will not get a label in your passport.

You must be a citizen of and hold a valid passport from one of these countries/jurisdictions:

• Belgium
• Canada
• Republic of Cyprus
• Denmark
• Estonia
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China
• 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 (including British National Overseas passport holders)

At the time of application, you must be within the eligible age limit for your passport country:

• Belgium – 18 to 30 years
• Canada – 18 to 35 years
• Republic of Cyprus - 18 to 35 years
• Denmark - 18 to 35 years
• Estonia - 18 to 30 years
• Finland - 18 to 35 years
• France - 18 to 35 years
• Germany - 18 to 35 years
• Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China - 18 to 30 years
• Republic of Ireland - 18 to 35 years
• Italy - 18 to 35 years
• Japan - 18 to 30 years
• Republic of Korea - 18 to 35 years
• Malta - 18 to 30 years
• Netherlands - 18 to 30 years
• Norway - 18 to 30 years
• Sweden - 18 to 30 years
• Taiwan (other than an official or diplomatic passport) - 18 to 30 years
• The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (including British National Overseas passport holders) - 18 to 35 years

** You must apply for your visa before you turn 31 (or 36) years old in Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST)/Australian Eastern Daylight Savings Time (AEDST). The deadline to lodge an application is midnight AEST/AEDST the day before your 31st or 36th birthday. This time applies even if you are applying from outside Australia.

Note that AEST/AEDST will be different to when your birthday ends in your country due to time differences between countries.

*** Avoid submitting your application on your birthday, if possible.

We can still grant you the visa if you apply for it at 30 (or 35) but turn 31 (or 36) years old before we make a decision. You must still meet all other requirements.

You must not have previously entered Australia on a:

• Working Holiday visa (subclass 417)
• Work and Holiday visa (subclass 462)

You must have enough money to:

• support yourself while you are in Australia
• leave Australia at the end of your stay

This is usually about AUD5,000 for your initial stay, plus the fare to where you are going after leaving Australia.

You must meet our health requirement.

You must meet our character requirement.

If you or any family members (including those who don't apply for the visa with you) owe the Australian government money, you or they must have paid it back or arranged to pay it back.

We will consider your immigration history when we make a decision on your application, which means you might not be eligible for this visa if you have had a visa cancelled or refused.

In some circumstances you may still apply for a permanent visa if you have had a visa cancelled or an application refused see Limitations on applications in Australia.

If applying for a visa from outside Australia see Can I go to Australia.

If you want immigration assistance, see Who can help with your visa application.

You must acknowledge the Australian Values Statement that confirms you will respect the Australian way of life and obey Australian laws when you apply for the visa.

Before you travel

You must only apply for a Working Holiday visa once you are ready to enter Australia on that visa. Once we grant your Working Holiday visa, you can use the visa to enter Australia.

After we grant your Working Holiday Visa, you do not need to apply for another visa, such as an eVisitor (subclass 651), a Transit (subclass 771), or an Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) (subclass 601) visa to enter Australia.

If we grant you an eVisitor or Transit visa after your Working Holiday visa

If we grant you another visa (such as an eVisitor or Transit visa) after the grant of your Working Holiday visa, your Working Holiday visa (and related work rights) will cease as soon as we grant that other visa.

If your first Working Holiday visa ceased due to the grant of another visa, such as an eVisitor or Transit visa, and you entered Australia on that other visa, you will not be able to apply for another first Working Holiday visa while you are in Australia.

If we grant you an Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) (subclass 601) visa

If you enter Australia after the grant of your Working Holiday visa, the 12-month period of stay on your visa will automatically start on that day.

The Working Holiday visa period will start regardless of the purpose of your visit, even if:

• you just want to transit through Australia on your way to another country

or

• we have granted you an Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) (subclass 601) visa.

An ETA grant will not cease your Working Holiday visa.

An ETA cannot be in effect at the same time as your Working Holiday visa. When you enter Australia your Working Holiday visa will commence. Your ETA will come into effect after the Working Holiday visa ceases.

Check your travel documents are up to date

• Your Working Holiday visa will be linked to the passport you declared on your application. If you obtain a new passport after your visa is granted, you must tell us your new passport details. See how to tell us if your situation changes.
• If you do not update your passport details, you will face delays at your overseas departure point and may not be permitted to board your flight

You must:

• have a Working Holiday visa that is in effect to enter Australia. You do not need a separate visa to enter Australia. We recommend that you keep a copy of your grant letter (electronic or paper) while travelling
• hold a valid passport issued by a Working Holiday participant country
• be a national of the participant country
• enter Australia using the passport linked to your WHM visa grant. This applies even if you have dual citizenship and hold more than one valid passport.

At the border

Completing an Incoming Passenger Card

All people arriving in Australia must complete the Incoming Passenger Card. You will be given this card on board.

Leaving the airport faster

We have an automated process that uses facial recognition technology and your ePassport, if you have one. You may be able to leave the airport faster if you use SmartGate.

What you can do when you have this visa

• have a holiday
• do any kind of work
• study for up to 4 months
• travel to and from Australia as many times as you want
• become eligible to apply for a second Working Holiday visa.

Study

You can study for up to 4 months (17 weeks).

To see your study entitlements use VEVO.

Work

Usually, you can only work for the same employer for 6 months.

To see your work entitlements use VEVO.

You must pay taxes when you work.

You are protected by Australian workplace law. See information for migrant workers and your workplace rights and entitlements.

Superannuation

If you earn over a certain amount, your employer must pay superannuation into your superannuation fund. Australia has compulsory superannuation - a retirement savings scheme.

When you leave Australia, you can access your superannuation.

To see your conditions for work, use VEVO.

Travel

You can travel outside Australia and return as many times as you want while the visa is in effect.

Time spent outside Australia after the visa starts does not extend the visa.

How long you can stay

This is a temporary visa. You must enter Australia within 12 months of the date we grant it.

The visa starts on the date you enter Australia. Once you have entered and the visa stay period starts, you can:

• stay in Australia for up to 12 months
• leave and re-enter Australia as many times as you like in that 12 months

To see when you must leave, use VEVO.

Stay longer

You can't stay in Australia longer by extending this visa.

You must apply for a new visa if you want to stay longer.

You could apply for a second Working Holiday visa if you are eligible.

See your visa options.

What you must do on this visa

You must meet all visa conditions and obey Australian laws.

See your conditions in your visa grant letter or VEVO.

Prove you have a visa

To prove you have a visa and show your conditions to someone, use VEVO.

Request your international movement records to get proof of your travel in and out of Australia.

Tell us if things change

Things you need to let us know about include:

• changes to your passport
• changes to your relationship status
• the birth of a child

See how to tell us if your situation changes.

Before you leave

Check your travel documents.

You must have a valid passport or other travel document to leave Australia. See what to do if your visa has expired or is about to expire.

At the border

Departures SmartGate We have an automated process that uses facial recognition technology and your ePassport, if you have one. You may be able to leave the airport faster if you use SmartGate.

After you leave

Getting your superannuation

You are likely to have some money in a superannuation fund if you worked in Australia and you are:

• aged 18 years or older
• paid $450 or more before tax in a month

See how to access your super.

Proving you have been to Australia

Request your international movement records to get proof of your travel in and out of Australia.