Working Holiday Australia

The Working Holiday Maker (WHM) is a program promoted by the Australian government, which facilitates cultural exchange between young people from various countries around the world and the Aussie population.

It covers two classes of visa, the Working Holiday (subclass 417 visa) and the Work and Holiday (subclass 462 visa). The latter being the one that allows citizens of some Spanish-speaking countries to live for 12 months, work and study for a short period with the possibility of extending said visa for the second and third consecutive time, fulfilling certain conditions respectively.

List of countries that can apply for the Work and Holiday visa:

• Argentina (3400 visas)
• Chile (3400 visas)
• Ecuador (100 visas)
• Spain (3400 visas)
• United States of America (Unlimited visas)
• Peru (1500 visas)
• Uruguay (200 visas)

Check the complete list here

A Work and Holiday visa is the perfect way for you to discover Australia, while improving your English and financing your stay or study expenses with a paid job. To apply you must meet the following requirements:

• Have a valid passport from one of the aforementioned countries
• Be between 18 and 30 years old at the time of applying
• Have a diploma or professional degree from a university or higher institute, or have completed 2 years of undergraduate university studies.
• Demonstrate a functional level of English through certification of an international exam such as IELTS (minimum 4.5 pts), TOEFL (minimum 32 pts), CAE (minimum 147 pts), among others.
• Have a letter of support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the Foreign Ministry of your country (only applies to Ecuador, Peru and Uruguay)
• Demonstrate economic funds of at least AUD$5000 for your first year of stay and an air ticket to leave Australia or the money to buy it at the end of your trip (do not buy your flight tickets before you have the visa)
• Depending on your nationality, they may request medical examinations (you will not have them done until the Australian authorities ask you to)

Please note that the number of openings is limited and applications are open each year from July 1 to June 30 or until all visas are gone, whichever comes first. Check if apps are open here.

Remember that your first Work and Holiday only allows you to work for 6 months with the same employer and then you will have to look for a new one (if you want to work for more than 6 months for the same employer, check the following conditions).

In addition, you can only study for a maximum of 4 months, so some of your options could be to take an English course, a VET (Vocational Education Training) course or, failing that, a combination of both known as a Gap Year. If you want to review study options in Australia click here.

Now that you have everything clear, you must create an account in InmiAccount (official website) and pay the fee of AUD$495 for the cost of the visa. Processing times until receiving an official response range from 1 day to 7 months according to the official website of the Australian government.

When the Work and Holiday is approved, you will receive a letter indicating the date on which your visa enters into force, from that day you have 12 months to travel to Australia. Once you enter, the 12 months will begin to run so that you can live in the land of kangaroos, you can study part-time and work full-time if you wish.

Do not forget that you will be able to travel throughout the country, in addition to leaving and entering it as many times as you want while the visa is valid.

Do not hesitate and start your next adventure in Australia!

If you want personalized advice, about this or another international program, or help with the visa process, you can schedule your appointment here.