WORKING HOLIDAY VISA 417

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What are the main requirements to apply for this visa?

• Passport: Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, (South) Korea, Japan, Malta, Norway, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Sweden, Taiwan. You must be a citizen of one of these countries to be able to apply for a Working Holiday visa 417.

• Age: 18-30 years (or 18-35, depending on your Country of passport). The visa can be requested by people who have already turned 30 (or 35) but not yet 31 (or 36).

• Funds: You need to prove that you have enough money to support yourself initially, and the estimated amount is around $ 5,000.

• Not to be accompanied by partners and/or children: the Working Holiday is a 'single' visa. If you have a partner, you will need to apply for two separate visas; if you have a dependent/ minor child, you will need to explore other visa solutions.

• Location: You must be outside Australia to apply for your first WH.

How can I apply for the Working Holiday visa?

You can apply for it through the website of the Australian Department of Immigration (Home Affairs). More info here.

To start the application process, you must create an 'ImmiAccount' where you can prepare and submit your application.

Along with your application, you must attach your passport and a bank statement that demonstrates you have access to at least $5,000.

Approval times for the Working Holiday visa can vary, but the first one is usually approved relatively quickly. However, in some cases, immigration may require additional documentation such as a health examination before making a decision on the visa.

The visa has been approved: what’s the next step?

From the date of approval, you have one year to travel to Australia and activate your visa. From the moment of its activation, the visa will be valid for 12 months.

Example:  approval date is 01/10/2022. From this date you will have one year, until 01/10/2023, to enter Australia and activate it.

Date of arrival in Australia: 01/01/2023. The visa will be valid for 12 months, until 01/01/2024.

What are the benefits of the Working Holiday visa?

• Work: you can work full-time, and in any sector you want! However, unless exceptions apply, you will not be able to work for more than 6 months with the same employer.

  To renew the visa, you must complete works in specific sectors and areas of Australia (see paragraph 'Working Holiday visa renewal').

• Study: You can study for up to 4 months (17 weeks). This is great, for example, if you don't speak English and want to enrol in a language course: you can study with qualified mother tongue teachers and make new friends!

• Travel: with a Working Holiday visa you can travel around Australia and discover the wonders of the country. Sydney, Melbourne or Perth, you choose where to live your Australian experience!

Working Holiday visa renewal: how does it work?

The Working Holiday visa allows you to stay in Australia for a period of 12 months. It is possible to extend your stay by obtaining a second and a third visa, but this requires completing specific work in rural or remote areas of Australia.

Sectors

The eligible industries to renew the visa are: agricultural, plants and animal cultivation activities (the famous ‘Australian farms’), fishing, mining, construction, tree farming and felling. From June 2021 it is possible to renew the visa by working in the hospitality and tourism sectors in Northern Australia and in very remote areas.

Furthermore:

- from July 2019, works carried out in the areas affected by fires, to facilitate the reconstruction of these areas, are considered useful for the purpose of renewing the visa.

-from January 2020, works carried out in the medical-health sector to face the Covid-19 emergency are considered useful for the purpose of renewing the visa.

- from January 2022, works carried out in the areas affected by floods, to facilitate the reconstruction of these areas, are considered useful for the purpose of renewing the visa

Postal codes

To renew the visa, it is necessary to carry out these specific jobs in rural and / or remote areas of Australia (and / or in areas affected by fires or floods).

It is a good idea to always check the postal code of the relevant area, to make sure it falls within the valid codes.

Find the list of codes here

Duration

• To renew the visa and apply for the second Working Holiday, it is necessary to work for at least 3 months (or 88 calendar days) during the first year of the working holiday.

• To renew the visa and apply for the third Working Holiday, you must work for at least 6 months (or 179 calendar days), during the second year of the working holiday (or during the 'bridging visa' period between the first and second WH)

How to count the days

To complete your 88 or 179 days, you can:

- Work 5 days a week for a continuous period of 3 months (or 6 months). Example: July / August / September (3 continuous months)

- Work less than 5 days a week, for a period exceeding 3 months (or 6 months), thus accumulating 88 days (or 179)

- Work for a series of periods (part-time / full-time) which add up to 3 months (or 6 months).

How to calculate a work day?

A working day is calculated on a full-time basis and the duration may vary depending on the sector (e.g. agriculture) and its 'industry award'. Usually, however, a full work day is approximately 7/8 hours.

• If you work 5 full days a week, it is generally possible to calculate the whole week (= 7 days)

• If you work 21 hours in a week and a standard work day is 7 hours, the calculation would be: 21 hours ÷ 7 hours (per work day) = 3 work days for that week.

Note: if a standard work day, in your sector, is equivalent to 6 hours but you work 12 hours per day, the 12 hours will still be counted as one day and not two.

 The calculation is simpler when you work 'by the hour'; different, and more complicated, is the 'bin' or 'piece rate' work, that is, based on the amount the employee has picked, packed, pruned, or made.

In this case, it will be particularly important to consider the weekly pay you have received and whether it meets the minimum (hourly) wage set by the reference industry.

Example: The minimum wage in Australia is $882.80 per week, calculated based on the minimum hourly wage of $23.23 for an 8-hour workday for 5 days.

• If an employee receives a pay-check of $900 or more, it is considered a valid full-week's pay.

• If the paycheck is lower than the minimum wage, to determine the number of valid working days, a proportional calculation must be made.

For example, a pay-check of $380 per week is equivalent to 16.35 hours of work ($380 divided by the minimum hourly wage of $23.23). 16.35 hours, if a standard workday is 8 hours, is equivalent to 2 working days.

Warning: In the given example, if the payslip is $380 for more than 16.35 hours of work, it indicates that the worker was paid less than the minimum wage. For instance, if the worker has been paid $380 and worked 26 hours, the calculation would be $380 divided by 26 hours, which equals to $14.61 per hour, below the minimum wage of $23.23.

Working below the minimum wage may lead to the refusal of the application for the renewal of the visa.

Tip: always ask for a written contract before starting work, which should contain all the fundamental details including the industry award. Having a contract is particularly important if you have worked on a piece rate basis, to facilitate the correct calculation of your working days.

I completed my specified work days: how to renew the visa?

Once you meet the specified works requirement, you can apply for a second (or third) Working Holiday visa.

You need to attach to your application all the payslips, bank statements, the employment contract (if any) and your passport.

Important: to renew the visa it is necessary to be within the age limit (18-30 or 18-35). If you complete your specified work days but you are already 31 years old (or 36) you will not be able to proceed with the renewal.

You can renew your visa from both inside or outside Australia.

• Onshore: If you are in Australia, the second (or third) year will start from the end of the first WH (or second) visa. Any period in bridging visa waiting for a decision on your visa application, will be counted towards the visa itself.

  Example: 1st Working Holiday valid until 01/03/2023.

  If you renew from within Australia, once your visa has expired you go on a 'bridging visa' until your 2nd WH is decided. The visa is then approved on 1/06/2023: its 12 months will not start from this date but from 02/03/2023, i.e. from the day after the expiry of the previous working holiday.

• Offshore: if you are applying for a visa renewal from outside Australia, the same rule as for the first WH applies. You have 12 months to enter Australia and, once here, the 12 months of effective validity of the visa will begin.
  

Working in Australia: useful information

To work in Australia, you need a Tax File Number (TFN), a unique identification number.

If you want to work as self-employed, you also need an ABN (Australian Business Number).

Taxation: Since January 2017, Working Holiday visa holders are taxed 15% from the first dollar earned, up to $ 45,000. From $ 45001 to $ 120,000, the taxation will be 32.5% and so on, following a threshold system.

Superannuation: i.e. the pension fund. Once the visa has expired and you left the country, it will be possible to redeem your superannuation; however it will be taxed at 65%.

Visit our guide “Moving to Australia: easy guide” to find out more about TFN, ABN, Superannuation and much more.

FAQ

- I applied for the WH visa but in the meantime, I turned 31 (or 36): what will happen?

If you turn 31 (or 36) while waiting for a decision on your visa, the visa can still be approved (and then you can enter the country and benefit from your year in WH). What matters is that you apply before turning 31 (or 36)

- I don't have a bank account and / or I don't have access to $ 5000: what can I do?

You can attach to your application the bank statement of a family member. In this case, we suggest you also attach an identification document and a short declaration, in English, where you explain the relationship with the person and declare that s/he is supporting you.

- I have received a request for further information: what should I do?

If immigration needs further information and documents, you are required to submit them (according to the procedure and timing that will be provided to you), otherwise the visa might be refused.

- Immigration requires medical examinations: why?

Immigration has the right to request whatever it deems necessary to decide on a visa. The most common reasons for requesting medical examinations are having declared health problems or having visited countries deemed 'at risk' from a health point of view.

- Is it mandatory to do specific work in the Australian regional areas?

If you do not want to renew your working holiday visa (or if you have exceeded the maximum age for renewal) you do not have to do these jobs.

 - I have not completed 88 days (or 179): what can I do to renew my visa?

Completing 88 days (or 179) is a requirement for the renewal.

We advise you not to 'try the trick' (immigration does its checks!) and to look for other visa solutions to stay in Australia.

- Can I stay after my visa expires?

No. The visa expiration date must be respected, or you immediately become unlawful.

There are no 'grace periods': for example, if your visa expires on 31/3/2023, from 1/4/2023 you will be in Australia illegally. If you stay without a valid visa for more than 28 days, you also risk a ban from Australia for 3 years.

- I heard about the bridging visa E to stay in Australia longer: how does it work?

To apply for a BVE you must be unlawfully in Australia; the BVE, once granted, will allow you to stay in Australia temporarily until, for example, you have done what is necessary to leave the country. 

The BVE DOES NOT cancel your previous unlawful status, which will remain in your background as a stain. Also, if you want to stay in Australia longer and you hold a BVE, your visa options will be severely limited.

If your visa is about to expire, we advise you to apply for a new visa BEFORE the current one expires and not to resort to a BVE afterwards.