An agreement has been signed between Australia and Hungary to enable the countries' youth to experience each other's culture through the Work and Holiday (sc 462) program.

Under the arrangement, 200 people who are at least 18 but not yet 31 years of age will be able to travel to each other’s country for one year and undertake short-term work and study under the Work and Holiday subclass 462 visa.

Similar agreements already exist with Argentina, Bangladesh, Chile, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, the United States, and Uruguay. At present, only passports holder from the USA can apply online.

At the signing ceremony earlier this week, the immigration minister, Mr Peter Dutton said that Australia will be working closely with our Hungarian counterparts to establish a mutually agreed start date for this arrangement as soon as possible. Similar agreements signed with Vietnam, Greece, Israel, and Papua New Guinea have stalled and not yet commenced.

The Work and Holiday visa (sc462) differs from a Working Holiday visa (sc417) as it requires applicants to have the support of their government, hold or be studying towards tertiary qualifications and to speak functional English

Currently, unlike the sc417 program, the sc462 program does not allow applicants to apply for a second year work and holiday visa. However, the DIBP has announced it is considering changes which will allow Work and Holiday (Subclass 462) visa holders to extend their stay in Australia by a further 12 months if they work for at least three months in agriculture or tourism in northern Australia

Together, both the programs grew by close to 16% last year with the grant of over 258,000 visas. DIBP is reportedly looking to expand the program further saying that the program significantly benefits the economy in general and is of particular importance to the hospitality and tourism sectors. DIBP is currently in the process of negotiating new and more liberalised program with new partner countries including Mexico, San Marino, the Czech Republic, Latvia, and Andorra.

The programs have been a popular stepping stone to the 457 visa and subsequently a permanent residence visa. Many skilled visa holders on this program with carefully prepared and planned migration pathways have successfully made the transition.