Australian Immigration Daily News

More overseas nationals are enjoying the expansion of the working holiday visa programme.  Over the last month a number of changes took place to allow more individuals to migrate to Australia under the working holiday visa scheme as well as increase of cut off age for certain nationals.

Subclass 417 Woking Holiday and Subclass 462 Work and Holiday Visas are designed to allow people 18 to 30 years old (inclusive) - except for Canadian and Irish citizens up to 35 (inclusive) - have their first extended holiday in Australia and work here to help fund their trip.

As the programme continues to expand, several legislative instruments were introduced to streamline the process.

Streamlined Lodgement 462 visa:

Online lodgement has been expanded to additional countries for applicants applying for their first Class US (Work and Holiday) (Temporary) visa. Existing countries under this arrangement are Spain, Argentina, Uruguay, Slovakia and the United States of America. The new countries under this arrangement now are Austria, Chile, Czech Republic, Hungary, the State of Israel, Luxembourg, Peru, Poland, Portugal, San Marino and Slovenia. Online lodgement for applicants from these countries is mandatory, unless the applicant has been sent an email authorising the applicant to make an application in a different place or manner.

Increase in age cut off

Irish and Canadian Nationals can now apply for their first working holiday visa up to 35 (inclusive years of age).  It is anticipated as the working holiday programme continues to expand, further countries will be added to the list. 

 A working holiday eligible passport must be held by a person seeking to meet the criteria for a Subclass 417 (Working Holiday) visa.  For most countries which are currently eligible to participate in the programme the age limit remains 30.

The change is in response to the Government’s announcement in September 2016 of a Working Holiday Maker reform package. The reform package included a measure to expand the eligibility age for Subclass 417 (Working Holiday) visa and Subclass 462 (Work and Holiday) visa applicants from 18-30 years to 18-35 years to improve the supply of Working Holiday Makers in Australia.

Full press statement can be found here: http://sjm.ministers.treasury.gov.au/media-release/104-2016/

Expansion of Regional Areas

Australian government expanded approved posts codes for the purpose of applying for a second work and holiday visa subclass 462.  Additional areas of Australia represented by their postcodes for New South Wales, Norfolk Island, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia and Tasmania have been included as of November and applicants are strongly encouraged to visit the Home Affairs website to familiarise with the new arrangements. Work carried out in these additional areas must only be for the additional kinds of work. The additional kinds of work are for plant and animal cultivation including:

• harvesting and/or packing of fruit and vegetable crops;
• pruning and trimming vines and trees;
• general maintenance crop work;
• cultivating or propagating plants, fungi or their products or parts;
• immediate processing of plant products;
• maintaining animals for the purpose of selling them or their bodily produce, including natural increase;
• immediate processing of animal products including shearing, butchery, packing and tanning;
• manufacturing dairy produce from raw material.

 Migration Alliance will continue to bring you further updates as they become available.