Thursday 9 April 2015

A One Year Working Holiday in New Zealand

New Zealand (NZ), despite being a small island country in one corner of the world, has much to offer; then be it for making a living or enjoying life. For nature and adventure lovers New Zealand is a heaven. Beautiful landscapes, adventure activities like skydiving, bungee jumping, surfing etc., rich culture all make New Zealand a magnet for tourists from across the world. On top of that, with its Working Holiday scheme NZ government lets visitors work in the country to earn a living as they travel across the length and breadth of the country.


New Zealand’s population is just over 4 million, which naturally makes it more welcoming towards immigrants who want to work here; whether temporarily or on permanent basis. New Zealand has tie ups with a number of countries and allows their citizens to come in New Zealand and work here through an easy visa scheme – Working Holiday Visa. The Working Holiday scheme was introduced as an effort for more cultural exchange between New Zealand and a number of other selected countries.

The Working Holiday Visa is only for citizens, of eligible countries, who are between 18 and 30 years of age. The list of eligible countries can be found here. Apart from these basic requirements, you need to meet certain health and character requirements in order to have your Working Holiday visa approved. Additionally, if you have even been granted this visa in the past, then you cannot apply for it, since it is only granted once. Also, you might have to meet some additional requirements based on your country of origin.

The Working Holiday visa remains valid for a period of 12 months; however, for citizens of Austria, Malaysia and Singapore it is 6 months. Additionally, for British citizens there are two different Working Holiday visas; one remains valid for 12 months, while the other for 23 months. To prove that you don’t intend to stay in New Zealand for more than the legally allowed period, you are required to show your return travel tickets to New Zealand immigration authorities while applying for the visa.

Under the Working Holiday scheme, you can undertake temporary jobs to supplement your holiday funds while you travel around New Zealand. However, while applying for this visa you need to prove that you also have sufficient funds to support your initial stay in New Zealand. The minimum fund requirement is different for different countries. In addition, on your Working Holiday visa you cannot bring your family members to New Zealand.

The Working Holiday visa was introduced to allow citizens of selected countries to have an enjoyable stay in New Zealand. This visa gives you complete freedom to travel around New Zealand for an year, while allowing you to work as well to manage your travel expenses. However, it is totally up to you whether you want to work in NZ or not. If you have sufficient funds for your intended stay then you can simply travel and explore more of this beautiful country.

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