What is a Working Holiday?
A working holiday, or a gap year, is an overseas trip where you have the opportunity to travel, work and or study overseas. This type of travel can involve full-time, part-time or volunteer work.
Working holidays usually mean that you’ll be overseas for an extended period of time, and that you’ll possibly be earning some money. These two aspects of a working holiday are usually outside the realms of what a typical tourist visa allows, which is where the working holiday visa comes in.
Visas for working holidays encourage cultural exchange between countries, and have been set up to encourage this type of travel. They allow you to stay in a country from a few months, to up to two years, earning money to fund your travels, experience another culture, make new friends and beef up your resume!
A popular working holiday destination for Australians is the IEC Working Holiday visa program, which allows Aussies to work in Canada for up to two years with a Canada working visa.
And if you’re interested in working in New Zealand, you’ll be granted a visa on arrival (provided you meet their entry conditions), there’s no age restriction and you can work there indefinitely!
Each country will have their own specific eligibility criteria, with some requiring you to have adequate funds, meet health and character requirements, or have travel insurance to cover you should you become sick or are injured while overseas.
There are two types of working holiday visas available to Australians looking to work and travel overseas:
- Working Holiday visa
- Work and Holidays visa
A Working Holiday visa generally has less eligibility requirements than a Work and Holiday visa.
1) Working Holiday Visas for Australian Citizens
Working holiday visas are usually available to any Australian traveller who meets the eligibility requirements of the specific country.
Working Holiday Visa Requirements may include:
- Age limits for applicants e.g. between 18 and 35 years
- A return ticket, or enough funds for a return or onward ticket
- Enough funds for the first part of the holiday
- An Australian passport
- Health and character requirements
- No accompanying dependent children
You should check the current visa requirements for the country you plan to travel to. Links are provided in the table below.
The following countries offer working holidays to Australian travellers:
|
Country |
*Maximum visa duration |
*Link to website |
|
Belgium |
2 Years |
|
|
Canada |
2 years |
|
|
Cyprus |
12 months |
|
|
Denmark |
12 months |
|
|
Estonia |
12 months |
|
|
Finland |
12 months |
|
|
France |
12 months |
|
|
Germany |
12 months |
|
|
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China |
12 months |
|
|
Ireland |
12 months |
|
|
Italy |
12 months |
|
|
Japan |
12 months |
|
|
Republic of Korea |
12 months |
|
|
Malta |
12 months |
|
|
Netherlands |
12 months |
|
|
Norway |
2 years |
|
|
Sweden |
12 months |
|
|
Taiwan |
12 months |
|
|
United Kingdom |
2 years |
2. Work and Holiday Visas for Australians
Work and Holidays visas are available to tertiary-educated Australians and apart from the USA (which can be up to 5 years), are generally valid for 12 months.
Work and Holiday visa requirements may include:
- Age limits for applicants e.g. between 18-35 years
- Tertiary qualifications
- A Letter of support (which can be obtained for no charge from the Australian government)
- Sponsorship by a registered organisation
- A basic language test
- Health and character requirements
- No accompanying dependent children
- Not have previously been granted a Work and Holiday visa for the country
You should check the current visa requirements for the country you plan to travel to. Links are provided in the table below.
The following countries offer work and holiday visas to Australian travellers:
|
Country |
*Maximum visa duration |
*Link to website |
|
Argentina |
12 month |
|
|
Austria |
12 months |
|
|
Chile |
12 months |
|
|
Czech Republic |
12 months |
|
|
Ecuador |
12 months |
|
|
Greece |
12 months |
|
|
Hungary |
12 months |
|
|
Indonesia |
12 months |
|
|
Israel |
12 months |
|
|
Luxembourg |
12 months |
|
|
Malaysia |
12 months |
|
|
Peru |
12 months |
|
|
Poland |
12 months |
|
|
Portugal |
12 months |
|
|
San Marino |
12 months |
|
|
Singapore |
12 months |
|
|
Slovak Republic |
12 months |
|
|
Slovenia |
12 months |
|
|
Spain |
12 months |
|
|
Thailand |
12 months |
|
|
Turkey |
12 months |
|
|
Uruguay |
12 months |
|
|
United States of America |
5 years |
|
|
Vietnam |
12 months |
If you’re interested in going on a working holiday, *you should check out what you need to meet the specific country’s entry criteria including any travel insurance requirements, and do your research on what is available at that destination. Age restrictions do apply, so make sure you seize the visa and go on that working holiday soon!
* This information is correct at the time of writing. However you should not rely on this information: you should make your own checks and embassy enquiries to ensure that you meet the requirements for the particular destination.
Working Holiday FAQs
- How do you buy travel insurance for a 24 month working holiday?
- Why is travel insurance mandatory for your working holiday visa?
- What is the best travel insurance for an IEC working holiday?
- More...
Click Here to read the IEC Travel Insurance Guide, find answers to your questions or get an IEC Travel Insurance Quote.
- Who should get working holiday travel insurance?
- Why do you need working holiday travel insurance?
- What are the benefits of working holiday travel insurance?
- Can you tailor working holiday travel insurance to suit your type of trip?
- More...
Click Here to read the Working Holiday Travel Insurance Guide, find answers to your questions or get a Working Holiday Travel Insurance Quote.
Yes, you are covered for both your working and non-working hours.
Note:- You would NOT be covered under the Loss of Income Benefit or any loss which is recoverable by compensation for an overseas job.
Cover is subject to the policy terms, conditions, limits and exclusions in the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS).
Read more about working holiday travel insurance:As long as you meet the eligibility criteria detailed in our Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) to buy travel insurance from us, we can provide a policy for up to two years through extension of your policy.
Initially, we are only able to issue you with a 12-month policy. Then, from your policy start date, you can login to your policy on our website and extend it up to a further 12 months for an additional premium. The date changes are instantaneous and you'll be able to download your updated certificate immediately showing your new cover dates.
You can also contact us via phone on 1300 409 322 or reply to your policy confirmation email to arrange this extension.
For more information, refer to our Product Disclosure Statement (PDS).
Read more about travel insurance for the IEC program:Yep! As long as the country you’re travelling to is included in your current policy region (or in a lower region), you’re also covered to travel there within your policy dates.
For example, the Worldwide region covers Canada as well as the United States and Mexico. This means you could easily hop across the border for a break during your Canadian working holiday without the hassle of changing or updating your travel insurance policy.
The Worldwide region includes all the lower regions at no extra cost as well, in case you felt like stopping over in Thailand or Hong Kong on the way home, or even popping over to Europe!
Cover is subject to the policy terms, conditions, limits and exclusions in the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS).
Read more about working holiday travel insurance for the IEC:No, sorry. If you voluntarily choose to cancel your trip and return home early, we can’t provide a refund for the remaining time left on your policy.
If you’re not sure how long you want to stay overseas, it might be a better option for you to purchase a one-year policy initially and then extend it at a later date. However, you should keep in mind that if you enter Canada with a one-year policy, there is a chance you may only be issued with a one-year working holiday visa,
If you’re returning home early due to an unexpected illness, injury or other claimable event, you may wish to make a claim under your policy for related expenses.
Cover is subject to the policy terms, conditions, limits and exclusions in the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS).
Read more about working holiday travel insurance for the IEC:Cover is subject to the policy terms, conditions, limits and exclusions in the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS).
* See Product Disclosure Statement for full terms and conditions and exclusions and limits that apply. For travellers aged 80 and over, additional terms and conditions, limits and excesses apply.