An Australian Working Holiday Visa: Guidelines For Getting One

Australia is a modern, culturally diverse and wealthy nation. It has a per capita income that is almost comparable with the United States and is blessed with an abundance of natural beauty and resources. Around 23 million people live in this continent, which truly doesn’t have any problems with population density considering its vast land area. The country boasts of a high life expectancy rate and has a surprisingly low infant mortality rate. It’s also noted for offering excellent social programs that include top-rate education,health care, work and investment opportunities. For those wishing to work and go on holiday here, all you need is to have an Australian working holiday visa.

To fully qualify for an Australian working holiday visa, you need to be around 18-30 years old, and should currently hold a passport from a country that has reciprocal arrangements with Australia. This document will allow you to help complement the expenses of your holiday, through secondary employment. However, if you wish be part of the country’s workforce then you should instead get a work visa for this purpose. The opportunity given by a working holiday visa will enable you to extend your stay for up to 24 months, and the application for this can be made offshore or in your home country.

This employment visa enables you to work in many of the country’s primary industries, which include fishing, tree farming, mining and construction as well as plant and animal cultivation. Once your working holiday visa expires, your application for a succeeding visa can be processed in Australia or offshore as well. Applicants for this special holiday and work visa need to belong to countries such as Canada, The United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Japan, Ireland, Malta, South Korea, Denmark, Germany, Norway, Sweden, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Republic of Cyprus, Finland, Italy, France and Estonia.

What You Need To Have Before Working: For those who get approved with a work and holiday visa, the first thing you need to have is a Tax File Number. You should be able to obtain this before you begin working, or else you’ll be taxed at the rate of 48.5 percent, which would cut a really large piece out of your salary. However, if you already have the TFN then you would expect to be levied a lower tax rate of 29 percent. In order to get this, you may go to the local taxation office, bring your passport and then fill up the application form. Your prospective employer here will also ask you to open a bank account, so that they could deposit your salary here, and the good thing is that opening an account in this country should basically be a straightforward and painless one. In getting a bank account, be sure to provide a valid ID as well as your address and proof of billing. Afterwards, you will then be issued a passbook or an ATM for easy access to your money. In addition, make sure you carry a mobile phone with you, to allow for making and receiving calls easily, especially when you’re job-hunting. Mobile phones are generally affordable here and you can get one for as low as A$100-150.

Those wishing to apply for an Australian working holiday visa may do this by going directly to the Australian High Commission Office, and completing an online application form. There are also private service providers who will help make the process a more simplified one for applicants. These firms give expert advice, provide the necessary forms, screen all your required documents, and help you oversee the proper application of your working holiday visa. The service fees and charges however vary with each company or travel firm.

Jo is a content writer for ‘Visas for Australia’ (http://www.visasforaustralia.co.uk), one of the world’s leading visa authority that handles Australian tourist visas, Australian business visas and Australian working holiday visas. If you are going to take a trip and request for an Australian Working Holiday Visa or if you want to go through the excitement and ecstasy of staying in or realizing your desire of travel Down Under then you should have a look at Visas for Australia.