We have discussed Working Holiday and Work and Holiday visas in some of our earlier blog posts. A question we often get is people asking us what the difference is between the two different types of visas. Many people get confused and often use these names interchangeably and assume both to mean the same thing.
Well the good news is, that despite the two slightly different names, both the 417 Working Holiday Visa and the 462 Work and Holiday visa have pretty much the same goal in mind. To give young people between the ages of 18 and 30, a chance to visit and enjoy Australia by allowing them to both live and work here for a year. This period can then be extended by one more year if they have undertaken work in specific roles in regional Australia.
Although both visas are designed for essentially the same thing, there are certain differences that applicants should be aware of. The biggest difference is the country of passport requirement, which is different for both visas.
Working Holiday 417 visa is intended for the citizens of;
- Belgium
- Canada
- Denmark
- Finland
- France
- Italy
- Norway
- Sweden
- The Netherlands
- Ireland
- UK
- Estonia
- Germany
- Japan
- Malta
- Hong Kong
- South Korea
- Cyprus
- Taiwan
The Work and Holiday 462 visa is available to citizens of
- Argentina
- Bangladesh
- Chile
- China
- Ecuador
- Hungary
- Indonesia
- Israel
- Thailand
- Luxembourg
- Malaysia
- Poland
- Portugal
- Turkey
- San Marino
- Slovak Republic
- Slovenia
- Spain
- USA
- Uruguay
Other differences include additional English language and education requirements for the Work and Holiday 462 visa, while no education and English language restrictions exist for the 417 Working Holiday visa. Also, applicants for the Work and Holiday 462 visa must provide a letter of support from their government of origin unless they are from China, USA or Israel.
Not everything is different however and there a quite a few similarities as well. The biggest parallel is that both the 417 Working Holiday Visa and the 462 Work and Holiday visa must be applied for outside of Australia and are granted for a period of one year. This one-year period can be extended by an additional year if the applicant works in regional Australia for a period of 88 days (three months) before the end of their first year.
Although the extension of the one-year period has been allowed for the 417 Working Holiday Visa for quite a while, the Department of Immigration and Border Protection has recently allowed applicants for the 462 Work and Holiday visa who have worked the required 3 months in Northern Australia after November 18th 2016, to apply for their second year visa extension.
This levels the playing field in that both the Working Holiday Visa and the Work and Holiday visa can now be granted for a maximum of two years. Other common points include not allowing applicants to bring any dependents with them to Australia and work restrictions on not working for the same employer for more than six months. Also, any study undertaken cannot be more than four months. Finally, the applicant must show that they have enough money for their return trip to Australia as well as sufficient finances to support their stay.
These in a nutshell are the differences and similarities between two widely popular Australian Visas.
Australian Skilled Migration assists several clients every day to assess and lodge visas that are right for them. If you have any questions, a free consultation with our highly qualified Registered Migration Agents is just a mouse click away! [ Click Here ]
