Tips and information about the Working Holiday Visa New Zealand
If you’re looking to earn a bit of cash or gain some overseas work experience while you travel in New Zealand, a working holiday is a great option.
Unlike a visitor visa that typically only lets you travel for up to 3 months, a Working Holiday Scheme visa lets you work, study or travel in New Zealand for up to a year if you’re between 18 and 30 (or 35 for some countries).
The beauty of this visa is that you have the flexibility to work or study whatever you like, wherever you like while you’re here travelling in New Zealand – and it also covers things like internships and volunteering.
All applications for working holiday schemes must be made using the online system. Before you start your application, make sure you have all the correct information on hand. Check the following information is exactly the same in your passport as in your application:
- name,
- date of birth
- passport number and its expiry date – do not use your national identity number.
Available schemes
Select from a scheme below to see whether you qualify and how to apply:
- Argentina
- Austria
- Belgium
- Brazil
- Canada
- Chile
- China
- Croatia
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
- Hungary
- Ireland
- Israel
- Italy
- Japan
- Korea
- Latvia
- Malaysia
- Malta
- Mexico
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Peru
- Philippines
- Poland
- Singapore (work exchange programme)
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Taiwan
- Thailand
- Turkey
- United Kingdom
- United States of America
- Uruguay
- Vietnam
Tips for all applicants:
All applicants from all countries must:
create an account to apply online
• Have a passport valid for at least three months after your planned departure from New Zealand.
• Be at least 18 years old and not older than 30 (or 35 depending on your nationality).
• Meet health and character requirements.
• Not bring children with you.
• Hold a return air ticket, or sufficient funds ($4.200NZD) to purchase such ticket.
• Have not previously visited New Zealand using the Working Holiday Scheme visa (or been approved for one).
• Be coming to New Zealand for a holiday, with working being the secondary reason for your visit.
Additional Information
- You must only use letters from the English alphabet when completing your online application. If your name contains non-English letters, copy the English spelling of your name from the machine-readable zone that appears at the bottom of the bio data page of your passport (the machine readable zone starts with << and ends with >>). E.g. if your name contains the non-English letter ‘ö’, it will appear as ‘oe’ in the machine-readable zone.
- Countries like Canada and UK can work and live in NZ for up 23 months.
- Please note that some countries have quotas, so make sure you get your application in quickly once the quota opens.
- You must only apply for the working holiday scheme (WHS) from the same country as the passport you will use to travel to New Zealand. E.g. if you intend to travel to New Zealand on a Taiwan passport, you can only apply for the Taiwan WHS.
- You should not practise applying under WHSs of other countries. Applying for a WHS of a country that you do not hold a passport for will result in your application being declined and may be viewed as providing false and misleading information which may adversely affect any future visa applications you make.
