Life

All The Working Holiday Visas You’re Eligible For In Your 20s

Time is non-refundable. Use it wisely.

working holiday visa

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Have you recently broken up with a long term partner? Have you finished your degree and have little/no job options? Did you go from high school to uni without a break and feel like a human mashed potato?

Does the dulcet tones of “yeah, nah” sting your ears? Do you feel vaguely unfulfilled and own very little furniture? If you answer yes to any of these questions, this article is for you! You should move countries and start a brand new and exciting life, free of more than a suitcase worth of clothes and beloved pets.

I moved to London when I was 18 on a two year working holiday visa and had the best two years of my life. I made connections with the BBC, made lifelong friends, met the love of my life (who five years later I’m still sleeping next to) and didn’t die from my casual and recreational drug use.

Now that I’m hip deep in degrees and salary negotiation, I gots to thinking, “should I move away constantly until I’m old and 31 and shirk all my responsibilities for the next seven years?”, and found we have more than just the UK and Canada to rely on for all our wandering needs.

There’s actually heaps and heaps of countries you can go work in without any strings attached (unless you have a literal baby), and I’ve compiled the whole lot for your viewing and life changing pleasure.

If you hold an Australia passport, don’t have a criminal record and hold a varying amount of cash in your savings account, here are all the places you can go lay your Kathmandu rucksack and tiny jar of vegemite.

Countries With Reciprocal Working Holiday Visa (Subclass 417) Arrangements

What does this mean? I hear your little itchy feet mouths ask? The old subclass 417 is your temporary visa that grants you working rights for up to two years if you’re young, hot and scandalous (or if you’re the government, at least 18, usually under 31, don’t have a child and possess a passport from a relevant country).

These exist to promote “cultural exchange and closer ties to Australia”, which I interpret as a great excuse to shed all responsibility for a year or so and marry a man who likes his food spicier than mine and has never attended a B&S ball.

Subclass 417 pretty much means that you can apply, or automatically possess a second year to experience a new and exciting life full of wonder, adventure and having a thing you can drag into literally any conversation you have for the rest of you life – re: “this __ is good, but not as good as the ___ I had in ___ when lived there”.

Australia has 417 arrangements with the below countries:

  • Belgium
  • Canada
  • Cyprus
  • Denmark
  • Estonia
  • Finland
  • Germany
  • Hong Kong
  • Ireland
  • Italy
  • Japan
  • South Korea
  • Malta
  • Netherlands
  • Norway
  • Sweden
  • Taiwan
  • United Kingdom

Countries With Reciprocal Work And Holiday Visa (Subclass 462) Arrangements

The main difference a 462 subclass is that you can’t stay for more than a year. That’s it, but please don’t quote me on that, I feel like making sweeping general statements with visa requirements gets people like me snipered through my very suburban window, and I am afraid.

Australia has 462 arrangements with the below countries:

  • Argentina
  • Austria
  • Chile
  • Czech Republic
  • Hungary
  • Israel
  • Indonesia
  • Luxembourg
  • Malaysia
  • Peru
  • Poland
  • Portugal
  • San Marino
  • Singapore
  • Slovak Republic
  • Slovenia
  • Spain
  • Thailand
  • Turkey
  • USA
  • Uruguay
  • Vietnam

Seriously. Look at that shit. That’s like nearly 100 countries you can move to in realistically the next two months if you’re savvy. Like my dad’s nun magnet on the fridge at home says, “time is the only thing that’s not refundable – use it wisely”.

(Lead image: Unsplash)