Work and Holiday Visa subclass 462
Information for Chile, Thailand, Turkey and the USA.
The Work and Holiday Visa (W&H) is offered to Chile, Thailand,USA and Turkey It is a special visa to promote closer cultural ties and a better understanding between these countries and Australia. There are only 100 visas available each year, July to July.
What are the costs?
All figures in AUD, Australian dollars.
- Visa………………………………………………………………………………………$195
- Cost of processing through Hello Australia………………………$750 see notes below.
- Medical Examinations as required by your occupation and present health.
These will be done overseas before entry. - Police Clearance certificates will be required - see notes below.
- Sundry smaller items: Photographs, certification of documents, photocopying and postage.
- Medical insurance through private insurers in Australia for one year.
You are strongly advised to take out private insurance as treatment and hospital care in Australia can be expensive.
- Medical Examinations as required by your occupation and present health.
Where is my visa processed?
The initial visa application documents are sent to the Immigration Department (DIAC) overseas, but the visa is actually granted in Canberra. From there it goes back your home country for the evidence label in your passport.
Visa grant takes approximately 3 months - this is a guideline only, and depends on workload at DIAC, and the particulars of your case.
The initial visa is applied for while you are overseas only. Extensions can be applied while you are in Australia.
What will the visa let me do?
A W&H visa will let you travel to Australia and work here for 12 months from the date you enter this country. You must arrive here within 3 months of the date of visa grant.
The visa is multiple travel. This means you can leave and return to Australia any number of times during the 12 months. But the visa is valid for 12 months only, and you cannot add time spent outside Australia to the 12 months since you first entered this country.
The W&H visa allows you to work here at any occupation for which you can find work. If your occupation requires Registration in Australia, then you will have to register first before taking a position here. For example nurses and electricians are registered occupations, and must register to work anywhere in the country. Some occupations require registration in some States but not others - Engineers only have to register with the Queensland Board of Engineers Australia. But anyone can work in hospitality, office work, and business, and most professionals are not registered. You need to check first at ww.immi.gov.au/asri/index.htm, or contact us for further information.
You can work for 6 months only for each employer, or study for 4 months at one college or training centre. The idea is to encourage young people to travel around and see Australia.
Who can come on a Work and Holiday Visa?
1) You must be aged between 18 and 30 on the date you apply. The date you apply is when DIAC receives your paperwork, with all required documents.
2) The visa is granted for one person only. You cannot include a spouse or children.
If you are coming with other people they must each apply for their own separate visa.
3) You must hold a valid passport and have an approval letter from your government.
4) You must be able to speak at least basic English at Functional level. On the IELTS test, this is at 4.5 overall score or above.
5) You must hold a University Degree or a college Diploma. For example, a trained
craftsman like a carpenter, a chef or an electrician can apply if they have a formal Diploma training.
6) You must have at least AUD$5000 in the bank, as evidenced by bank statements.
This is to help you on your first arrival here.
7) You must hold a return air ticket, or enough funds for you to leave Australia, over
and above the $5000 in the bank.
Health and Character
Health
The health requirements depend firstly on what you intend to do in Australia, and the danger of you bringing disease with you from overseas which could be spread to Australians. For example: TB infection is very low here, but spreads easily in a classroom or hospital environment. School teachers, students and health care workers will need an X-Ray.
These are the health assessment measures:
- How long you intend to stay.
- What infectious diseases you could have been exposed to in Iran or any other country you recently visited.
- Your occupation - working in health care or entering a classroom for study or teaching.
- Your medical history.
Character
You must be of good character and free of a criminal history to enter this country.
Traffic infringements are not normally of concern.
Character assessment documents:
- A police clearance from authorities
- A police clearance from any other country, including Australia, where you have lived for more than 12 months in the last 10 years. The 12 months is counted cumulatively - so you might have lived for 4 months in India with the family when you were 14 years old, but then moved back again to Madras to study for another 10½ months at age 19. In that case you will need a Police Clearance document from India.
Visa Extensions
You may apply for two extensions of one year each on the W&H visa. The visa conditions continue to apply. For each extension, you will need a new letter of support from your home government, a Police Clearance from Australia to cover the 12 months you have lived here. And if you have returned your home for any time (even less than 12 months) during your Australian visa validity period you will need a new Police Clearance from there too. Extensions are applied for in Australia.
This means you can live here, with successful applications, for a period of 3 years.
During this time you can apply for other visas to keep you permanently in Australia. If you apply for an ‘offshore’ visa, like a Skilled Migration Visa, you can apply while you live in Australia, but you will have to go overseas to collect the visa grant. You would not have to journey home to Iran - you can collect an ‘offshore’ visa from any Australian DIAC office, for example Singapore or New Zealand.
Hello Australia Immigration Services – what we offer
Our firm has a Registered Australian Migration Agent to advise clients and apply for visas.
Registration can be checked at www.themara.com.au.
Skill assesment for permanent visas are handled by other professional staff.
The price quoted here will cover the majority of single visa applications, for people without health or other problems. Before we start work on your application we supply an Agreement which both parties must sign before we proceed with work on your behalf. The Agreement gives fixed prices, and details all other legal arrangements in simple English.
We hope we have the opportunity to bring many young people to Australia for better international understanding.
Mary heath, Registered Migration Agent 0005790
Bill Evangel, B,Juris LL.B. ,BAr Solicitor.