Travelling Southeast Asia first before your working holiday? [relevant for Working Holiday Application]
Hello people!
One thing you have to decide is to consider to travel Southeast Asia first! In this post, we will discuss some pros and cons of travelling Southeast Asia (SEA) before finally starting your working holiday in Australia. In the end of the day it depends on your preferences, but I will reveal my personal opinion and recommendations how to handle it!
Important: You don’t have to apply for your working holiday visa in your country. You can apply for the visa from wherever you want. That’s why for some people it can be convenient to apply while travelling to earn money in Australia and continue travelling or discover Australia!
Overview of your working holiday journey
- Part 1 is all about visa requirements and eligibility for your working holiday in Australia (read before coming to Australia)
- >>Part 1.1 I lead you step-by-step with screenshots through the official working holiday visa application!
- Part 2 is all about relevant working terms to get started in your first days in Australia. I show you Australia’s minimum wage, what TFN, ABN, RSA, SUPER etc. is and where to apply in order to work legally in Australia.
- Part 3 is all about pay rates and work. I show you my payslips, what I earned, and you can too in 2024! I show you all special occasions where you can earn more money!
- Part 4 is all about finding typical backpacker jobs and pay rates. I show you all relevant ways, platforms, and websites where you can find jobs and as well as typical pay rates!
- Part 5 is all about extending your working holiday visa in Australia and the required 88 days of specified work! (Farm work)
PROS
1. Get a culture shock first
Immersing yourself in the diverse cultures of Southeast Asia can be a valuable experience. It can enhance your cultural awareness and broaden your horizons before you enter a Western country like Australia and start your working travel.
Discover Southeast Asia’s beautiful countries and cities. Get lost in the major cities like Bangkok in Thailand, Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and many more. Enjoy the famous islands in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and the Philippines you always see in the movies, or discover less traveled places like Myanmar!
There are just too many places to visit and always not enough time left:)
Once you experienced Southeast Asia, you can go to Australia and enjoy the “Western Standard” and culture again. After South-east Asia You will be much more resistant, resilient and patient regarding basically everything due to the different way of life.
2. No regrets about missing out Southeast Asia in hindsight
Once in Australia plans might change quickly and depending on your lifestyle Australia can be very expensive and therefore you might not be able to travel to SEA anymore or not that long.
You will experience that time flies. Especially if you want to finish your farm work as well, which takes 88 days of work and you might travel throughout Australia as usually you don’t do your farm work in just one place.
There are many reasons and excuses. The most common ones are always about time and money. For example, some backpackers start studying/work on certain dates in their home country and therefore need to return to their home countries earlier.
Others couldn’t save enough money due to travelling and spending all their money in Australia – which is totally fine.
SEA definitely deserves more than a few months or just travelling through in a rush. If you cannot spend too much time in all SEA, you could just focus on one country instead.
I always recommend spending at least 1 month per country, unless the country is very small, like Singapore or Hong Kong.
Travelling for 1 month gives you have enough time to discover and enjoy a country without rushing and “skipping” things like many backpackers do due to limited time.
3. Cost-Effective Travel
Southeast Asia is known for being budget-friendly, making it an excellent destination for backpackers. It allows you to stretch your travel budget further, especially if you’re looking to save money for your working holiday in Australia.
Remember you need to show that you have $5000 (e.g. a bank statement ~ 3000€ ) for the working holiday application. Click here for more details about the requirements and much more!
CONS
1. Medical Examinations and X-RAY (eventually)
Once you decide to travel to Southeast Asia, first keep in mind that you may need to provide a health examination and possibly even an X-RAY test while applying for your working holiday visa in Australia.
In the application process, they’re going to ask you where you traveled in the last 5 months and if you stayed 3 consecutive months in a country. And if you stayed longer than 3 months in a country (like me) you most likely need to provide further health examinations, unfortunately.
Also, there is a possibility that you need to do health examination just because you are unlucky.
Basically you will eventually need to do a health examination + X-RAY BEFORE you enter Australia and yes you can do the application for your working holiday and the health examination also abroad! No worries!
I was very unlucky and had to provide these examinations for my first and even my second working holiday visa! So I paid twice as much. However, it’s more common not being asked to provide further health examinations, especially if you haven’t traveled much 6 months before applying!
As you can see above, I paid for the health examination and X-RAY approximately $404.08 Australian Dollars, so roughly the same as the working holiday visa itself.
In case you need to show some tests, you have to make an appointment with one of the selected doctors on a list provided online and pay the costs yourself additionally to the normal visa fee ($485 in 2021).
You will get further instructions on how to find the certified doctor in your immi account, and they usually send out an e-mail as well.
Use this link to find certified doctors outside Australia:
2. Fluctuating Costs
While Southeast Asia is generally budget-friendly, unforeseen expenses can arise. Overspending in SEA might leave you with limited financial resources for your working holiday in Australia.
Just be ready to pay the health examinations, and try to stay in a place a longer period of time instead of moving all the time. Moving quickly from place to place makes even travelling in SEA much more expensive and is one of the biggest cost factors! (Buses, trains, boats, flights)
Summary: Work hard – Play harder!
Just stick to a certain plan during or before your working holiday. Work hard(er) in Australia if you decide to travel SEA afterward and use the money to travel around Southeast Asia for a long period of time.
Unfortunately not everybody have to discipline especially, if you want to travel Australia as well. Keep in mind, Australia is much more pricey, but definitely worth it!
The more important is to check out how I earned $37000 myself in my first working holiday year and what platforms I used so you are prepared for any case!
Many people typically saving around $10.000 and then leaving Australia to continue their travel in SEA!
Pro TIP:
Once you have done the 88 days for your second working holiday visa you can just enter Australia again and start from scratch earning money again! There is no need to start your second working holiday straight away, you can keep it till you are ready and travel SEA first before coming back!
Just apply again like in the beginning for your first working holiday visa, with the difference that you “extend” your stay now. You will need to upload all your received payslips as evidence, but this will go beyond the scope of this blog post.
Here you can find my ultimate guide for your working holiday visa extension!
What would I do: Final thoughts
If you asked me personally, I definitely would recommend you to travel at least 3 months in SEA first. It’s just so much better for your personal development than if you go to Australia directly! You also might meet occasionally people who wanna do the same!
Just stick to the laws in Southeast Asia guys and undoubtedly never travel without travel insurance. The one I use is called SafetyWing nomad insurance and cost you just $76.28 per month, and you can cancel it anytime! Get a quote and check it out down below!
Another logical reasons are the costs. Flying to the main airport hubs in SEA from Europa or America to, for instance, Kuala Lumpur or Bangkok is usually much cheaper than flying to Sydney or Melbourne directly.
And Once you are in SEA the flights to Australia will be more affordable especially if you visit Indonesia (Bali) in the end of your SEA trip, which is just north from Australia with many direct flights.
You will get to know so much people on the way and will fall in love with SEA and their lovely people that you want to come back after your working holiday adventure in Australia (hopefully with fresh money supply from working in Australia ;))
So get completely lost first if you can afford it, and then take your working holiday in Australia as a new challenge!
Happy travels and see you soon,
Your Eduard
Clueless? Travel!
Overview of your working holiday journey
- Part 1 is all about visa requirements and eligibility for your working holiday in Australia (read before coming to Australia)
- >>Part 1.1 I lead you step-by-step with screenshots through the official working holiday visa application!
- Part 2 is all about relevant working terms to get started in your first days in Australia. I show you Australia’s minimum wage, what TFN, ABN, RSA, SUPER etc. is and where to apply in order to work legally in Australia.
- Part 3 is all about pay rates and work. I show you my payslips, what I earned, and you can too in 2024! I show you all special occasions where you can earn more money!
- Part 4 is all about finding typical backpacker jobs and pay rates. I show you all relevant ways, platforms, and websites where you can find jobs and as well as typical pay rates!
- Part 5 is all about extending your working holiday visa in Australia and the required 88 days of specified work! (Farm work)
Questions? Let’s connect:
What’s next in your journey?
>>connect with me to ask my ANYTHING! IG: @traveltainment_eduard
For working holiday starters:
>>Plan your working holiday Australia or any trip with my easy-to-follow steps:
- Apply for the working holiday maker visa subclass 417 (usual approval time 1 min – 14 days) or 462 (usual approval time at least 14 days due to further requirements)
- Provide further details if necessary to get the application going (health examination etc.) in your immigration account (immiAccount)
- Get credit cards, especially a WISE account (Australian bank account) and check passport validity! (min. 2 weeks – 1 month before you plan to flight)
- Book your flights (AFTER received approval letter from immigration)
- Packing list 2024 (Coming soon)
- Get travel insurance before you fly (SavetyWing or Heymondo)
- Get an Onward ticket ALWAYS! (24-48h before your flight, evidence of leaving the country you enter). For working holiday Australia visa holders, it’s NOT necessary.
- Book your accommodation via hostelworld to get to know people quickly. I recommend the first two weeks at the same spot
- Job hunting and other bureaucratic stuff (once in Australia)
- Open up your US LLC to get your Freelancer business started!
- Sign up to my Newsletter to get a smarter traveler and stay up-to-date
For digital nomad starters:
- Open up your US LLC to get your Freelancer business started! (4 weeks before your trip)
- Get credit cards and check passport validity! (min. 2 weeks – 1 month before you plan to flight)
- Apply for possible longer stays like digital nomad visa or extended visa (typically 2 months before your flight)
- Book your flights
- Packing list 2024 (Coming soon)
- Get travel insurance before you fly (SavetyWing or Heymondo)
- Get an Onward ticket 24-48h before your flight (evidence of leaving the country you enter, ALWAYS!). If you have a visa, it’s not necessary!
- Book your accommodation via hostelworld to get to know people quickly. I recommend the first week in one spot
- Sign up to my Newsletter to get a smarter traveler and stay up-to-date
Hi Eduard. Really helpful post, there’s not much information out there about travelling SE Asia before a WHV in Aus. I am planning to go to SE Asia (Vietnam, Malaysia, Cambodia, Indonesia, Phillipines) for just under three months (8th May – 5th August) before flying to Aus. I will not spend more than one month in any country. Does this mean I will have to undergo medical examinations when I arrive in Aus? If so, when is best to complete the visa application? Before leaving for Asia, during my time in Asia, or when I arrive in Aus? Thanks.