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Do it yourself: Working Holiday Australia Visa Application Guide Subclass 417 & 462
A Work & Travel year in Australia is the perfect opportunity for young travelers to embark on their travel journey and experience tremendous personal growth.
Once approved, you have a full 12 months to get to know the iconic places in Down Under, like the Opera house in Sydney or the Great Barrier Reef in the North-East, just to name the famous ones. Moreover, you will improve your English (for non-native), grow as a person, earn serious money, and you can even perfectly combine it with your travels in South-East Asia (SEA).
What holds you back than besides the obvious?
Working Holiday Agencies HATE ME for this
Be honest, one major thing that hold you back is not the money to start their working holiday, it’s the bureaucracy and the application process itself that make YOU PROCRASTINATE!
I have good news! It’s easier than you think! Before you ask — NO, you don’t need any of this, working holiday agencies and other people taking advantage of you! I did the whole process for you AGAIN (the third time). This time I made screenshots so you can do it with me literally STEP-BY-STEP with no steps skipped!
I informed you already in Part 1 about all requirements & criteria in detail, estimated costs of your application and much more!
Therefore, in this part, I will show you a small summary of the requirements and a beginner-friendly easy step-by-step application instruction to get you off the ground so that you can finally start your working holiday journey.
Important for your visa application
I can already tell you AGAIN there’s absolutely no need to pay for working holiday agencies, tour operators and other. It’s very easy to apply and get approved. Especially if you are eligible for subclass 417. As for visa 462 you might need to fulfill more requirements as it’s more demanding than the subclass 417.
With that said, the ONLY OFFICIAL application website is the one from the government, which is this one: https://online.immi.gov.au/lusc/login.
All others are either agencies or other scammers (in my opinion anyway). Only from the official website, the application is done correctly and for FREE (besides the application fees apparently), which I will show you step-by-step in the coming paragraphs!
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 (this part)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 typical backpacker jobs. 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)
Recap: Overview eligibly countries and age: Meet the Requirements before you apply
Before starting the application process, you need to know for which visa subclass (either417 and 462) you need to apply. Basically, these two have identical requirements, but three major differences:
- The first difference is that visa subclass 462 is meant for a specific list of countries and has an age limit to up to 30 years at time of application. For visa subclass 417, some eligible citizens can apply till up to 35 years. See down below, which nationality needs to apply either visa subclass 417 or 462
- The second difference between them is that subclass 462 demand either a proof of English (for instance countries some South America and SEA) and/or certain education standard (for instance the USA). About the special requirements for subclass 462 you can check it out here. Click on “Meet our Education requirement” and “Have this level on English language” to check out all exact requirements! Citizens from the United States of America, Canada, New Zealand apparently don’t need to prove of their English level.
- The third difference are the caps for visa subclass 462. There are limited spots per country (see below the countries). The US is an exception to the rule and doesn’t have caps, so an unlimited number of people can apply when meeting the left requirements. Check the caps and further info here!
Overview Nationalities must apply for visa subclass 417 till up to 35 years old (Updated June 2024)
- Canada
- Denmark
- Italy
- France
- Republic of Ireland
- The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (including British National Overseas passport holders)
Overview Nationalities must apply for visa subclass 417 till up to 30 years old (Updated June 2024)
- Belgium
- Republic of Cyprus
- Estonia
- Finland
- Germany
- Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China
- Japan
- Republic of Korea
- Malta
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Sweden
- Taiwan (other than an official or diplomatic passport)
Overview Nationalities must apply for visa subclass 462 till up to 30 years old (Updated 28 May 2024)
- Argentina
- Austria
- Brazil
- Chile
- China, People’s Republic of China
- Czech Republic
- Ecuador
- Greece
- Hungary
- Indonesia
- Israel
- Luxembourg
- Malaysia
- Mongolia
- Papua New Guinea (PNG)
- Peru
- Poland
- Portugal
- San Marino
- Singapore
- Slovak Republic
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Switzerland
- Thailand
- Türkiye
- Uruguay
- United States of America
- Vietnam
Pro Tip application age
So definitely apply if you are still 30 (35) years old! But don’t play with fire and rather apply on-time than just in time!
With that said, if you really have to apply late, do it at least one week before you get 31 (36) so you have time to prepare for some problems that can arise! Oh, and don’t forget the different time zones in Australia. For some countries, it can be almost one day of time difference.
Overview requirements for both subclasses at a glance
Like said in the beginning of this guide, you can read all the criteria and requirements in much more detail in Part 1 of my Australia series. Here’s a small summary for both visa subclasses:
- Eligible countries and age limit (see above)
- Must be outside Australia
- Have international travel insurance for your whole stay
- Passport validity at least 2 years
- Have $5000 Australian Dollar of funds
- Yellow fewer vaccination (in case you traveled in certain countries before entry)
- Be healthy
- No accompanied children
- No substantial criminal record (will be asked in the application process)
- No huge outstanding amounts of debts you own Australian government
- Main purpose is holiday
I highly recommend to check full details of the requirements here before you apply
How to apply for the working holiday visa at a glance
- Check for country caps (limited spaces per country) if applying for visa subclass 462 and read further info
- Create your ImmiAccount
- Fill out working holiday application form for your visa subclass (Have a copy of passport and proof of funds already)
- Submit application form: Attach your passport, proof of $5000 AUD and pay the application fees ($635 AUD + credit card surcharge) then wait for approval
- Plan when you want to travel to Australia and get my travel resources!
Step 1+2: Check the country caps (just subclass 462) and create your ImmiAccount
Once you checked your country caps here, start creating your ImmiAccount account here and confirm your email by entering the received verification code. US citizens (subclass 462) and nationalities applying for visa subclass 417 will skip Step 1 and start creating an ImmiAccount.
Step 3: Fill out working holiday visa application subclass 417 or 462
1. Terms and conditions
2. Current location and legal status
3. Personal data
4. Check again and confirm your data
5. Residency and contact details
6. Confirm you did the application by yourself
7. Occupation and Education Status
9. Health declarations
10. Character declarations
11. Working Holiday declarations
12. Working Holiday declarations part 2
13. Check all your data once again: Last chance to correct
14. Attach required documents
Step 4: Submit application, pay the visa fee and wait for approval
Once you are ready, you can attach the required documents (PDF or JPEG is just fine, click “Next” and “Submit Application”. Finally, pay the working holiday visa application charge, which is exactly $635 + credit card surcharge so that your application can be processed!
Don’t do suspicious things
Use common sense. You need you to have $5000 AUD so have a little more for instance $5232.34 and show them via a screenshot or PDF file from your bank statement. Don’t show them exactly $5000, that’s just playing with fire! No need to wake up sleeping dogs here!
Approval time visa subclass 417
Nations who are eligible to apply for visa subclass 417 are in advantage here and your application can be submitted and approved in 5 min (best case). The normal processing time is stated as 14 days. Just make sure to prepare all documents beforehand like your digital passport copy, proof of funds ($5000), and other documents required for your application.
Approval time visa subclass 462
Nationalities which have to apply for the subclass 462 like Argentina, Peru etc. have limited places per country and need to check if there are free spots to start applying (usually there always is). Please see the full list of caps here.
Furthermore, the review process just takes longer even without a cap on applications (like for the USA), simply because you need to submit more documents. As you can see above, already 50% get processed in just 11 days!
Health examinations and approval time
The approval time get delayed especially if you need to do health examinations maybe even X-ray (like myself for the first working holiday visa and even for the second visa again!).
The reason is that you need to schedule an appointment with a specific doctor which is on the government’s list. But don’t worry, all details will show up at all times at your ImmiAccount!
Step 5: Plan to enter Australia and get my travel resources
Don’t forget to check regularly your ImmiAccount with your associated email to avoid more delays to get your application “Finalised” so you can finally enter Australia within one year your working holiday application is granted!
Documents to bring for immigration Australia
Just in case, have a print version of the following documents with you:
- Working holiday grant notification together WITH the corresponding passport (valid at least 2 years)
- Proof of funds $5000 AUD. Screenshot can be older ;). Remember it’s Australian Dollar not US Dollar. Convert!
- Yellow fewer vaccination in case you have been traveling before (like me)
- International health insurance for your whole stay. See below! For Germans get your travel insurance here. I make it easy for you:
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 (this part) 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?
For working holiday starters start HERE
- Apply for the working holiday maker visa subclass 417 (usual approval time 5 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). For Germans, see this blog post here!
- 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
