Applying for this Visa

Information to help prepare your application

More information is available on certifying and translating documents, communicating with the department, using a migration agent, authorising another person to receive information from the department, and receiving assistance with your application.
See: Information to Help Prepare Your Application

Travel to Australia

You must not make arrangements to travel to Australia until you are advised that your visa has been granted.

Your visa is linked to the passport number you used in your application and you must use the same passport to travel to Australia. If you do obtain a new passport, you must advise the department of the new passport details before you travel to Australia. Otherwise, you may experience significant delays at the airport and could be denied permission to board your plane. When advising us about the new passport information, please provide the reason why you obtained a new passport and a scanned copy of the new passport's photograph page. If this is not possible, or you are uncertain about which pages to scan, you will need to provide us with the following information as it is shown in your new passport:

• name
• date of birth
• passport number
• issue date of the new passport
• expiry date of the new passport
• country of issue
• issuing authority or place.

See: Contact Us

Application charge

You must pay a non-refundable visa application charge when you lodge your visa application.
See: Fees and Charges

First Working Holiday visa

You must be outside Australia:

• when you lodge your first Working Holiday visa application
• for the visa to be granted.

Second Working Holiday visa

You may lodge your second Working Holiday visa application while either in or outside Australia.

• If you lodge your application in Australia, you must be in Australia to be granted your visa. You should apply before your current visa ceases.
• If you lodge your application outside Australia, you must be outside Australia to be granted your visa.

When lodging your second Working Holiday visa application please use the attachment facility at the end of the online application to attach your form 1263 – Employment Verification. This will expedite the processing of your application.

How to apply

You can apply online, by post or by courier.
See:
Online Applications
Paper Applications

Note: If you have dependent children you will need to apply using the paper application.
See: Working Holiday visa applications - paper

Note: European Union and national identity cards cannot be used to apply for a Working Holiday visa. You must apply using a passport from an eligible country. If you lodge an application using an identity card, your application cannot be accepted, and you will need to lodge another application using your passport.

Activating your Working Holiday visa

If you applied for your Working Holiday visa outside Australia your 12 month stay period starts when you enter Australia. This includes entering Australia as a transit passenger, on an Electronic Travel Authority (ETA), Crew Travel Authority (CTA), or a Maritime Crew Visa (MCV). When you have started the stay period on your Working Holiday visa it cannot be delayed or deferred.

If you do not want to start your 12 month stay on your Working Holiday visa and you plan to transit through Australia or enter on an ETA, CTA or MCV, you should consider cancelling your Working Holiday visa. You will then need to apply for an alternative visa before you travel to Australia. Information about visa options when transiting through Australia is available from the departmental website.
See: Transiting through Australia

To have your Working Holiday visa cancelled contact the Working Holiday visa processing centre. You may apply for another Working Holiday visa in the future but will need to pay another visa application charge.
See: Working Holiday Maker Application Enquiry Form

Note: If you wish to travel to Australia on an Electronic Travel Authority (ETA), Crew Travel Authority (CTA) or Maritime Crew Visa (MCV) before activating your Working Holiday visa, you should first cancel your Working Holiday visa. Cancelling your Working Holiday visa after obtaining an ETA, CTA or MCV will also cancel the ETA, CTA or MCV.

After you lodge your application

For information about what happens after you lodge your application, including checking the status of your application.
See: After You Lodge Your Application