Australia Raising Working Holiday Visa Age Limit for British Citizens

Australia is raising its working holiday visa age for British citizens.

Australia has decided to facilitate their rules on working holiday visas by increasing the holiday visa age limit from 30 to 35 which will come into force on 31 May.

At present, applicants must be 30 or younger, but with the new rules set out in the Australia-UK Free Trade Agreement, British nationals over 35 years old will be eligible to apply for the visa.

Australia’s working holiday visa (subclass 417) allows young adults from other countries the opportunity to travel to Australia and work there for a specific period of time.

How It Will Impact British Nationals

Aside from the age limit, restrictions on the type of work the visa holder can do will also be eased. Currently, the visa lasts for 12 months and it can be renewed if the holder has carried out ‘specified work’ for 3 to 6 months.

The type of work varies between regions, ranging from fruit picking to hospitality, and must usually be undertaken outside of the major cities.

Under the new rules, the requirement to undertake specified work will be dropped.

However, the six-month work limitation per employer will return after June 2023, which means visa holders need to switch jobs twice per year.

Reciprocal Agreements With Australia

The UK is not the only country Australia has a working holiday agreement with.

There are a total of 19 countries for which Australia issues holiday working visas: Belgium, Canada, Republic of Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Republic of Ireland, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Taiwan (other than an official or diplomatic passport) and The United Kingdom.

In July 2022, Australia also increased the upper age limit from 30 to 35 years old for Italy and Denmark nationals.

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