New Zealand Working Holiday Visa

The Minister of Immigration and the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade announced some major changes to the working holiday schemes New Zealand has with a number of other countries. The changes will all take effect on 1 July 2005.

Working Holiday Schemes (WHS) currently allow 31,000 young people from 22 countries to spend 12 months in New Zealand and undertake temporary work. The schemes contribute to positive outcomes for New Zealand by strengthening international linkages, providing a good source of skilled migrants and contributing to our economy.

The changes include:

• increasing the overall number of working holidaymakers allowed into New Zealand
• dividing an extra 10,000 places between the schemes for Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, Norway and the USA
• removing the cap (which means there will be no upper limit on the amount of places) from the schemes for Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom
• easing the work restrictions (no more than three months with any one employer) from the schemes for Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden and the USA
• allowing working holidaymakers from the United Kingdom to stay for up to 2 years (ie 23 months)
• As the schemes broadly operate on a reciprocal basis, the changes mean that young New Zealanders will also benefit from the changes when they travel overseas.

To learn more go to www.immigration.govt.nz