A Working Holiday Scheme online application is a way of submitting an electronic application for a work visa under the working holiday scheme by using the Immigration New Zealand website.
Please be aware that when using the Online System you may only apply under a working holiday scheme of the nationality of your passport. You are not permitted to submit applications under other working holiday schemes.
If you do submit an electronic application using a nationality other than the nationality of your passport, you could be considered to have provided false or misleading information. This may have a negative impact on any subsequent applications you may make in the future.
A work visa granted under a working holiday scheme enables you to travel to and enter New Zealand within 12 months from the date your application is approved. If you are already in New Zealand when your application is approved, your work visa will tell you how long you can remain in New Zealand for the purpose of a working holiday.
Your work visa will include multiple entry travel conditions which will expire on the same date as your visa expiry date. You will be allowed to leave and return to New Zealand multiple times until your visa expiry date.
People applying under the following schemes must apply using the online system:
People applying under the Peru Working Holiday Scheme must lodge a manual application.
People applying under the following schemes may apply online or they may lodge a manual application if they do not want to use the online system:
Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Norway, the Netherlands, Poland, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Vietnam.
Your scheme may require you to have a Visa or MasterCard credit card to pay online and complete your application. You will find more information on the home page for your country’s scheme.
Usually, an online application can be made from anywhere in the world. However, some schemes require you to be normally resident in your home country when you lodge your application. You will find more information on the home page for your country’s scheme.
You need access to the internet and your scheme may require you to have a Visa or MasterCard credit card to pay for the application online.
The application process and rules for approval are exactly the same as for a manual application to an Immigration New Zealand office.
If your application is approved, your work visa will be issued to you electronically. The online application service is faster and more convenient.
The electronic work visa works in exactly the same way as a visa issued in a passport, except that instead of it being a label in the passport, it is a printed version which the applicant keeps with their passport.
When your application is approved, the details are retained electronically in our database. This information is used to determine your eligibility to board a flight to come to, or return to New Zealand. The information is also used to determine your eligibility to enter New Zealand when you arrive here. It is, therefore, essential that you keep a printed copy of your electronic work visa with your passport and that when you fill out your online application, you enter your details accurately. The name, date of birth, and passport number in your passport must be exactly the same as those on your application.
You must ensure that all the information you provide is accurate. Please check that the following information is exactly the same as in your passport:
Note: Do not read your passport number from the bottom of the passport page, refer below for guidance.
When your application is approved, you will receive an automated e-mail advising that the status of your application has changed and that you can view the outcome of your application on the Immigration New Zealand (INZ) website. You should then log on to INZ Online Services, using your username and password, and select the “My Application” link to view and print your visa details. You should keep this with your passport.
Your electronic work visa will include your personal details, the conditions of your employment, the conditions of your work visa and the length of time it is valid for. This is the same information as a work visa granted at an Immigration New Zealand office.
You will be able to show your employer a printout of your electronic work visa, which has information on the conditions of your employment in New Zealand. You can also log on to the Immigration New Zealand website and show the details of the work visa to your employer. You can call Immigration New Zealand to confirm the details too, or your employer can verify your entitlement to work by using Immigration New Zealand’s online Visaview service.
The multiple entry travel conditions on your work visa will allow you to leave and return to New Zealand freely during the period of your initial work visa.
Any time you spend out of New Zealand will not be added to the time your work visa is valid for.
No. The application fee is the same as for a manual application.
To apply online, your scheme may require you to pay the application fee using either a Visa or MasterCard credit card. You will find more information on the home page for your country’s scheme.
Yes. You do not have to use your own credit card to pay for your application but to use another person’s card you must have their permission.
No. If you have already submitted a manual application, you should continue with that application or you will have to pay another application fee.
If your personal details change, you need to inform Immigration New Zealand by sending an e-mail to workingholiday@dol.govt.nz using the same e-mail address that you provided on your application. Please include your full name, date of birth, passport number and application or client number (if known) on your e-mail.
If you have a query, please contact the Immigration Contact Centre. The telephone numbers are listed in Table 1.
TABLE 1 Telephone Numbers for the Immigration Call Centre
You will need to provide your personal details including those in your passport, and answer questions on your health, character and travel plans. You will also need to check the information required for your particular scheme, as you may be required to provide further documentation relating to your health, qualifications or English language ability. If this is the case, you will receive an email or automated message from us within five days, telling you what information you must provide, and giving you a time period in which to do so.
If you have a good reason for not being able to meet the deadline (eg because you have had an x-ray but have not yet received the results) you should ask the INZ branch processing your application to give you extra time to submit the required information. Otherwise a decision may be made on your application based on the information you have already given, and if you have not provided all the required documentation, it is unlikely to be approved.
For this reason, you should read your scheme's requirements carefully and make sure you are able to provide the necessary documents promptly. Please follow the link at the bottom of this page to see your country’s working holiday scheme requirements.
Before completing the questions on the health page of the online application form, you must read our guide Health Requirements (INZ 1121) PDF. This guide will tell you if you are required to submit further documentation to have your application considered.
For online applications, the requirement to complete a General Medical Certificate (INZ 1007) PDF and a Chest X-ray Certificate (INZ 1096) PDF are calculated on the basis of the maximum length of stay that you are allowed under your country's working holiday scheme (not your intended stay), along with your responses to our health requirement questions. Please see Table 2 (below) to check if you need to complete the two certificates.
If a General Medical Certificate and a Chest X-ray Certificate are required, you will receive an e-mail requesting you complete the certificates when you submit your application.
It depends where you are applying from. If you are applying in New Zealand, you need to complete a General Medical Certificate (INZ 1007) PDF and a Chest X-ray Certificate (INZ 1096) PDF regardless of how long you select. Please see Table 2 to check if you will need to complete these certificates.
TABLE 2 Requirements for General Medical and Chest X-ray certificates
A Chest X-ray Certificate (INZ 1096) PDF is required if you are a citizen of a country that is not considered as having a low incidence of tuberculosis (TB) and/or you have lived in such countries for a total of three months in the past five years. If a Chest X-ray Certificate is required, you will receive an e-mail requesting you to complete it when you submit your application.
If you are a citizen of Malaysia or Singapore and are applying from outside of New Zealand, you do not have to provide a General Medical Certificate (INZ 1007) PDF or a Chest X-ray Certificate (INZ 1096) PDF.
If you are applying in New Zealand and you have been here for less than six months, you will be required to provide a Chest X-ray Certificate (INZ 1096) PDF. If you have been here for more than six months, you will be required to provide a General Medical Certificate (INZ 1007) PDF and a Chest X-ray Certificate (INZ 1096) PDF.
No. If you need a medical examination or chest X-ray for your application, you need to select a doctor and/or radiologist from our approved list of medical doctors and radiologists.
Not all countries have panel doctors and radiologists. For countries where there are no panel doctors and radiologists, a registered or board certified or licensed medical practitioner or physician and/or radiologist may be used.
In New Zealand any registered medical practitioner/radiologist can conduct a medical examination and/or chest X-ray. You may need a referral from a registered medical practitioner for a chest X-ray.
You will be given full instructions on where to send the completed forms when you submit your application. You will be able to send the completed forms to any one of the nominated Immigration New Zealand branches.
If you have been charged, convicted or are under investigation for any offence against the law in any country, you should provide the following information in the space provided on the “Character” page of the online application:
If you applied under the United Kingdom Working Holiday Scheme for a 12-month stay and want to stay longer, you can apply to extend your stay for up to 23 months total. You will have to apply in New Zealand by submitting a manual application at an Immigration New Zealand branch before your visa expires. You will need to provide a a General Medical Certificate (INZ 1007) PDF and a Chest X-ray Certificate (INZ 1096) PDF if you did not provide this with your previous application.
If you applied under another working holiday scheme and you want to stay longer, you can apply for another type of visa as a temporary worker, student, or resident but you cannot extend your visa under the working holiday scheme.
The Working Holidaymaker Extension instructions allows working holidaymakers who have undertaken three months seasonal work in the horticulture or viticulture industry a further three month open work visa. This further visa does not require them to undertake seasonal work; it is a credit to them for the time they spent in the horticulture or viticulture industry while on their working holiday. These instructions apply to onshore applicants only.
Yes, you can save an application while you are completing it and return to finish it at a later date. You will need your username and password to do this.
Be aware that some working holiday schemes have a limited number of places and a delay could mean that available places are filled.
Occasionally an application for a working holiday scheme is declined (perhaps because the person did not meet the health requirements), and when that happens, the place that was allocated to that person becomes available again. Because this happens automatically within the system, it is not possible or practicable for INZ to update the messaging on the website in such instances.
Once your online application has been successfully submitted, you will receive a message confirming this. The status of your application can be checked by logging on to Immigration New Zealand Online Services.
You can check the status of your application by logging on to Online Services. The link that shows the status of the application is “My application” and appears on the top right hand side of the screen.
If your application has been declined or withdrawn, the status in Online Services will continue to show as “pending”. In such cases, you will receive an e-mail from your immigration officer telling you that your application has been declined or withdrawn.
Once your application has been successfully submitted, you will receive a response in a matter of days. This might ask you to provide further information or it may be a decision.
If your application has not been decided, you can withdraw it by sending an e-mail to workingholiday@dol.govt.nz using the same e-mail address that you provided on your application. Your application fee will not be refunded.
Yes, if you still meet the requirements of your country’s working holiday scheme. You will have to register again with a new username before you can complete another online application.
However, please note that submitting a further application, even if your circumstances have changed, does not mean that your application will be approved. Please also ensure that you submit any documents or information by the requested date.
No. If you were previously approved a work visa under a working holiday scheme, you are not able to apply for another working holiday again. It does not matter if you used your previous work visa or not.
You must ensure that all the information you provide is accurate. Please check that the following information is exactly the same as in your passport.
Here are our working holiday schemes.
