Each year, 1000 places are available under this scheme allowing young citizens of China to stay in New Zealand for up to 12 months. Places under the quota are released in stages to help manage demand. 

2011/2012 quota: Places are currently available.

Online application service

Applications under this scheme must be made using the online application system. Manual or paper-based applications which are received by Immigration New Zealand (INZ) will be returned to the applicant.

If your application is accepted in the online system, you will be advised by email and asked to send in further documentation to the appropriate receiving office within 60 days.

If the documentation is not received within 60 days, INZ may determine your application without it.

However, before you think about applying, please read the following important information.

To be eligible

You must:

• be ordinarily resident in the People’s Republic of China at the time of applying
• have a passport from the People’s Republic of China that is valid for at least three months after your planned departure from New Zealand
• be at least 18 and not more than 30 years old 
• not bring children with you 
• hold a return ticket, or sufficient funds to purchase such a ticket (you must hold sufficient funds for the duration of your visit and for the purchase of an outward ticket from New Zealand, and this evidence may be requested when you arrive at the border)
• have a minimum of NZ$4,200 available funds to meet your living costs while you are here
• meet our health and character requirements 
• hold medical and comprehensive hospitalisation insurance for the length of your stay 
• be coming to New Zealand to holiday, with work or study being secondary intentions for your visit
• have a senior high school qualification (gao zhong xue li) granted in respect of a minimum of three years’ full-time study which has been verified by the China Academic Degrees and Graduate Education Development Centre (CDGDC)
• have evidence of the CDGDC’s verification of your qualification
• have a level of proficiency in English that is assessed as at least functional (see note below), and 
• not have been approved a visa under a working holiday scheme before.

Note: An applicant’s proficiency in English is deemed to be at least functional if they can provide a certificate from the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), showing they achieved an average level of 5.5 over the four components of the test. This is the only way to prove English proficiency.

Individuals who lodge their China WHS application on or after 25 July 2011 must pay the fee as part of the online application process. The fee is not refundable under any circumstances, so be sure that you can meet all of the requirements before you lodge your application.

Health requirements

You will need to meet our health requirements for temporary entry to New Zealand.

The online system will tell you whether you need to send us a completed medical and/or X-ray certificate, and, if so, how to do it, when you submit your application. This is based on 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 requirements questions.

Character requirements

You will need to meet our character requirements for temporary entry to New Zealand.

When you are here

• You must not take up permanent employment (unless you apply for and are granted an ordinary work permit while you are here).
• You must not work for the same employer for more than three months.
• You can enrol in one or more courses of training or study of up to three months’ duration in total during your visit.

Please note: New Zealand law prohibits any person on a temporary visa including a Working Holiday Scheme work visa, from providing commercial sexual services, or operating or investing in a business which provides such services.

Tax

Like all New Zealand workers, you will need an IRD number so that your employer can deduct tax from your earnings at the correct rate. In New Zealand, you pay tax on a pay as you earn (PAYE) basis. This means that there should not be a large refund or an amount to pay when you leave. Inland Revenue's Travelling to New Zealand webpage [external link].

How do I apply?

Applications under this working holiday scheme must be made online.

To apply online, go to the Online Services Login page, where you can register for online services; if you have already registered you can log in and access the Working Holiday Scheme online application system. Check our questions and answers for more information on the online application system.