China Working Holiday Visa

Visa details

Apply for this visa if you want to work and study in New Zealand. You must be between 18 to 30 years old and a citizen of the People's Republic of China.

Length of stay

12 months

Age range

18-30 years

Quota
Each year

1000

Cost
From
NZD $420
Processing time
90% within
24 days
With this visa you can
  • Work in New Zealand for up to 12 months.
  • Study or train for up to 6 months in total.
Things to note
  • You can only apply for a Working Holiday Visa online.
  • You can’t get a permanent job or work with the same employer for more than 6 months.
  • You can’t bring children with you on a working holiday. If you have a partner who wants to come to New Zealand, they’ll need to apply for their own visa.
CLOSED

This visa will open at 10:00 1 August 2023 (NZST).

Who can apply

The criteria and evidence below will provide you with the information you need to provide to meet the requirements of this visa.

View All Evidence

Identity

You must provide proof of your identity

When you apply online, you must provide your passport details. 

Tips

  1. Enter your identity details carefully, ensuring information is exactly as recorded on your passport.

  2. Your passport must be valid for at least 3 months after your visa will expire.

  3. Your passport must be valid for at least 15 months after you first arrive in New Zealand.

  4. Also provide your:

    • Hukou (household registration book)
    • Chinese identity card.

  5. If you are a citizen of China and you submit a paper application form in China, you must also complete a supplementary form.

    Supplementary form for Chinese citizens (INZ 1027) PDF 338KB

Health

You must be in good health

You may need to have a chest x-ray and a medical examination as proof of your good health.

Working holiday visa medical requirements

Tips

  1. If you need to have an x-ray or medical examination after you apply online, we’ll send you an email explaining what to do.

  2. You must provide a chest x-ray completed in the last 3 months, even if you've provided one to us previously, if:

    • you have spent 6 consecutive months in China since the last x-ray certificate was issued, and
    • you are now coming to NZ for more than 6 months.

Character

You must be of good character

When you apply online, you must answer questions about your character.  After you apply online, we may ask you to provide Police Certificates as proof of your good character.

Good character

Who needs to provide police certificates

Age

You must be 18 – 30

We’ll use your passport details to confirm your age.

Citizenship

You must be a citizen of the country this visa is for

After you apply online, we’ll ask you to send us your valid People’s Republic of China passport.

Onward travel

You must have a ticket to leave New Zealand or enough money to buy one

Evidence can include:

  • your travel ticket
  • proof you have enough money to buy a ticket out of New Zealand, in addition to the funds you have to live on.
Tips

  1. We may ask to see your evidence when you arrive in New Zealand

Funds

You must have enough money to live on while you’re in New Zealand

After you apply online, we may ask for evidence you have at least NZ $4,200 to live on. Evidence may include:

  • bank statements
  • credit card statements
  • bank drafts
  • travellers’ cheques.

Previous approvals

You must not have had approval for a New Zealand Working Holiday Visa before

We’ll check our records for any previous New Zealand Working Holiday Visa approvals you may have had.

Tips

  1. You can’t apply for this visa, if we’ve already approved an earlier application for you to have a New Zealand Working Holiday Visa. This applies even if you didn’t use that visa.

    It’s OK to apply for this visa, if you’ve had approvals for working holidays in countries other than New Zealand.

Education

You must have at least a senior high school qualification (gao zhong xue li)

After you apply online, we’ll ask you to provide a copy of your qualification, which must have involved at least 3 years’ full-time study.  

Tips

  1. Your qualification must be verified by the Center for Student Services and Development, Ministry of Education, P.R. China.

Ordinarily resident

Your permanent place of residence must be the country named in this Working Holiday visa

After you apply online, we may ask you to provide documents that prove your usual place of permanent residence. Examples include:

  • letters sent to your home address
  • references from your employer.

Location

You must be living in your country of citizenship when you apply

After you apply online, we may ask for documents that prove where you are living now. Examples include:

  • current utility bills
  • recent pay slips.

Medical insurance

You must have full medical insurance for the length of your stay

You must be able to provide proof that you are fully insured, including cover for hospitalisation. Evidence may include:

  • a copy of your insurance certificate
  • an approval letter from your insurance company.
Tips

  1. We may ask to see your evidence when you arrive in New Zealand

Process and costs

The information below will help you understand the process, timeframes and costs involved in applying for this visa, so you can plan ahead and have the best chance of submitting a complete application.

1
You apply online

You must apply online and in English.

Immigration costs
NZD $ 455

Application cost – This is the charge for Immigration New Zealand to process your application. We do not refund application costs if we decline your application. A non-refundable immigration levy is charged and is included in the cost. You can pay for your application online by Visa or Mastercard. An International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy (IVL) of NZD $35 is charged and is included in the cost.

2
We may ask for evidence to support your application

If you need to provide any evidence, we send you an email explaining what you need to do.

If you are concerned about receiving emails, It is a good idea to check your junk mail settings.

3
We make a decision about your application

If your visa application is approved, we will contact you by email advising that the status of your application has changed. You can then log in to Online Services to check the status of your application. If approved, you will be granted an eVisa.

If there is anything else you need to do, we will be in touch.

If you are in New Zealand, and your current temporary visa expires before your new visa is granted, we will normally issue you an interim visa to let you stay in New Zealand lawfully.

Interim Visa

Timeframes - Processing
90% within 24 days

90% of applications are currently completed within this time. Timeframes are in weekdays.

Timeframes - Average processing
Time is 3 days

Timeframes are in weekdays. We use the median value to find the average.

How to submit

Payment methods and receiving centre details if applicable.

Apply online

Payment methods

Online

Credit Card
You can pay by Visa, MasterCard or UnionPay credit card.

Debit Card
You can pay by Visa, MasterCard or UnionPay debit card.

Hours

Phone enquiries
Monday to Friday
06:00 to 22:00

Closed Saturday and Sunday

Telephone

+649-914-4100

0508-558-855 (NZ callers only)

Conditions

These are the conditions that you must meet once you have your visa.

Travel

You must come to New Zealand within 12 months of the date your visa is granted.

After you arrive in New Zealand, you can come and go from New Zealand as many times as you like before your visa expires.

Entry permission

You must apply for entry permission when you arrive in New Zealand. You can do this by completing an arrival card, which you are given on the way to New Zealand.

Arriving in New Zealand

Notes

  • You can be refused entry permission if:

    • you do not meet our character requirements
    • your circumstances have changed since you were granted a visa
    • you refuse to let us take your photo or to provide us with your fingerprints or an iris scan, if asked for them
    • you are unable to provide evidence of any onward travel or funds required by the conditions of your visa.

    If you are refused entry to New Zealand

    Before you travel to New Zealand

Onward travel

You must have either:

  • a travel ticket out of New Zealand
  • enough money to pay for a travel ticket out of New Zealand, in addition to your living costs.
Notes

  • We may ask to see evidence of your onward travel arrangements when you arrive in New Zealand.

Funds

You must have at least NZ $4,200 to live on while you’re in New Zealand.

Notes

  • We may ask to see evidence of your funds when you arrive in New Zealand.

Medical insurance

You must maintain your medical insurance while in New Zealand. 

Notes

  • We may ask to see evidence you’re insured when you arrive in New Zealand.

Work

You can work in any employment you like, as long as:

  • you do not work for more than 6 months for any one employer
  • you do not work for more than 12 months in total
  • you do not get a permanent job
  • the work you do is legal
  • you do not provide commercial sexual services
  • you do not run or invest in a business that provides commercial sexual services.
Notes

  • You don’t need a job offer.

    Everyone who has a job in New Zealand pays tax on what they earn. You’ll need a New Zealand bank account and IRD number to pay tax. You can apply for an IRD number online through Inland Revenue.

    Apply online for an IRD number

Study

You can do some study or training, as long as it’s not for more than 6 months of your stay.

Visa expiry

You must leave New Zealand before your visa expires.