United Kingdom Working Holiday Visa

Visa details

You can apply for this visa if you are 18 to 30 years old and a citizen of the United Kingdom. This visa allows you to work and study in New Zealand for a short amount of time.

Length of stay
Between

12-23 months

Age range

18-30 years

Quota
Each year

Unlimited

Cost
From
NZD $840
Processing time
90% within
29 days
With this visa you can
  • Choose to apply for a 12 or 23 month visa.
  • Work in New Zealand for up to 12 months.
  • Study or train for up to 6 months in total.
Things to note
  • You can’t accept a permanent job.
  • If you apply for a 23-month visa, you must provide a General Medical Certificate.
  • If you choose a 12-month visa and decide you want to stay longer, you can apply later for the balance of the 23-month period.
  • 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.
  • Upgrade to UK Working Holiday Scheme coming soon in July 2023
Open

You can apply online now.

Who can apply

The criteria and evidence below will provide you with the information you need 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. If you later apply for the balance of the 23-month period, you’ll need to provide proof of your identity then too.

  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 or 26 months after you first arrive in New Zealand, depending on the visa duration you apply for.

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

Health

You must be in good health

You may need to have a chest x-ray and/or 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. If you apply for a 23 month visa, you must provide medical certificates, unless you have sent them to us with another application and they were issued in the last 36 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.

Tips

  1. You won’t need to meet this requirement again if you’re applying for the balance of the 23-month period.

Citizenship

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

You must have a valid passport from your country of citizenship.

Tips

  1. We’ll check your passport when you arrive in New Zealand.

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

You must have at least NZ $350 for each month of your stay. Evidence can include:

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

  1. If you’re applying for the balance of the 23-month period, you will need to provide evidence that you meet this requirement.

Previous approvals

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

If you’re outside of New Zealand and we’ve approved an earlier application for you to have a New Zealand Working Holiday Visa, you can’t apply for this visa. This applies even if you didn’t use that visa.

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

Tips

  1. It’s OK to apply for the balance of the 23-months, if you’re already in New Zealand on a valid 12-month Working Holiday Visa.

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

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.
Tips

  1. It’s ok to apply while you’re temporarily visiting another country. You will be considered ordinarily resident in your country of citizenship if you have been away for less than two years prior to making a visa application.

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.

Stage 1

1
You apply online

You must apply online and in English. You can apply for either a 12 month or 23 month working holiday visa.

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 apply for a 23 month visa, you must provide a medical certificate and chest x-ray unless you have provided them with a previous applicaton and they were issued in the last 36 months.

If your total stay in New Zealand will exceed 24 months you must provide a Police Certificate(s), unless you have provided one with a previous application, and it was issued in the last 24 months.

Your stay could exceed 24 months if you are in NZ when you apply, or if you've spent time here in the past.

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

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

What you need to do for an x-ray or medical examination


How to obtain a police certificate
 

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 29 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.

Stage 2

1
Apply to extend your stay

If you come to New Zealand on a 12-month UK Working Holiday work visa, you can apply for the balance of the maximum 23-month period if you:

  • are in New Zealand on a valid Working Holiday Visa
  • have sufficient money to live on while in New Zealand
  • provide a medical certificate and chest x-ray if you didn't provide these when you applied for your first Working Holiday Scheme visa
  • send us your completed application form, immigration fee and immigration levy.
Working Holiday Scheme - Second Work Visa Application (INZ 1223) PDF 299KB
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. An International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy (IVL) of NZD $35 is charged and is included in the cost.

Timeframes - Processing
90% within 29 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.

Stage

1

First application

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)

Stage

2

Apply for a further 11 month working holiday visa

Payment methods

By Post

Credit Card
You can pay with Visa or MasterCard. We take payment when we receive your application. You must have enough funds available on the day we receive your application or it may be returned to you.

Debit Card
You can pay by debit card. We take payment when we receive your application. You must have enough funds available on the day we receive your application or it may be returned to you.

Postal address

Immigration New Zealand
PO Box 76895
Manukau City
Auckland 2241
New Zealand

Courier address

Immigration NZ
DX Box: EP71514
20 Fairfax Avenue
Penrose
Auckland 1061
New Zealand

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.

Notes

  • Your visa is valid from:

    • the date you enter New Zealand, if you are outside New Zealand
    • the date your visa is granted, if you are already in New Zealand.

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 $350 to live on for each month of your stay in New Zealand.

Notes

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

Work

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

  • you don’t work for more than 12 months
  • you don’t get a permanent job
  • the work you do is legal
  • you don’t provide commercial sexual services
  • you don’t run or invest in a business that provides commercial sexual services.
Notes

  • You can work the 12 months all at once or break it up during your stay.

    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.