Working Holiday Visa (Subclass 417)

The Working Holiday Visa under Subclass 417 is a temporary visa for young adults who want an extended holiday and to work here to fund it. If you are between the ages of 18 and 30 and are looking to have a holiday and work simultaneously in Australia for up to a year, then this is the perfect visa for you. You get the opportunity to find and gain work experience in Australia which has a wide range of commercial exposure.

You can obtain an extension of up to 12 months two more times on your Working Holiday Visa. Once you have held a Working Holiday visa for a year the Department may grant you a second Working Holiday visa, provided you meet the second wave’s requirements and are still under the age of 31. From July 1, 2019, Working Holiday Visa holders who carry out work for 6 months in specified regional areas of Australia while on their second Working Holiday Visa may be eligible to apply for a third working holiday visa.

First Working Holiday Visa

The first working holiday under the Working Holiday Visa (Subclass 417) allows you to stay in Australia for up to 12 months and lets you to do short term work in Australia to help pay for your holiday, study for up to 4 months, and travel to and from Australia as many times as you like. Also, if you do specified work, you may be eligible for a 2nd or 3rd working holiday visa.

Eligibility criteria for a First Working Holiday Visa (Subclass 417)

1. You must have a passport from one of the following countries:

Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Taiwan, UK.

2. You must be aged between 18 – 30 (or up to 35 for Canadian, Irish and French passport holders.)
3. You must not have previously entered Australia on a Subclass 417 or 462 visa.
4. You must have sufficient funds (usually around AU$ 5000 plus return air fare.)
5. You must meet necessary health requirements.
6. You must meet necessary character requirements.
7. You must have no outstanding debts to the Australian government.
8. You must not have previously had a visa refused or canceled for Australia.

Second Working Holiday Visa

The second working holiday visa under the Working Holiday Visa (Subclass 417) allows you to extend your stay in Australia for up to 12 months to continuing doing short term work to pay for your holiday trip. You must have completed at least 3 months of specified Subclass 417 work in order to be eligible for the second working holiday visa.

Eligibility criteria for a Second Working Holiday Visa (Subclass 417)

1. You must have held a First Working Holiday Visa under Subclass 417 for at least 12 months immediately before the date of application.
2. You must have completed at least 3 months of specified subclass 417 work​​​ in regional Australia which includes:

Plant and Animal Cultivation

• The harvesting and/or packing of fruit and vegetable crops
• Pruning and trimming vines and trees

This must be your primary employment task and directly associated with the cultivation and commercial sale of plant produce, such as fruit and nut crops (commercial horticultural activities). General garden maintenance is not eligible.

• General maintenance crop work
• Cultivating or propagating plants, fungi or their products or parts
• Immediate processing of plant products
• Maintaining animals for the purpose of selling them or their bodily produce, including natural increase

Maintaining animals for tourism or recreational purposes is not eligible.

• Immediate processing of animal products including shearing, butchery, packing and tanning

Secondary processing of animal products, such as small goods processing and retail butchery is not eligible.

• Manufacturing dairy produce from raw material.

Fishing and Pearling

• Conducting operations relating directly to taking or catching fish and other aquatic species
• Conducting operations relating directly to taking or culturing pearls or pearl shell

Tree Farming and Felling

• Planting or tending trees in a plantation or forest that are intended to be felled
• Felling trees in a plantation or forest
• Transporting trees or parts of trees that were felled in a plantation or forest to the place where they are to be milled

Mining

• Coal mining
• Oil and gas extraction
• Metal ore mining
• Construction material mining
• Non-metallic mineral mining and quarrying exploration
• Mining support services

Construction

• Residential building construction
• Non-residential building construction
• Heavy and civil engineering construction
• Land development and site preparation services
• Building structure services
• Building installation services
• Building completion services
• Other construction services

3. If you are in Australia, you must hold a substantive visa or your last substantive visa should have expired less than 28 days ago.

Third Working Holiday Visa

The third working holiday visa under the Working Holiday Visa (Subclass 417) is the second and final extension that can be provided to an applicant to extend their stay for an additional 12 months in Australia. This visa allows you to continuing doing short term work to pay for your holiday trip and stay in Australia temporarily. You must have completed at least 6 months of specified Subclass 417 work in order to be eligible for the third working holiday visa. There is no further extension via this visa stream and visa holders may apply to other eligible visa types if they wish to stay in Australia further.

Eligibility criteria for a Third Working Holiday Visa (Subclass 417)

1. You must have held a Second Working Holiday Visa under Subclass 417 for at least 12 months immediately before the date of application.
2. You must have completed at least 6 months of specified subclass 417 work mentioned in the Second Working Holiday Visa in regional Australia.
3. If you are in Australia, you must hold a substantive visa or your last substantive visa should have expired less than 28 days ago.

Privileges linked with the Working Holiday Visa (Subclass 417)

• Entitlement to stay in Australia for 12 months.
• Right to work in Australia (for six months with each employer.)
• Right to study in Australia for up to four months.
• Allowed to leave and enter Australia as many times as you wish.
• Able to access your superannuation when you leave Australia.

Processing time and cost for the 417 visa

Average processing time

The time period for eligible applications to be processed varies under each stream and although a guaranteed processing time cannot be determined, an average standard time taken to process these applications can be determined. The average processing period for all levels under the Working Holiday Visa (Subclass 417) are mentioned hereunder:

• First Working Holiday Visa: 90% in 14 days
• Second Working Holiday Visa: 90% in 14 days
• Third Working Holiday Visa: 90% in 14 days

The time to successfully process an application may vary depending on each case. External agencies and governmental bodies may take some time to conduct checks and verify the data presented in your application. To avoid any delays that may arise from your side, you must ensure that a complete and fully-checked application is filed on your behalf and any additional requests by the department must be handled promptly.

Average estimated cost

The fees associated with applying for the 417 Visa are prescribed by the Department of Home Affairs and are updated from time to time which can be easily checked in the department’s online portal as well. The relevant fees are payable on the lodgment of your visa application depending upon the pathway that you are choosing. The primary application fee of an individual applying for the Visitor Visa (Subclass 417) via different streams is mentioned below:

• First Working Holiday Visa: AU$ 635
• Second Working Holiday Visa: AU$ 635
• Third Working Holiday Visa: AU$ 635

However, these fees are only a general primary fee quoted by the department as of now and changes in the amount are made as per requirement by the department itself. Additional fees are applicable for individuals who are looking to include their spouse or children in their application. The amount of additional fees varies according to the age and relationship of the included individual with the applicant. This is also constantly being updated by the Department of Home Affairs and can easily be checked from their online portal as well.

Steps to apply for the Working Holiday Visa (Subclass 417)   

We have a very straightforward and principled process of visa appeal which ensures you the best results. Our agents and lawyers are always with you throughout the process of your application and they will make sure that your personal application is up-to-date with all the constantly changing policies and figures. You can go through these steps in order to apply for your desired visa type:

1. Schedule a free consultation with our team through our portal where we shall go over your case briefly to provide you with the necessary recommendations.
2. After your consultation, our agents shall begin the process of preparing for your appeal. We will gather and prepare all of the documentation and perform any additional checks that are necessary to lodge a visa application.
3. We will proceed towards preparing an attractive application for your case once all documentation is checked and verified.
4. The application will be lodged on your behalf in a timely manner.

We will then notify you of the result promptly when received.