Every guide to working holiday visas starts with the countries. That is the second question. The first is your passport, because these visas exist only where two governments signed an agreement, and no amount of preparation substitutes for being on the list.
So this page leads with eligibility, including the awkward part: for a large share of the people reading it, no scheme is open, and there is a better use of their time.
Who each scheme is actually for
| Scheme | Open to | Ages |
|---|---|---|
| Australia, subclass 417 | 19 countries: largely western Europe, plus Canada, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong | 18 to 30, or 18 to 35 for Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, South Korea and the UK |
| Australia, subclass 462 | A broader and different list: the United States, China, India, Vietnam, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Thailand, Turkey, Israel, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Argentina, Peru, Papua New Guinea, Portugal, Spain, Singapore, Uruguay and others | 18 to 30 |
| International Experience Canada | 36 countries, with three categories and not every category open to every country | 18 to 35, depending on country |
| Germany | Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Uruguay, and Canada under a youth mobility agreement | 18 to 30, 34 for South Korea, 35 for Canada |
| New Zealand | A long list. UK citizens get up to 36 months under the New Zealand to UK trade agreement; most others 12 | Usually 18 to 30 or 35 |
Two things fall out of that table. Australia runs two separate schemes with different country lists, and people apply for the wrong one: the 417 is the easier visa and the 462 is the one most non-European applicants need. And the age limit is frequently 35 rather than 30, which quietly re-opens the route for people who assumed they had aged out. Home Affairs publishes both lists.
The 462 is not the 417 with a different number
If you are on the 462 list, expect three conditions the 417 does not impose:
- Functional English, evidenced.
- Education requirements for some nationalities, typically some tertiary study.
- An annual cap per country, which resets on 1 July. When a country’s places are gone, they are gone until the next programme year.
And for three countries it is a lottery. Chinese, Indian and Vietnamese applicants must register for a ballot through ImmiAccount, at a non-refundable AUD 25, and wait to be drawn:
| Country | Grants capped at |
|---|---|
| China | 5,000 |
| Vietnam | 1,500 |
| India | 1,000 |
One thousand places for India is worth staring at for a moment. It is a real route and it is a lottery ticket, and it should be treated as one: register, then carry on with a plan that does not depend on winning. The visa charge itself, from 1 July 2026, is AUD 840 for a first application and AUD 1,000 for second and third year applications, payable only if you are drawn and apply.
If no scheme is open to you
For most of Africa, most of the Middle East, and Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal and the Philippines, there is no working holiday route at all. That is not a gap in your research; the agreements do not exist.
The honest alternative is the one this site is built around: an occupation on a published shortage list, which is decided by what you can do rather than by which passport you hold. Several routes ask for no degree and no working holiday agreement:
- Germany’s Opportunity Card, which lets you come and look for work on a points test rather than an offer.
- Job seeker visas in Austria, Sweden, Portugal and elsewhere, several of which are open to any nationality.
- Shortage occupation routes in Lithuania, Slovakia and Poland, where a listed occupation waives the labour market test.
See the German Opportunity Card, eight countries with job seeker visas and routes that do not need a degree.
Using a working holiday well, if you have one
The visa is a year or two. What you do with it decides whether it becomes anything:
- In Australia, specified regional work unlocks a second and third year. Farm, fishing, forestry and some construction and hospitality work counts, and the requirement is documented precisely, so keep pay slips from day one.
- In Canada, the point is the work experience itself. Canadian experience raises your Express Entry score and opens the Canadian Experience Class and several provincial programmes.
- In Germany, the route out is the EU Blue Card or a skilled worker permit, and the year is best spent getting a qualification recognised rather than working bars.
- Everywhere, start the next visa six months before this one expires. Applications from inside the country are usually easier and always faster.
More on the Canadian exit in the Canadian Experience Class, and on recognition in getting a qualification recognised. IRCC publishes the IEC country list and the Federal Foreign Office publishes Germany’s.
What to do
- Check your passport against each scheme before reading anything else about it.
- Check the age limit for your country specifically. It is 35 more often than people think.
- If you need the 462 ballot, register early and plan as though you will not be drawn.
- If no scheme is open to you, stop looking and work the shortage lists instead. That route does not care about your passport.
- Document everything you do on the visa, especially regional work in Australia. The extension turns on evidence.
Related: applying for visa jobs in Australia, the Express Entry system and 11 European seasonal work visas. Browse shortage jobs with visa sponsorship on our board.
Last checked September 2026. Country lists, caps, ages and fees change each programme year. Confirm with the immigration authority of the country concerned before applying.
