Working Holiday visa (Subclass 417) | Gdaymayte

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Working Holiday visa (Subclass 417) | Gdaymayte

Eligibility

You'll need all 8.

These are the published requirements for the 417. Check each one applies to your situation.

Passport from an eligible country

Applicants have to hold a valid passport from one of the countries on the 417 list.

The current list includes the UK, Republic of Ireland, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hong Kong, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malta, Norway, the Republic of Cyprus, Sweden, and Taiwan.

Citizens of other countries (including the United States, India, China, and Vietnam) can't use the 417. They may be eligible for the Work and Holiday visa (subclass 462), which is the equivalent visa for a different country list.

Aged 18 to 30 (or 35 for some countries)

Applicants have to be at least 18 and no older than 30 at the date of application.

Several countries have a higher upper limit of 35, including Canada, Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy, and the United Kingdom.

The age check is at application date, not grant date or first entry. Turning 31 (or 36 for the extended-age countries) between application and grant doesn't invalidate the visa.

First 417 must be applied from outside Australia

A first Working Holiday visa has to be lodged from offshore. Applicants who are already in Australia on another visa can't apply for a first 417 while onshore.

Second and third 417s can be lodged from in or outside Australia, as long as the applicant holds a substantive visa or has held one in the last 28 days at the time of lodgement.

No accompanying dependent children

The 417 doesn't allow dependent children to be included in the application or to enter Australia with the holder. Applicants with dependent children can't use this visa for the family.

Partners are not included on a single 417 application either. Each partner needs to apply for their own 417 and meet the age, passport, and other rules on their own.

Enough money for the stay and to leave

Applicants have to show they have access to enough money to support themselves at the start of the stay, and to fund a departure flight at the end.

IMMI publishes a guideline figure (a few thousand dollars plus airfare money), but the rule is about being self-supporting rather than meeting a fixed threshold.

Bank statements and a return or onward ticket are the usual evidence.

Genuine intention as a working holiday

The visa is designed for travel, with work to help fund the trip.

Applicants whose primary purpose is work (not travel) or long-term settlement may not meet the rule. A pattern of mostly working with little travel can be a problem at the second or third 417 stage.

The work-to-travel balance matters more for first-time applicants from countries with high refusal histories.

Not previously in Australia on a 417 or 462

First 417 applicants must not have been in Australia on a previous 417 or 462 Working Holiday Maker visa.

Applicants who have already done a Working Holiday in Australia (under either visa) need to apply for a second or third 417 instead, with the qualifying specified work behind them.

Health and character

Most applicants need a basic health check. Specific checks vary by country of origin and intended work, with more rigorous screening for healthcare or childcare work.

Police certificates are required from any country where the applicant has lived for 12 months or more in the 10 years before applying.

The character requirement continues throughout the visa: serious offences in Australia can trigger cancellation.

What nobody tells you

The detail worth knowing before you lodge.

01

The 6-month single-employer cap is real, but more flexible than it sounds

The rule is that you can usually work for the same employer for no more than 6 months on a 417. The point is to keep the visa as a working holiday rather than a back-door long-term work permit.

There are exceptions worth knowing. You can work past 6 months for the same employer with written permission from IMMI, or if the work is in particular industries (plant and animal cultivation, fishing, forestry, mining, construction in some regional areas, healthcare in disaster recovery zones).

Different physical locations of the same employer may count separately.

Breaching the 6-month cap is a visa condition breach (8547) and can trigger cancellation or refusal of a future visa.

02

The 4-month study window is generous but strict on length

417 holders can study or train for up to 4 months total (17 weeks) during the 12-month visa.

This is often misunderstood. It's a hard total cap, not 4 months per course. You can split the study across the year, but the combined time has to stay under 17 weeks.

There is no restriction on the type of course or institution. Long-haul study (more than 17 weeks) needs a Student visa, not a 417.

03

Specified work is narrower than 'regional work', and the postcode list matters

The 3 months of specified work needed for a second 417 (and 6 months for a third) isn't just 'any job in regional Australia'. The job has to be in an approved industry and, for some industries, in an approved postcode.

The approved list includes plant and animal cultivation (farm work, picking, packing), fishing and pearling, tree farming and felling, mining, construction in eligible regional areas, and from 2025, bushfire and natural-disaster recovery work in certain postcodes.

Always check the IMMI specified-work page before accepting a role expecting it to count.

04

Travel out, travel back. The 12 months keeps running.

417 holders can leave Australia and come back as many times as they like during the visa.

The catch is the 12-month stay clock starts on the date of first entry and runs continuously.

Spending 3 months in Thailand mid-visa doesn't give back those 3 months at the end.

People who want a longer total trip in Australia tend to time the first entry, do the visa run-in, then save overseas travel for the gap between first and second 417.

Community questions (FAQ)

What people actually ask.

The 417 is open to passport holders from around 19 countries and jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hong Kong, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malta, Norway, Republic of Cyprus, Sweden, and Taiwan.

Citizens of other countries (such as the United States, India, China, Vietnam, or Spain) can't use the 417. They may be eligible for the Work and Holiday visa (subclass 462) instead, which covers a different country list.

The standard age limit is 18 to 30 at the date of application.

Some countries have a higher upper limit of 35: Canada, Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy, and the United Kingdom.

The age is checked at the application date, not the grant date or the date of first entry.

Yes, if you do qualifying specified work.

A second 417 requires at least 3 months (88 calendar days) of approved specified work during the first 417. A third 417 requires a further 6 months of specified work during the second 417.

Specified work is limited to certain industries (farming, fishing, forestry, mining, construction, healthcare in disaster recovery zones) and specific approved postcodes for some industries.

With all three stacks, a 417 holder can spend up to 3 years in Australia.

Usually no, more than 6 months. The 417 condition (8547) is that you can work for one employer for a maximum of 6 months.

There are exceptions for certain industries (plant and animal cultivation, fishing, forestry, mining, regional construction, disaster recovery work). You can also apply to IMMI for written permission to extend.

Different locations of the same employer may count separately. Breaching the cap is a condition breach and can affect future visas.

Yes, up to 4 months total (17 weeks) across the 12-month visa.

This is a hard combined cap, not a per-course allowance. There is no restriction on the type of course.

Anyone wanting to study longer needs a Student visa.

No to children: the 417 doesn't allow dependent children to enter Australia with the holder.

Partners aren't included on a single application either. If both partners want to come on a Working Holiday, each has to apply for their own 417 (or 462 if they're from a 462 country) and meet the age and passport rules independently.

Within the same visa subclass, yes, up to three times. A first, second, and third 417 are the standard stack, each requiring the qualifying specified work for the next.

Mixing a 417 and a 462 in the same stack isn't possible: the second and third year extensions are within the same visa subclass.

Anyone who has held a 462 can't then apply for a first 417, and vice versa.

Yes, as many times as you want during the 12 months. The visa allows multiple entries.

The catch is the 12-month stay clock starts on the date of first entry and runs continuously, whether you're in or out of Australia.

Time spent overseas during the visa doesn't extend the end date.