Working holidays: your ticket to adventure

Working Holiday Permits or Working Holiday Visas are ideal for travellers looking to experience a foreign country while working. It’s a great way to dive into a new culture and get a taste of a local’s life. From Australia to Canada, here’s where you can go on a working holiday visas from the UK.

If you’re looking another way to travel abroad than just going for a RTW (which can be incredibly expensive) and are between the ages of 18 and 35, then you’ll want to know more about the working holiday visas to Canada, Australia and beyond, which are available for UK nationals. Did you know that young Brits can get working holiday visas for 7 countries, not including the fact that British nationals are able to work in any other EEA country without a work visa.

The ideal solution for travel and work

So, what’s a working holiday permit or visa? It’s a bilateral agreement between two countries that allow people between the ages of 18 and 30 (35 for trips to Canada) that allows when to travel and work in the country for a period of time, typically one year. There are usually a few conditions for each destination but nothing really to sweat over.

That means Brits can travel and live for a year in each other countries the United Kingdom has signed agreements withs like Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, Singapore, Japan and the USA.

Is it easy to get?

This is probably one of the easiest visa applications you can make. In most cases you can just head to the embassy website of the country you’d like to visit and find the link for working holiday visas. For some countries the application can be made completely online in 20 minutes, like New Zealand and Australia and at the end you pay your fee, around $100. Be careful though, some working holiday visas are more difficult to obtain than others. Take Japan for example, which requires a detailed program of your year.

You must have travel insurance to cover you for your stay and you must also have sufficient savings to support you for at least the first month you’re away, typically a sum of between £1500-2000 in your bank account. And let’s not forget, enough money to buy those flights to Sydney!

• Australia: Working Holiday Visas are available to British citizens between the ages of 18 and 30 permitting those eligible for stay up to 12 months.
• Canada: International Experience Canada enables UK citizens between the ages of 18 and 35 to stay in Canada for up to 1 year.
• Japan: Japan’s working holiday scheme allows British travellers between the ages of 18 and 29 to stay in Japan for up to 12 months.
• New Zealand: The working holiday scheme allows British citizens between the ages of 18 and 30 to live and work in New Zealand for up to 23 months.
• Singapore: The working holiday scheme for Singapore allows UK citizens between the ages of 18 and 30 to stay in Singapore for up to 6 months.
• Taiwan: Taiwan offers a working holiday agreement to UK citizens between the ages of 18 and 30 to stay for up to 12 months.
• USA: Full-time students from the UK may work in the USA during the summer holidays through BUNAC.

The most beautiful adventures

Once you have your permit in your pocket, it’s time for you to decide what you’ll do once you arrive! Wander through the Outback in Australia, join an indie rock band in Montreal, live like a hobbit in New Zealand… There are really no limitations to where your adventures can take you!