The Countries Next in Line for Australian Working Holiday Visas
As of July 2022, the Australian government already offers working holiday (or Work and Holiday) visas to young citizens of 47 countries. The most recent countries to be added to this list include Switzerland, Mongolia and Brazil – which were all added to Australia’s Work and Holiday visa program in 2022.
In the vast majority of cases, eligible young Australians can also apply for a working holiday visa in each partner country as Australia’s agreements are based on reciprocity. There are just a couple of exceptions, with China being the main one. (Switzerland also doesn’t specifically offer working holiday visas to Aussies, but that country has instead made it easier for Australians to move there more generally.)
With Australians now able to enjoy working holidays in around 45 countries, there are already plenty of options. But there will soon be even more!
Which countries will Australia next launch working holiday visa agreements with?
While we don’t yet know exactly when it will take effect, Australia has committed to offering working holiday visas to Indian citizens within 2 years of the recent Free Trade Agreement between Australia and India taking effect. This was signed in April 2022, so eligible Indians should be able to apply for an Australian Work and Holiday visa by April 2024.
There is no news yet about when working holidays in India will become available to Australians. But these visas will be offered to Australians if or when the Indian government launches its own working holiday program. (The hold-up is that this program doesn’t exist yet in India.)
On paper, Australia is also now in the process of implementing Working Holiday Maker visa arrangements with Papua New Guinea. But the agreement between Australia and Papua New Guinea was initially signed back in October 2011 and still isn’t in force. Given this process already began 11 years ago and the Australian government’s pledge to finalise these arrangements in 2016 also never eventuated, this might not happen any time soon…
Other working holiday visa deals under consideration
According to the Department of Home Affairs’ Working Holiday Maker visa program report from December 2021 (pdf), the Australian government is currently negotiating new Work and Holiday visa agreements with 13 other countries.
In alphabetical order, these countries are:
- Andorra
- Costa Rica
- Croatia
- Fiji
- Iceland
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Mexico
- Monaco
- Panama
- Paraguay
- Philippines
- Solomon Islands
This is exciting news for Australians as new reciprocal working holiday agreements will mean more options to live and work in other countries.
However, don’t rush to book plane tickets just yet. These bilateral negotiations are complicated and it can take years before an agreement is finalised. Working holiday visas for each country will only become available once these processes are completed. But if you’re planning ahead for a working holiday in 2-10 years from now, it’s good to know what new partnerships are in the works!
