Introduction

It is very important to understand the conditions which apply to your working holiday visa. If you breach a visa condition, possible consequences could be:

• Loss of eligibility to apply for further visas from within Australia
• Cancellation of your visa
• Being placed in Immigration Detention
• Removal from Australia

Visa Duration

Your visa will have a "first entry date" - you will need to enter Australia prior to the first entry date. The working holiday visa will then be valid for 12 months from the date you first enter Australia. You will need to either depart Australia or apply for further stay within 12 months of the first entry date. Note that time spent outside Australia will not extend the validity of the working holiday visa.

It is now possible for working holiday makers who undertake seasonal work to extend their working holiday visa for another 12 months.

Work Restriction 8108 & 8548

All working holidays granted prior to 1 July 2006 are subject to condition 8108. This condition states that you cannot work for any one employer for longer than 3 months, without permission from DIMA. It makes no difference if you are working part-time or full-time - you must not stay longer than 3 months with the employer. The condition is applied quite strictly, and work in the same position doing the same job for more than 3 months would breach the condition, even if the legal entity providing employment is changed.

From 1 July 2006, working holiday visas are granted subject to condition 8548. Condition 8548 is similar to condition 8108, except that it allows employment for 6 months with each employer. The 6-month restriction applies to all working holiday visas applied for after 1 July 2006.

If you obtain a working holiday extension, you can go back to work for an employer for another 3 or 6 months, depending on whether you applied for your extension after 1 July 2006.

8108 is possibly the most commonly breached visa condition for working holiday makers. If you breach this condition, it will be very difficult for you to move onto a business sponsorship visa even if you have an employer willing to sponsor you.

It is possible to get permission from DIMA to work for an employer for more than the usual maximum period. This process is not straightforward and if you wish to get this approval, please contact us to obtain our assistance.

Study Restriction 8201

This restriction means that you cannot undertake study or training for more than 3 months in Australia. Study or training would cover any formal classroom-based training, or informal workplace-based training. If you wish to study for more than 3 months, you should consider applying for a student visa.