New Zealand’s Working Holiday Schemes Reopening

On 3 February 2023, Immigration New Zealand announced the reopening dates of its capped Working Holiday schemes for the year.

Once each scheme opens, it’ll stay open until all allocated spaces are filled. Once all spaces are taken, the scheme will close until 2024.

2023 Reopening dates

The reopening dates for New Zealand’s Working Holiday Schemes are as follows:

Working Holiday Scheme2023 Opening DateCap (People per Year)
Malaysia7 February 1,150
Portugal21 February 50
Mexico28 February 200
Estonia9 March 100
Philippines16 March 100
Hong Kong28 March 400
Slovenia6 April 100
Hungary27 April 100
Slovakia4 May 100
Austria11 May 100
Korea18 May 3,000
Luxembourg1 June 50
Poland8 June 100
Latvia15 June 100
Czech22 June 1,200
Israel4 July 200
Singapore11 July 300
Taiwan18 July 600
China1 August 1,000
Malta10 August 50
Lithuania17 August 100
Thailand24 August 100
Turkey31 August 100
Argentina14 September 1,000
Croatia26 September 100
Peru3 October 100
Brazil10 October 300
Chile19 October 940
Uruguay2 November 200

What are the Working Holiday scheme?

The Working Holiday schemes are agreements between New Zealand and other countries allowing the citizens of those countries to work in and explore New Zealand.

The associated visa is a Working Holiday Visa. This visa is available to young people, usually aged 18 to 30, but 18 to 35 in select countries.

More about the Working Holiday Visa

As discussed above, the Working Holiday Visa allows young people to work in and explore New Zealand.

The main purpose of the stay must be to holiday, with both work or a short amount of study as the secondary intentions.

Furthermore:

  • Most visa holders can stay in New Zealand for up to 12 months on a Working Holiday Visa. Those from the UK or Canada are eligible for visas up to 23 months.
  • Working Holiday Visa holders cannot accept permanent job offers while in New Zealand.
  • Each country has its own employment conditions. For instance, some countries stipulate that you can’t work for the same employer for more than three months while in New Zealand, while others don’t.
  • Working Holiday Visa holders can study one or more courses for up to six months in New Zealand.
  • Visa holders must have enough money to buy a return ticket.

Working Holiday Visa requirements and conditions for each country

Please visit each country’s page on Immigration New Zealand to see the requirements and conditions of its Working Holiday Visa:

Europe

Austria | Belgium | Croatia | Czech | Denmark | Estonia | Finland | France | Germany | Hungary | Ireland | Italy | Latvia | Lithuania | Luxembourg | Malta | Netherlands | Norway | Poland | Portugal | Slovakia | Slovenia | Spain | Sweden | United Kingdom

North America

Canada | USA

South America

Argentina | Brazil | Chile | Mexico | Peru | Uruguay

Asia

China | Hong Kong | Japan | Korea | Malaysia | Philippines | Singapore | Taiwan | Thailand | Vietnam

Middle East

Israel | Turkey

What if you want to work in New Zealand permanently?

Visa holders who want to live and work in New Zealand permanently must explore their visa options to allow them to do that.

New Zealand has work visas for skilled migrants and migrants with job offers from accredited New Zealand employers. Partners of New Zealanders also have visa options that allow them to work in New Zealand.

Our advice? Speak with a licensed immigration advisor so that they can assess your eligibility against the requirements of the various visas. It’s the best way to ensure that you know exactly what options are available to you.




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