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Working Holidaymakers

A working holiday visa is a travel permit which allows travellers to undertake employment in the country issuing the visa for the purpose of supplementing their travel funds.

Most working holiday visas are offered under reciprocal agreements between certain countries, to encourage travel and cultural exchange between their citizens.

It allows young people to experience living in a foreign country, without undergoing the usual costly expenses of finding work sponsorship in advance, or going on expensive university exchange programmes.

The UK Working Holidaymaker visa category provides an excellent way for young people to live and work in the UK for up to two years. 

There are certain requirements to be met for Working Holidaymaker Visa category:

• Applicants have to be a Commonwealth Citizen or British Dependent Territories Citizen or British Overseas Citizen between the ages of 17 and 30 years of age. 

•  Applicants can come to the UK for an extended holiday for up to two years and can take up work for one year incidental to their holiday. 

•  Applicants can pursue their career in the UK as long as this is a purely incidental part of the holiday. 

•  Applicants will not be allowed to do business in the UK unless it is a very small business probably only employing you.

If the business will involve commitments such as investment in premises or in expensive equipment, or require the applicant to employ staff this is not permitted under the working holidaymaker scheme.

•   Applicants are not allowed to work as a professional sports person. 

•   Applicants can only work for a maximum period of twelve months in the UK over the two year period. 

•   Applicants should have planned the employment so that it is an integral part of the working holiday. 

•   Applicants should be single, or are married to someone who also qualifies as a working holidaymaker and wish to both be working holidaymakers. 

•   Applicants do not have any dependent children who are aged five years or over, or who will be five before the end of the two years as working holidaymaker. 

•   Applicants should have enough funds to support themselves until they find work without requiring public funds. 

•   Applicants should probably have enough money to support themselves for the first month. 

•   Applicants are able to pay for a return ticket or have at least enough money to go onto another destination. 

•   Applicants intended to leave the UK at the end of the working holidaymaker status.  

Working Holidaymaker can spend up to two years in UK.
An applicant can spend up to two years in the UK as a working holidaymaker. This two year period starts as soon as the applicant enters the UK on this status and will last exactly two years.

For example, if you enter the UK for six months and then decide to spend the following one and half years outside the UK you will have used up your two years as a working holidaymaker. 

If after spending two years in the UK you may be in a position to stay longer. There are many working holidaymakers who remain in the UK on an UK work permit, on the basis of marriage, as an unmarried partner, as a student, etc. 

If you wish to work longer under the working holidaymaker scheme in an employment based category this will only be possible under the Work Permit category if the occupation is on the designated shortage occupations list kept by Work Permits (UK). If you leave the UK you may have a greater choice of visa categories to come under.

Working under Working Holidaymaker Visa category
•  Applicants can take on any part-time or full-time job as long as this is incidental to the holiday. 

•  Applicants can pursue career in the UK as long as this is a purely incidental part of the holiday. 

•  Applicant will not be allowed to do business in the UK unless it is a very small business probably only employing you. If the business will involve commitments such as investment in premises or in expensive equipment, or require you to employ staff this is not permitted under the working holidaymaker scheme. 

•  Applicants are not allowed to work as a professional sports person. 

•  Applicants should be on holiday for at least one year out of the two year period on the working holidaymaker visa. Applicants do not have to take this holiday all at once and the applicant  could, for example, decide to take this holiday at various times during the two years.

•  Applicants can switch to being a work permit holder after one year in the UK as long as the job is on the skills shortage list.

However, the applicant should note that work permits are normally only issued for high level jobs and where the employer can show that there is a shortage of people to fill the vacancy. 

•  If you are physically outside the UK you may have a greater choice of visa categories for entry to the UK.

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