After my journey through Australia on a Work and Holiday visa, a few of my friends were interested in such visa. I'm going to try to provide as much information as I can within my knowledge. This article will only serve US citizens.
Working Holiday visa is a residence permit that allows one to enter a country and have the ability to reside and work and/or study for six (6) to twelve (12) months (restriction on the duration of study) without the need for sponsorship for employment. This program is restricted to people age 18 to 30 which also encourage young adults to travel and experience cultural exchange. Why do Working Holiday visa? It is one of the easiest visa to obtain and it lets you travel a country for one year AND it permits you to work there without sponsorship. What kind of people have I met that has done this visa? There were basically two kinds of people: those that want to explore the world and discover what they want to do before they go home to attend university or those that are lost with what they want to do so career wise so they travel to seek for enlightenment. I've met people leaving their country on their 18th birthday to people that make sure they enter the country one day before they turn 31. US is partnered up with six countries to allow such visa entry and they all vary in terms of requirements and duration (which is shitty compare to other countries' partnership).
US citizen -> Canada: Full time students or recent graduate within 9 months can apply for working holiday to Canada for 12 months.
US citizen -> Singapore: Full time students or recent graduate within the last year from a World Top 200 Ranked University (based on specific ranking, you can search that) can apply for working holiday to Singapore for 6 months.
US citizen -> Ireland: Full time student or recent graduate within the last year can apply for working holiday to Ireland for 12 months.
US citizen -> South Korea: Full time student or recent graduate within the last year can apply for working holiday to South Korea for 12 months. Working Holiday via holders cannot perform jobs in education, modeling, entertainment, and some other restrictions.
US citizen -> New Zealand: Other than age restriction, you may apply for working holiday to New Zealand freely as long as you have enough funds to purchase return tickets. Work for 3 months at a farm to gain an extra 3 months in New Zealand for a total of 15 months.
US citizen -> Australia: Other than age restriction, you may apply for work and holiday to Australia freely as long as you have enough funds to purchase return tickets. Work for 3 months in agriculture, tourism, hospitality, mining, construction, disability and age care on northern Australia to gain an additional second year for a total of 24 months.
Conclusion? Unless you've graduated within the last year, you're fucked. You can try to enroll part-time online course to say you're still studying, but otherwise Australia and New Zealand are the only two countries that are available to you. That's why I chose Australia.
Work and Holiday (Subclass 462) visa is the "working holiday" visa that US citizen apply for. Previously, there's a difference between 462 and 417 (462 can only do one year vs 417 can work at a farm to get a sign off for 2nd year), but due to recent changes, there's not much of a difference now. As of November 2015, 462 visa holders are allowed to apply for second year as long as they work in agriculture, tourism, hospitality, mining, construction, disability and age care within the northern Australia (Queenlands, Northern Territory, north side of Western Australia). This is an initiative to develop the northern part of Australia (extremely rural unlike Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth to name a few that are on the southern part of Australia).
Pre-Visa Application
Make sure you save enough money. Australia is not cheap to get around. The country is a bit smaller than United States. Going from East to West require at least 4.5 hours of flight. Outside of the big cities, it's all desert and trees. In terms of living, living in big cities are costly. Sydney is equivalent to living in New York City. Living in Melbourne city and its surrounding, rents are AU$350 a week to get your own room or AU$200 a week to share a room. You might find yourself living with 5 other share mates sharing the flat. Perth is a bit lower, but still pretty costly. In terms of food, if you can find a market, you can find cheaper food. If you shop at supermarket, expect it to cost a lot more than the US. At Queen Victoria market, I can get potatoes, capsicum (bell pepper), carrots, bananas for AU$1 a kilogram (2.2lbs) each. In a supermarket, potatoes go for AU$3/kg, capsicum range from AU$4 to 7/kg, bananas go for AU$3/kg, steak go for AU$33/kg you get the gist of it. Eating out ranges from AU$10 to AU$45 for comfortable food. Big cities are spread out and you will find yourself flying a lot of you want to travel all around Australia. You can rent a car if you find people to split the cost. You can also find some relocation deals; basically you help a company relocate their car and they will only charge you $1 a day and give you a set amount of date to get the car to the other location. But overall, I find myself spending the most money on accommodation and transportation. Also, I might not be able to provide as much information, so do your Google search too.
Visa Application
https://www.border.gov.au/immiaccount
Create an ImmiAccount. Pretty straight forward on applying. The visa will cost US$440. Once you complete your application, they will require you to get a medical examination at a designated health center/hospital. The examination will cost US$400 and insurance does not cover the cost. Make sure you have like 2 months time frame for this process before your flight date. Unlike New Zealand working holiday visa process that sends you the approval email within 15 hours after application, Australia one will take at least two weeks to get the examination and two weeks to confirm that you've been approved for the visa. I don't remember if they asked me for proof of funding that I can purchase a round trip ticket, but they might ask for that too. Overall, it's a simple visa application.
Pre-Departure
If you plan on traveling all around Australia, I recommend getting a hiking backpack that can carry 46L~50L. I traveled around Australia for a year on about 33lbs worth of stuff including all my electronics. One thing you don't want to be doing is lugging around a huge luggage. You want something that can fit into hostel lockers and something easy to carry on your shoulder because that will free up your two hands to carry other misc stuff. Some essentials are plastic bags which will come in handy in any occasions. Quick dry underwear and towel for those times when you need to check out of the hostel at 10AM. The whole year, I survived on 3 pairs of ExOfficio Men's Give-N-Go boxer briefs. Wash them during shower, dries over night, and significantly lighten on the amount you need to bring/carry. One thing good about hostels is that they provide pillow, blanket, and linen. If you find yourself renting, you can get some cheap bedding from Kmart or Big W. Unlike going to work or school, you probably won't see the same people for a week straight, so pack light on clothes. It's okay to wear the same clothes for 2~3 days before washing. Cover it up with cologne, perfume, deodorant, whatever you have. I brought 4 short sleeves t-shirts, two button up, 2 shorts, 2 long pants, and a ultra light down vest plus a casual jacket. Bring Spring/Summer clothes. Dress more during colder weathers, but you cannot wear cold clothing during summer. Plan accordingly to travel south during summer and north during winter to escape the cold.
Traveling
As always, be cautious of your surroundings, be safe, and have fun!
I don't want to type too much, so I'll end it here. Need more advice? Contact me.
