photo by Paul Davidson Follow
You probably have heard of the name “working holiday” before, right? But do you really know what you can do under this visa, or who are eligible to obtain the visa? If you meet the age requirements set by the country you wish to visit, you might be allowed to experience many activities all at once with this almighty working holiday visa. If you want to know the ABCs of working holiday programme, this column is for you.
What is the working holiday programme?
The working holiday programmes are special visa arrangements open to the youth of Japan and its partner countries/region under the working holiday agreements. This visa enable its holders to engage in employments while they enjoy many activities such as travelling, studying language and international exchanges. Each partner country sets different conditions on studying and working for foreign residents. Basically working holiday visa holders allowed to freely spend their time in the country as long as they follows the conditions of visa. One of the main purpose of working holiday is to develop global perspectives of the youth, therefore there is an age requirements for applicants of this visa. To be eligible to working holiday via, you have to be 18 to 30 years of age in most of the partner countries. Application procedures and conditions of application vary depending on countries and years, and are regularly revised. The application might be completed online, in person at the embassy, or you might have to have an interview or your visa might be granted in a drawing. If you wish to apply for working holiday visa, make sure to check application requirements on official websites of the partner countries’ embassy or consulates-general, and allow plenty of time before the planned date of your departure.
List of embassies and consulate-generals of Japan: http://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/link/zaigai/index.html
Countries/region that have working holiday arrangement with Japan
Japan first started the working holiday progrramme in 1980 and Australia was the only partner country back then. New Zealand and Canada also entered the programme with Japan in later years and the number of partner countries gradually increased. At the present day, the following 15 countries/region has the working holiday arrangement with Japan.
Asia
Republic of Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong
Europe
Canada, France, Germany, The United Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia (from June 2016)
Oceania
Australia, New Zealand
The number of partner countries is expected to increase in the future. Passport holders of those countries who meet the conditions will be allowed to visit Japan under working holiday status, or vice versa.
Eligibility criteria for working holiday status in Japan
There are the criteria you have to meet to obtain a working holiday status in Japan. To be eligible to this status, you must:
- be a national or resident of the partner country/region residing in the partner country/region
- be intending primarily to spend holiday in Japan for a specific length of time
- be between 18 to 30 years of age at the time of application (with Australia, Canada, Republic of Korea, you must be age 18 to 25 years of age unless permitted by the government of each country)
- not be accompanied by dependents or children
- have a valid passport of his/her country and a return flight ticket or sufficient fund to purchase a return ticket
- possess sufficient funds for the maintenance of his/her stay during the initial period of stay in the country
- be in good health
- not have issued a working holiday visa of the country in the past
Note: the conditions of visa application vary depending on the country/region or applicants’ nationalities. Contact Embassies or Consulates-General of each country for more details.
Required Documents
Non-Japanese who wants to stay in Japan can make their application to embassies or Consulates-General of Japan in their country/region. The Japanese who wants to stay in the partner country can make their applications to diplomatic offices of the partner countries in Japan. The followings are required documents to apply working holiday visa. Application fees may apply depending on the country.
Passport
Make sure your passport will be valid for more than one year from the planned date of your arrival.
Visa application form
Fill in the application form answering all the questions. The application form can be downloaded from the website.
Photo of the applicant
A photo must be cut in prescribed size. Neatly attach the photo on the application form if needed.
Proposed schedule
The applicants are required to present a rough schedule of their stay in the country beforehand, though, it is not mandatory to strictly follow it.
Resume
Curriculum Vitae or Resume detailing your personal, educational and employment history, and travel records to Japan. Use a template if required.
Covering letter
A letter explaining the purpose of your visit and why you wish to obtain working holiday visa to visit the country.
Proof of funds
The amount of required funds varies depending on whether you have a confirmation of a return flight ticket.
Schedule from visa application to arrival
It is a little confusing, but the validity period of working holiday visa does not start from the day of application. After your visa application is granted, you will receive a visa grant notice which is valid for one year from the date stated. You will need to present the notice letter at the immigration counter on your arrival in the country. Your one year visa will be issued on the day of your arrival when an immigration officer decided after the assessment that you have fulfilled all the conditions. You have a whole year after your application is granted to allow yourself get prepared for a travel. The followings are major procedures you will go through.
Apply for working holiday visa
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Receive a visa grant notice letter
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(The visa grant notice letter is valid for a year)
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Travel to the country which granted your working holiday visa (your visa will be issued on the day of your arrival)
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（Your working holiday visa is valid for a year）
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Your working holiday visa expires. Return home
The ceiling of age requirements also vary between countries. Australia accepts visa applications as long as applicants lodge their visa applications before their 31st birthday. Canada requires applicants to be under 31 years of age at the time they receive an online invitation after a visa application and drawing. If you are close to the ceiling of applicable age, you should apply for the visa as soon as possible.
Work permit is a great advantage
The primal purpose of the working holiday programmes is providing opportunities for young people to spend holiday and grow mutual understandings and friendship between nations. Therefore you do not have to work just because it is called the “working holiday” programme. You are permitted to engage in employment to supplement your travel and living funds, but you can spend all your time in the partner country by just traveling and enjoying holiday if you wish. However, unlike tourist visas for sightseeings or student visas to study, which is not so hard to obtain, working visas are very hard to obtain as it has so many criteria to meet. Working holiday is a great opportunities to work in other country without obtaining working visas. The best part of the working holiday programme is, you can actually get into a real life there and experience the country’s culture and customs. In addition, working holiday visa can be issued to the same applicant only once in each country. There is no other chance to utilize such great advantages. By the way, note that working holiday participants are strictly prohibited from working in bars, cabarets or other establishments so called “adult entertainment services”.
Happy working holiday!
It is not just a travel or study, the working holiday programme is worth considering if you meet the age requirements and wish to engage in more activities in other countries. There is no other options to grant you such independence to let you design your travel for one entire year. You may even open the new door to the future through the programme which allow you to enjoy so many lifestyles including a work.
Related Article:
Potential jobs for people on Working Holiday Scheme
