American in Australia Guide: First Working Holiday Visa (Subclass 462)
- Jun 26, 2024
- 9 min read
Updated: Dec 31, 2024
I moved to Australia in September 2023 on a Working Holiday Visa. The only thing is, I did zero research and knew less than a month before that I was going to do it hehehe - this is what I wish I had when I was making the move. Everything in this article is based on my personal experiences and perspective as an American on a First Year Working Holiday Visa. The research that I have done as of May 30th, 2024. This is not Bible, financial or legal advice ok? ok!
What is this Visa?
According to the Australian Home Affairs website, this visa "lets people 18 to 30 years old (inclusive) have an extended holiday in Australia and work here to help fund their trip."
Essentially, they are trying to make it easy for young people to be able to work and travel in Australia for an extended period of time while being able to support themselves for the duration of their stay.
Qualifications for this visa?
To obtain the visa you must:
be between 18-30 years old
hold a valid passport from an eligible country (American passport accepted)
be outside Australia when applying
not be accompanied by dependent children or family members
not have previously entered Australia on a subclass 462 or 417 visa (for first year application only)
hold a Senior Secondary Certificate of Education or equivalent
speak functional English
have enough money to support yourself when you get here and when you leave (Home Affairs website says about AUD$5,000 + fare to where you are going after leaving Australia)
meet the health requirement, character requirement
pay back any debts you may owe the Australian government
finally you have to sign the Australian Values Statement.
How Long Can I Stay In Australia?
This visa allowed you to stay in Australia for 12 months with unlimited entries and exits.
How Much Does It Cost?
The visa itself costs AUD$635 (~USD$420). You also have to prove that you have enough money to support yourself and money for a fare to exit the country (AUD$5,000 + fare to exit)
Application Process
Apply for the First Year Working Holiday Visa Subclass 462 here. You will need to make an Immi account (Australian government website account), be prepared with all documents (passport, educational requirements, proof of funds, etc.), follow through with the application fee and wait for it to process.
After submitting you will get an estimate on how long it should take to process, but for reference I got mine within 24 hours of submitting.
Other Visa Conditions
valid for 12 months from when you enter with a unlimited entries and exits.
can work up to 6 months with one employer
can study for up to 4 months
complete specified work to qualify for second year (if you want to do only one year, don't worry about this)
Can I Apply For A Second Year?
You might have heard about the infamous '88 days' from my fellow Americans, Europeans and South Americans in Australia. To be able to apply for a Second Year Working Holiday Visa (Subclass 462) you have to have completed 3 months of specified subclass 462 work. Other than the 88 days, you must also:
have previously entered on the First Working Holiday Visa
hold a passport from an eligible country
be 18-30 years old
not be accompanied by dependent children
apply on your own
88 Days & Second Year Information
To apply for a Second Year WHV, you have to have completed 3 months of specified subclass 462 work during your First Year Working Holiday Visa.
This bit can get confusing with all of the nitty gritty rules but essentially, to qualify and apply for a second year working holiday visa you have to do 88 days of full days work (with is dependent on your industry) in qualifying zip codes. This means that you cannot work in places like Melbourne, Sydney, Perth etc. The industries that you can work in include:
tourism & hospitality in northern or remote and very remote Australia (above Tropic of Capricorn/Townsville, QLD)
hotels, motels, B&B's, hostels , caravan parks, camping grounds, housekeeping services, boarding houses, guesthouses, reception centres
cafes, restaurants, takeaway food services, catering services, pubs, taverns, bars, hospitality clubs.
tour guides, tour operators, outdoor adventure instrictor, tourist transport service worker, gallery or museum workers, travel agent, tourist information, event and entertainment venue workers
plant and animal cultivation in northern Australia and other specified areas of regional Australia
fishing and pearling in northern Australia only
tree farming and felling in northern Asutralia only
construction in northern Asutralia and other specified areas of regional Australia
bushfire recovery work in declared bushfire affected areas carried out after 31 July 2019
recovery work in natural disaster areas carried out after 31 December 2021
critical COVID-19 work in the healthcare and medical sectors anywhere in Australia, after 31 January 2020
I was a receptionist at a resort and only added information in tourism and hospitality because I am not familiar with any of the other industries. There is more information on each industry here.
Does This Postcode Qualify For The 88 Days?
As previously mentioned, you cannot complete your specified work in certain places such as Melbourne, Sydney, Perth etc. To figure out if your zipcode qualifies for the 88 days, go to this website and scroll down to read more information.
I Got The Visa... What Now?
Book your flight to Australia and know that your visa will start on arrival not when you apply for it, you do not need to prove a flight out just that you have enough money for one.
If you are planning on working you will need to apply for a TFN or a Tax File Number. There are three conditions to meet:
You are a foreign passport holder, permanent migrant or temporary visitor
You are already in Australia
You have an eligible visa (FYWHV subclass 462 approved)
They will send your TFN # through the mail even though we are immigrants with no home???? But I just called up the Aussie Government and they gave it to me over the phone.
More information and application for a TFN here.
Note: You can work at a job for 30 days before needing a visa. If you do not have one you will be taxed HEAVILY.
I Got The TFN... What Now?
Hopefully you have already started to look around for a job as it can be brutal getting one. Typically, jobs that are available for holidaymakers include work in hospitality, tourism, construction and agriculture. You can either look on websites/online such as Jora, Seek, LinkedIn, Facebook Groups or you can print out CVs (resumes) and walk around to businesses to see if they are hiring.
I Got The Job... Now What?
It is recommended to sign a contract as well as understand the differences between part-time, full-time and casual work. Seek has a great article explaining the differences here.
Australia has many workers rights and protections. The Department of Home Affairs has a couple articles that I would familiarize yourself with:
australian fair work ombudsman
pay and wages
leave
employment conditions
When you get the job you will have to fill things out and input your TFN as well as choose how you want your superannuation aka Super. Your Super is a savings system for retirement and your employer starts paying a percentage of your wage into the fund. Each time, I have chosen to let my employer fund it for me (pick what investments) rather than doing it myself.
It does get a tad confusing because as someone just on a temporary visa who is not looking to fully immigrate to Australia the money is just going into this fund for a future that I am probably not going to have. Because I have not left the country yet and had to go through this expereince the best I can give is information from this website.
Conclusion
PLEASE keep in mind that I moved to Australia with a 42L backpack US$3,000, no job, no research and only knowing that I was going to come 2.5 weeks before my flight out. SOOOO many people move to Aus on a WHV and THERE IS NO REASON YOU CAN'T DO THE SAME. The first bit of it was very difficult but I would never go back and change it.
*This is my first big article so if I missed anything or if you have some constructive criticism plsss send me a DM
TikTok Video Questions
*This is not financial or legal advice ... everything is opinion band expereince based.
Q @Stupidandshort : "R u mainly staying in hostels?"
A: When I first arrived in Melbourne I stayed at hostels for the first 2 months while I was looking for a job and an apartment. I stayed at The Nunnery and South Yarra Hostel where the majority of people were looking to move to Australia and not necessarily backpacking. If you go to places like Airlie Beach and Sydney, I think you would find more backpackers. Also since I bought a car with a rooftop tent, I wasn't staying in hostels... but if I was taking the Greyhound Bus and backpacking I definitely would've.
Q @skly : "What is the education requirement?"
A: "You must have a Senior Secondary Certificate of Education or equivalent." per the Australian Government Website of Home Affairs.
Q @Milky : "What is your experience with meeting new people/making friends?"
A: I actually had a mutual friend in Melbourne that I got connected with and essentially from the first day we met we were inseparable. We ended up getting an apartment together, traveling for 1 month in a car up the East Coast and completing our 88 days together. Besides her I met so many people that I will be friends with for the rest of my life - the bond that you make with people when moving abroad is INSANE.
Q @mynameisanna : "What type of jobs can you work in?"
A: Find more information on the Australian Government of Home Affairs website.
Q @Dawson : "How do Austrailans take to Americans? Are the locals nice and welcoming?"
A: Overall, people are very welcoming and accpeting of my being here but like everywhere there are people who make comments and aren't my biggest fan. Something that I have always felt in Australia is that they think 'God HOW could one possibily live in the US' so I say 'ok can I come to Australia?' 'uhhhh yeah thats going to be a no'
Q @user2302217923591 : "have u been to Sydney? / what was it like? Was it easy to make friends?"
A: So when I went to Sydney, I was driving up the coast but we weren't planning on going to Sydney until we realized we had no idea where else to go and its like 9pm. We booked a hostel (Bondi Beach Backpackers lowkey don't recommend) and drove two hours to Sydney to realize that reception had closed lol. Other than that we LOVED SYDNEY. Its so iconic, super big and lots of cool neighborhoods... I would absolutely live there on my next visa.
Q @paigelin17: "How much money do you recommend having saved up before heading to Aus?"
A: The Australian government says that you need roughly AUD$5,000 and then a fare out... I had about US$3,000 with no money for a fare out but since I was coming for work and then going to get a job I thought that was fine.
Q @cholé : "How was buying a car there?"
A: We bought ours on Facebook Marketplace and honestly the process was simple besdies the fact that we bought a NSW ones while we were in Victoria so we just had to wait until we were in NSW to switch the rego (registration). If you buy a car make sure that it has rego and RWC (road wrothy certificate). There are so many backpackers buying and selling cars all the time, consider your options and look at as mnay cars as possible.
Q @Stupidandshort: "Best last min short term jobs u can get there?
A: .Definitely farm picking jobs... there are hostels that work with farms so you should be able to get a job pretty easily. Cafes can be hard because they are strict about their coffee and bartenders need so mnay certificates and lisences but less desirable jobs aren't to hard to secure
Q @Milky : "How hard is it finding housing/jobs? Don't know if I should stay in one place or plan to move around?"
A: I can only speak for housing in Melbourne and honestly it was like any big city... difficult not impossible. My best reccommendation would be to apply outside of what you originally want, be open-minded, see everything and talk to the realtors.
Q @kk : "Do you recommend buying a car?
A: In general, I would say that having a car in somewhere like Melbourne or Sydney would be such a headache. But if you are somewhere more rural it might be nice. The process is relativley simple and and gives you so much freedom.
Q @do you think it's still ok to move to Australia without a lisense or will it be a struggle?"
A: State ID's don't really had hold a lot of value here... I find myself needing my passport for important things. I can buy alcohol with my State ID but I don't think you are technically supposed to.
