Australia has made a significant announcement for Indians among others, especially the youth, planning to enjoy holidays in the country.

Visitors from India will now be able to work while travelling in Australia.

The Australian government has announced a new visa pre-application process, commonly referred to as a “ballot”, for high-demand Work and Holiday (subclass 462) visa applications from China, Vietnam, and India.

Under the Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (AI-ECTA), up to 1,000 Indian citizens annually will have the chance to apply for this visa.

This will enable young individuals to not only enjoy holidays in Australia but also work during their stay.

This visa programme is part of an agreement aimed at strengthening the ties between the two countries and promoting cultural exchange. 

According to the notification issued by the Australian Ministry of Home Affairs, India has been included in the Subclass 462 (Work and Holiday) visa programme. 

Prerequisites of holding new visa

• Hold a passport from an eligible country or region.
• Be 18 to 30 years old (or 35 for some countries).
• Apply online from outside Australia.
• Have no dependent children accompanying you.
• Apply individually; family members cannot be included.
• Must not have entered Australia previously on a subclass 417 or 462 visa. 

With this visa one can

• Engage in short-term work in Australia to support your holiday expenses.
• Study for up to 4 months during your stay.
•  Travel in and out of Australia multiple times without restrictions.
• Complete 3 months of specified work to qualify for a second Working Holiday visa.

How to obtain the visa

For Indian citizens, a lottery system will be implemented, where one must register to participate. From the lottery, 1,000 selected individuals will be granted the Work and Holiday visa, with an age limit of 18 to 30 years. For citizens of France, Canada, and Ireland, the age limit has been extended to 35 years. If an Indian applicant is not selected by the age of 31, their name will be automatically removed from the list.

Apart from Australia, several other countries such as New Zealand, Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom, Germany, Ireland, Singapore, France, and South Korea also offer Work and Holiday visas.

Each country has different Work and Holiday visa policies based on bilateral agreements between the countries. However, currently, most of these special visas are being offered primarily to neighbouring or Western countries.

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