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Working Holiday
Take a working holiday
A year or two abroad on a working holiday visa, paid for by seasonal work, hospitality and work exchanges.
What this path actually is
A working holiday visa lets you live in a country for a year -- sometimes two or three -- and take almost any job while you are there. No employer sponsors it, so the visa is yours before the job is: it turns on your passport, your age and your savings, and on nothing else.
Most working holidaymakers fund the year with the work that hires fastest: seasonal and hospitality roles, harvest contracts, and work exchanges that trade hours for a bed. The path here is to get the visa right first, land the first job before the money runs down, and use the year to build the reference that leads somewhere after it.
Roles people take on this path
Hospitality: bar, cafe, front desk, housekeeping
The fastest first job in nearly every working holiday country, and the most likely to come with housing.
Ski resorts and summer seasons
Timed to the visa year. Apply for the season before you land, not after.
Harvest and farm work
In Australia and New Zealand, specified regional work can extend the visa to a second or third year.
Work exchange placements
Hours for room and board. A cheap first month while you find paid work.
Office temping and admin
Under-used by working holidaymakers, and often better paid than hospitality in the cities.
Your own trade or profession
Most visas allow skilled work too. A registered trade or healthcare role can pay professional rates for the year.
Where working holiday visas are most generous
- Australia
- Up to three years with regional work, and ages 18 to 30 or 35 depending on your passport.
- New Zealand
- Twelve months for most passports, twenty-three for UK and Canadian citizens.
- Canada
- International Experience Canada runs a ballot for most nationalities -- apply the moment the pool opens.
- United Kingdom
- The Youth Mobility Scheme gives two years, three for some passports, with a ballot for a few.
- Ireland
- Working holiday authorisations for a shorter list of countries, with an English-speaking job market.
- Japan and South Korea
- Twelve months, strong seasonal resorts, and hospitality roles that value English.
What it asks of you
- A passport from a country with a working holiday agreement with your destination
- Your age on the day you apply -- usually 18 to 30, 35 for some passports
- Proof of savings, often the equivalent of 2,500 to 5,000 US dollars, plus a return ticket or the funds for one
- Health insurance for the whole stay, which several countries check at the border
- A resume in the local format and, for hospitality, any food-handling or bar certificate the country requires
- Timing: several programmes cap places or run a ballot, and fill within days of opening
What people get wrong about it
You need a job offer to get the visa.
You do not. The visa comes first and is yours; the job follows once you are there.
It is only for gap-year students.
Anyone inside the age band on a qualifying passport can apply, and many do it mid-career.
You can only do casual work.
Most working holiday visas allow almost any job, including skilled and professional roles.
You can apply any time before you turn 31.
Some programmes open once a year or run a ballot. Missing the window can cost you the visa altogether.
Open on this path right now
17 live listings. Human-reviewed before publishing.
Guesthouse Helper Workaway Volunteer
Pantai Cenang Guesthouse (Workaway Host)11d ago
Salary not disclosed
Island Maintenance Workaway Volunteer
Bayaca Island (Workaway Host)11d ago
Salary not disclosed
Guest Experience & Marketing Workaway Volunteer
Santa Catalina Eco Hotel (Workaway Host)11d ago
Salary not disclosed
14 more jobs behind a free account
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The tools that matter on this path
Included with every free account. These are the four that do the most work here.
Route Planner
Plan the year: which country first, when the season starts, and where the visa lets you go next.
Income Stacker
Check that a hospitality wage plus a work exchange covers the cost of living where you are headed.
Resume Enhancer
Rewrite your resume in the local format and lead with what seasonal and hospitality employers hire on.
Interview Simulator
Practise the questions every working holiday interview asks: how long you are staying and when you can start.
Check the visa, then line up the first job
A free account checks your passport against every working holiday programme, saves the roles you are watching, and keeps your applications in one place.
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