The New Zealand Working Holiday Visa is very easy to apply for. It is similar to the Australian Visa in that you apply for it online with a credit card and the visa is granted in a very short amount of time. Sometimes as quickly as within 48 hours you will be sent a ‘Welcome!’ email to let you know that your application was successful. The entire application process is less than 30 minutes to complete online, and payment is made through a credit card once all of the required fields are filled in and complete. The price: $165 – That is in New Zealand dollars! It is a better price than you even imagined it is once you convert that number into your own currency.
Be sure that you apply for this visa though the immigration.govt.nz website, as that is the direct route. There are 3rd party application sites for this visa for New Zealand, but they will simply take your information and apply for the visa for you and charge an extortionate extra fee to do so.
This New Zealand Working Holiday Visa is now 23 months long and it is available to specific nationalities between the ages of 18-30 years, and 18-35 years of age if you are from Canada or Slovakia.
The requirements for this visa is that once you enter New Zealand’s borders and the visa activates itself, you are required to show proof of support funds of at least $4,200 New Zealand Dollars, but I have yet to meet anyone who has actually been asked to verify their personal funding. Once you enter the country through immigration and they swipe your passport, it will match itself to the working holiday they already have in their system based on your passport number (but be sure to print off your ‘Welcome to New Zealand’ letter should you be asked to present it for verification when you are checking into the country). It is at this moment that they visa officially activates itself.
New Zealand has a well planned tax system, so unless you are a very special case, there is no reason to file taxes before you leave the country. Be sure to buy your own vehicle from trademe.co.nz. This website, Trademe, is New Zealand’s version of ebay and this will save you a lot of money when purchasing a vehicle rather than buying from an overpriced place such as ‘Traveler’s Car Market.’ Also be sure to buy your own vehicle rather than renting so that you will have an asset to sell before you leave the country for extra pocket money on your next adventure or for the party you will go on with your friends when you get home. Just give yourself about a week or so to sell your vehicle. Also, spend some time on New Zealand’s South Island. It is gorgeous countryside spotted with small towns of the nicest people you will probably ever meet in your life!
Now, go and meet some Kiwi’s!
