Applying for the visa!

by Tanisha M

Now that you’re sold (I’m hoping!) on the idea of going for a working holiday, how do you actually go about applying for the visa?

For Singaporeans, there are two main ways of doing this:

1) through an agency;

2) on your own

There are a few agencies that offer the service of helping you apply for a work-travel visa. The two that I know of are  STA Travel and Speedwing. I have no experience with either of these agencies, as I applied for the visa by myself. But according to their websites, these agencies can help you eliminate some of the hard work for a fee. For instance, they can help you find accomodation for the first 4-7 days. They can also assist you securing job placements (only for certain fields like hospitality and tourism). They might also help you to get your bank accounts set up and IRD tax numbers. There might be some other bells and whistles too, but honestly you will do fine without all of that!

But here’s my two-cents: Do it yourself. It’s slightly more time-consuming, but you’ll save yourself quite a bit of money while earning some valuable experience! Yes, it’s easier to simply pay for someone to find you a hostel and a job, especially if you don’t have a clue where to start. But this is what makes it so exciting! (Ok, ok. I was really frantic about it actually; but you probably guessed that already).

This is website for Immigration NZ. You have to create an account before you apply. It costs NZD165 to apply for the visa. Do keep in mind, however, that payment of this fee does not necessarily guarantee you a successful visa application. Also, their immigration office is closed at weekends, so if you submit your application on a Friday night, you may not hear back from them till the following week. Once your application is approved, they’ll send you an email about your application status. Otherwise, you can log into the website and check the status under “My Application”. We submitted our application on a Monday night (Singapore time), and got our confirmation on Wednesday! I was super pleased with their efficiency!

Do print out several copies of the visa and keep it with you when you travel. I had one copy in my wallet at all times, and another copy in a separate document file which I kept in my backpack. If you’re travelling with a friend, you might want to exchange copies of your visa with each other so that he/she has a copy of your visa in case you lose your own. It’s just for peace of mind!

Validity of your visa

Your visa is valid for one year from the day it gets issued to you, i.e. the day you receive your confirmation email. For instance, we got ours on 23rd October 2013. So we were basically allowed to enter NZ on a work-travel visa anytime from 23rd Oct 2013 to 22nd Oct 2014. The moment you step into NZ, the clock starts ticking and you have exactly 6 months to get out of there. It is possible for you to enter NZ on the day before it expires, and you will still have your full 6 months. Basically, the expiration date refers to the last day by which you need to ENTER New Zealand, and not the day you need to leave.

Singaporeans are only allowed 6 months on a work-travel visa in NZ. For many other people, the maximum length of stay is 12 months, but citizens from the UK have up to 23 months, provided they take a chest x-ray and submit medical certificates.

The visa also allows you to enter and leave NZ multiple times if you wish. There were some people we met who travelled out to the Cook Islands and then returned to NZ. However, your visa doesn’t get ‘put on hold’ when you leave! This means that whatever time you spend outside of NZ (after your first entry) is equivalent to the time spent in NZ (with regards to your the validity of your visa anyway).

Once you’ve gotten your visa approved, do a happy dance because you’re one step closer to an amazing adventure!

🙂