New Zealand Working Holiday Visa guide
The New Zealand Working Holiday Visa lets eligible travellers aged 18–30 (up to 35 for a few nationalities) live and work in the country for up to 12 months. Check your eligibility below, then follow our step-by-step application process and avoid the mistakes that trip up first-time applicants.
The key numbers
What applies on most schemes. Where your own passport differs, it is in the table further down.
| Age | 18 to 30 on most schemes. 18 to 35 applies only to Argentina, Canada, Chile, the Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Slovakia, the UK and Uruguay. |
|---|---|
| Length | 12 months from the day you enter. Austria and Malaysia are six-month schemes, the UK picks 12, 23 or 36 months when applying, and Canada picks 12 or 23. |
| Proof of funds | NZ$4,200, and genuinely accessible. The money for your flight out is on top of that, it does not count towards it. |
| Fee | From NZ$770. A medical examination, where one is needed, is billed separately. |
| Passport | Valid until at least three months after your visa expires. On a 12-month visa that is roughly 15 months from the day you land. |
| Insurance | A visa condition, not a recommendation. Only British, Irish, Japanese and Malaysian passports are exempt. |
| Second time | For almost every nationality it is once in a lifetime. It counts even if you never used it. |
| Applying | Online through Immigration New Zealand. Once approved you have 12 months to enter, or the visa lapses. |
Fees and conditions change, most often on 1 July. Check the official Immigration New Zealand page for your own passport before you apply.
Am I eligible?
Answer three quick questions for an instant read on where you stand.
How the process works
A working holiday visa can be a complicated process, and small mistakes can delay your approval — here's the honest rundown.
Check your eligibility properly. Passport country, age, and visa history all matter — use the checker above before you spend money on anything else.
Gather your documents. A passport that stays valid three months past your visa's expiry, proof of funds (NZ$4,200 on most schemes), evidence of onward or return travel, and comprehensive medical insurance.
Apply online through Immigration New Zealand. The form asks about your personal circumstances, health, and character — answer accurately, since mistakes here cause delays.
Sort flights and accommodation once approved. Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown are the main entry points — see our flights guide for ticket types and timing.
Get travel insurance locked in before you fly. It's often checked at the border, and it's one thing you genuinely can't fix retroactively — see the section below and our insurance guide.
Sort an IRD number, bank account and SIM card in your first few days. Our TFN & IRD number guide covers applying for the IRD number itself. Your bank will need a local number for verification codes — see our banking guide and SIM card guide for how to do both without overpaying.
Paying for your first weeks before the account exists
You can only open a New Zealand bank account once you are in the country, and verification takes anywhere from a few days to two weeks. In that window you are paying for hostels, bonds and food out of your home account. That is exactly where your own bank takes its exchange-rate margin, often two or three percent, plus a foreign-currency fee at every ATM.
We both used Wise in New Zealand: load your home currency, convert to NZD at the real mid-market rate, pay with the card. It does not replace a local account, but it covers the gap until you have one. What works better after that is in our banking guide.
The Wise link above is an affiliate link — we may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. Details in our affiliate disclosure. You do not need it for the visa itself: whether Immigration New Zealand accepts a Wise statement as proof of funds is unverified. Use a statement from your own bank for that.
What you need before you apply
What Immigration New Zealand expects you to have sorted. Tick items off as you go. The list stays saved in your browser, so you can come back to it.
Passport and eligibility
0 of 3 readyMoney you have to show
0 of 3 readyHealth, insurance and character
0 of 4 readySeveral of these differ by scheme, and the rules move. Check the page for your own passport on the official Immigration New Zealand site before you rely on any of it.
Proof of funds, in detail
The point most applications get stuck on, and the only one you can sort out months in advance.
Immigration New Zealand wants to see that you can support yourself in the country without needing a job immediately. On most schemes that is NZ$4,200. The evidence is usually a bank statement covering the last few months, issued by your bank, in your name.
The word doing the work in that sentence is accessible. It is not about the money being yours, it is about you being able to reach it tomorrow. A fixed-term deposit with a notice period, a share portfolio, a savings plan you cannot break: all yours, none of it counts. And the money for your flight out sits on top. Anyone who shows NZ$4,200 and then plans to buy the return ticket out of it is, on the arithmetic, showing too little.
| Scheme | Funds | Length |
|---|---|---|
| Most countries | NZ$4,200 | 12 months |
| United Kingdom | NZ$350 per month of stay | 12, 23 or 36 months |
| Austria, Malaysia | NZ$2,250 | 6 months |
| Thailand, Türkiye | NZ$7,000 | 12 months |
On top of that, in every case, comes evidence of onward or return travel, or the money to buy it. What you actually need to live on once you are there is a different calculation, and you can work it through with our New Zealand budget guide. The visa figure is a minimum, not a budget.
Here insurance is a condition, not a recommendation
The difference from Australia that most people miss. It is written into the visa.
New Zealand requires comprehensive medical insurance covering your whole stay, hospital treatment included, for the Working Holiday Visa. That is a visa condition. It can be checked when you arrive, and anyone without it is in breach of the terms of their own visa.
Four nationalities are exempt, through bilateral agreements: British, Irish, Japanese and Malaysian. If you hold one of those passports this section is not aimed at you, though the cover is still worth having. Everyone else needs a policy, and that is a different thing from the healthcare agreement column in the table below. New Zealand has a reciprocal healthcare agreement with the UK and Australia only, and it covers emergency treatment, not your insurance requirement.
Your home public health system does not follow you to New Zealand. Neither, in most cases, does the travel cover attached to your credit card: it typically runs out after six or eight weeks and excludes manual work, so it does not satisfy the condition. ACC, New Zealand's no-fault accident scheme, does cover visitors who are injured here, but it does nothing for illness, nothing for getting you home, and nothing once you have left. Our insurance guide works through what ACC does and does not do.
SafetyWing Nomad Insurance
The policy we would buy again. A flexible monthly subscription with no fixed end date, so it avoids the trap the credit-card policies fall into: you can start it once you are already on the road, and stop it when you get home. A $250,000 medical limit, and most adventure activities are covered.
Get a free SafetyWing quote →If you would rather be billed in euros
Genki Explorer. Monthly billing in euros, a €2,000,000 medical limit, and adventure sports covered as standard rather than as a paid add-on. There is no gear cover, so if your camera matters more than your knees, weigh that up first.
Get a Genki quote →
The two links above are affiliate links. If you buy through them we may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. We only recommend what we would recommend without the commission. Details are in our affiliate disclosure. Five providers side by side, including the two we do not work with, are in our insurance guide.
Common mistakes when applying
The pitfalls we've seen trip people up, over and over.
Cutting your passport validity too fine. Immigration NZ wants it valid for at least three months after your visa expires. On a 12-month visa that means roughly 15 months of validity from the day you land. Renew it before you apply if you are anywhere near that line.
Buying travel insurance that doesn't actually meet the requirement. A cheap policy with a low medical limit or exclusions for manual work can get flagged at the border — check the fine print, not just the price.
Not budgeting the full $4,200 as truly accessible funds. Money locked in a fixed-term account or tied up in investments doesn't count as accessible — it needs to be reachable.
Leaving the application until a few weeks before your planned flight. Most applications are quick, but a small percentage get referred for extra checks — apply with a buffer, not against a deadline.
Assuming you can apply again after already holding this visa. Most nationalities only get one New Zealand Working Holiday Visa ever — check before you make plans that depend on a second one.
Heading over on your own? Our solo travel safety guide covers hitchhiking, accommodation and farm work safety specific to travelling alone in New Zealand.
FAQs
Quick answers to the questions we get asked most about the New Zealand Working Holiday Visa.
How much money do I need to show for a New Zealand Working Holiday Visa?
You need to prove you have around NZ$4,200 in accessible funds, plus evidence of onward or return travel or the money to buy it. Money locked in a fixed-term account or tied up in investments doesn't count — it has to be genuinely reachable.
Do I need travel insurance for a New Zealand Working Holiday Visa?
Yes. Comprehensive medical and travel insurance covering your whole stay is a condition of the visa, and it's often checked at the border. Don't rely on a cheap short-trip policy — check the medical limit and that it doesn't exclude the kind of work you'll be doing.
How long does the New Zealand Working Holiday Visa take to process?
Most applications through Immigration New Zealand are decided quickly online, sometimes within days. A small percentage get referred for extra health or character checks, so apply with a buffer rather than a few weeks before your flight.
Can I get a second New Zealand Working Holiday Visa?
For most nationalities you can only ever hold the New Zealand Working Holiday Visa once. A few countries qualify for a longer or extendable version, so check Immigration New Zealand for the exact terms attached to your passport before making plans that depend on a second one.
How long is the New Zealand Working Holiday Visa valid?
For most nationalities it's valid for 12 months from the date you enter New Zealand, and some countries qualify for a longer period. Your passport has to stay valid for at least three months after your visa expires, so renew it first if you're close to the cutoff.
Working holiday New Zealand by nationality
Your passport changes the visa length, the age limit and the healthcare deal. Start with yours.
| Passport | Age | Places a year | Fee | Healthcare agreement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| German | 18–30 | uncapped for Germany | NZ$770 | No |
| British | 18–35 | uncapped for the UK | NZ$770 | Yes |
| Irish | 18–30 | check current cap for Ireland | NZ$770 | No |
| French | 18–30 | check current cap for France | NZ$770 | No |
| Canadian | 18–35 | check current cap for Canada | NZ$770 | No |
| American | 18–30 | check current cap for the USA | NZ$770 | No |
| Dutch | 18–30 | check current cap for the Netherlands | NZ$770 | No |
| Italian | 18–30 | capped — Italy's NZ scheme has a limited number of places each year, so apply when it opens | NZ$770 | No |
| Spanish | 18–30 | capped — Spain's NZ scheme has a limited number of places each year, so apply when it opens | NZ$770 | No |
| Japanese | 18–30 | No cap — open year-round | NZ$770 | No |
| Taiwanese | 18–30 | 600 places a year; the 2026 round opens 28 May 2026 | NZ$770 | No |
| Hong Kong | 18–30 | 400 places a year; the 2026 round opens 19 March 2026 | NZ$770 | No |
| Chilean | 18–35 | 940 places a year; the 2026 round opens 15 October 2026 | NZ$770 | No |
| Argentinian | 18–35 | 1,000 places a year; the 2026 round opens 24 September 2026 | NZ$770 | No |
| Czech | 18–35 | 1,200 places a year; the 2026 round opens 18 June 2026 | NZ$770 | No |
Fees and quotas change, most often on 1 July. Check the official source before you apply.
A healthcare agreement is not an insurance exemption. The column shows whether New Zealand has an agreement with your country covering emergency treatment, which it has with the UK and Australia only. The passports exempt from the insurance condition on the visa are four: British, Irish, Japanese and Malaysian. So an Irish passport shows No in that column and still needs no policy. A German passport shows No too, and does need one.
German passport holders
Uncapped 12-month visa, no reciprocal healthcare — why insurance is non-negotiable.
British passport holders
Up to 36 months, three times what most passports get, plus a healthcare deal.
Irish passport holders
12-month visa, big Irish community — and insurance you genuinely can't skip.
Canadian passport holders
To age 35, a direct Vancouver–Auckland flight, and two catches to plan for.
French passport holders
An easy 12-month visa, a big PVT community, and insurance you can't skip.
American passport holders
Yes, the US does get an NZ scheme (18–30) — with insurance built into the visa.
Dutch passport holders
A simple 12-month visa, age 18–30, with insurance a visa condition.
Italian passport holders
A 12-month visa — but the scheme is capped, so timing matters.
Spanish passport holders
A simpler 12-month visa after the 462 — capped, so apply early.
Japanese passport holders
Uncapped and open year-round, and one of only four nationalities exempt from the insurance rule.
Taiwanese passport holders
600 places a year, opening 28 May 2026. No ballot, so being ready is the whole game.
Hong Kong passport holders
Just 400 places, the tightest scheme we cover, opening 19 March 2026.
Chilean passport holders
Age 18 to 35 here, not Australia's 30. There are 940 places from 15 October 2026.
Argentinian passport holders
To age 35, with 1,000 places opening 24 September 2026.
Czech passport holders
1,200 places against Australia's 500, and open to 35 rather than 30.