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Planning to apply for an Australian Working Holiday Visa in 2026? We recently went through the application process ourselves and wanted to share our experiences and tips for making the process as simple as possible! Since July 2026, the estimated processing time has increased significantly due to a high volume of applications. As always, the Department of Home Affairs’ confirms the high-volume processing situation, and the processing-time guide is updated as new data becomes available. The information in this article is based on our personal experiences and was last updated as of September 2026!
What is an Australian Working Holiday visa (subclass 417)?
A 12 month visa allowing people aged 18-30 (35 in some countries including the UK) to work, travel and live in Australia. The visa can be extended twice providing up to 3 years in Australia on a 417 visa. To extend the visa for a second/third year, UK passport holders no longer need to complete regional work to qualify. Other passport holders should check if they are required to complete regional work in order to stay in Australia longer than 12 months.
With a 417 visa, you can work short-term to fund your travels, study for up to 4 months and travel to and from Australia as many times as you’d like.
The 462 Work and Holiday visa may be available to passport holders that are not currently included on the 417 visa. More information on this specific visa are available here.
Who can apply?
For UK passport holders specifically, the current eligibility is:
- Be a UK passport holder
- Between the ages of 18-35 (you can apply until the day before your 36th birthday)
- Not be accompanied by any dependents
- Have enough funds to support yourself (at least $5000 AUD)
- Meet Australian health and character requirements
How much money do you need?
There’s 2 main things to think about – how much money do I need for the application vs how much money do I actually need to move!
For the visa application itself, you need to show you have at least $5000 AUD in your bank account which is around £2600. However, to comfortably move to Australia you will need to consider many factors such as:
- Do you have a job lined up or will you be applying once you arrive in Australia
- Will you be travelling before looking for employment
- Do you have accommodation confirmed
- Are you travelling solo, with friends or as a couple
- Will you be buying a car/campervan
So the amount you need for the application is probably very different to the amount you might need to set yourself up in Australia. We have a moving budget at the moment and this might change closer to the time if we are able to secure employment or interviews before making the move.
Some extra costs you might need to consider outside of your budget:
- Flights
- Travel insurance
- First few weeks accommodation (Airbnb, hostel etc)
- Rental bond/deposit
- First months rent
- Food
- Public transport
- SIM/eSIM
- Medical exam (if you need one as part of the visa application)
- Bank account set up (if required)
I would really recommend budgeting for higher costs than you would expect just so you are comfortable and can enjoy the process!
Documents you’ll need:
- Passport
- Bank statement/screenshot to evidence funds
- Police certificates if required
- Health requirements (they will advise if a medical exam is required)
- Other supporting documents (if you feel this is needed for your application)
Our Australian WHV experience:
We started looking into the idea of Australia in early 2026. I will be honest and say it’s not something that has always been part of the plan! Mainly because I had been in corporate full time jobs in the UK for years and didn’t see myself leaving that to move abroad full time. But when I left my job at the end of 2025, we wanted to explore the prospect of travelling full time and be able to work while travelling was ideal for us. The algorithm did it’s job and we were sold when we saw more of life in Perth and Western Australia!
Early 2026 – started looking into applying for a WHV
May 2026 – gathered supporting documentation we’d need (we needed evidence of a name change)
22nd May 2026 – Dale applied for his visa first since we knew it may need manual processing
25th June 2026 – Dale’s visa was granted
28th June 2026 – my visa was submitted and granted within minutes
February 2027 – we fly to Australia!
WHV processing delays in 2026:
Since early July, many WHV applicants have advised that their visas are taking significantly longer to be granted. The processing timeline is regularly updated on the Department of Home Affairs’ website. The delay is thought to be due to the high volume of applications so I would recommend applying for your visa as soon as possible to ensure there are no delays to your travel plans. Once your visa is granted, you have one year to enter Australia so it’s better to apply sooner rather than later. It has also been reported that onshore applicants (for second and third year WHVs) are being prioritised.
As of mid September 2026, many applicants have reported on social media that they have been waiting 60+ for an update on their application. It’s unsure if the processing time will remain the same going forward so as always, stay informed on the official websites and channels for up to date info.
Should you book flights before your visa is granted?
NO! Recently I’ve come across so many posts on social media of people needing to move or rebook flights as their visa hasn’t been granted in time. As frustrating as it might be waiting, I would really recommend ensuring your visa is granted before booking travel to Australia. It could be a really expensive mistake!
Our WHV plans:
We plan to leave the UK in February 2027 and our first stop will be Singapore! We’ll spend a few nights exploring here before flying direct to Perth.
When we arrive in Perth, we don’t have concrete plans just yet but we hope to settle here and to (hopefully) find jobs and buy a car! We hope to explore more of Australia as we go too including road trips around Western Aus, Sydney, Melbourne and the Whitsundays.
This is just the start of our adventure and we can’t wait to share so much more along the way. As we get closer to our flight to Aus, we’ll be sharing updates on our plans, the costs and our mini-trip to Singapore before we arrive down under. Follow along on the blog and on socials to see updates!
In the meantime, if you want to see more of our travels check out our posts from our adventures in Jordan, Guatemala and travelling by campervan across Europe.
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