WHX Questions, please help

[swan]

Hi everyone, just got sacked from my job and thinking about working in Australia for a year on a WHV visa. Does anyone know:

 

What are my chances of getting the visa, I am a 19 year old male, physically fit and have no dependencies, how many visas do they give out?

Do I need a health check before applying for my visa?

How much money should I take for my first month while looking for a job?

 

I'd preferably want to go to the Brisbane/ Gladstone region as I visited when working on a merchant ship and loved it. And as I said previously I've just been let go from my job, so I can't be whimsically throwing £200 at the application for it to have no chance of being accepted.

 

Much appreciated

[jonny]

Hey @swan - welcome to the forum!

 

As long as you are fit and healthy without a criminal record, I can't imagine there being a problem in getting it. I'm also assuming you're either on an UK or Irish passport. The WHV is temporary and I haven't known anyone to be refused their first. I'm pretty sure there's a cap but it's really high - I looked into the report for last year and there were about 46,000 WHV granted to UK people so you're probably fine on that

 

You don't need a health check unless asked for (but you say your physically fit).

 

The visa states that you should have $5,000 (about £2,600) with you although I don't know anyone that has had to prove this. They asked me how much money I had when I entered after being on a tourist visa for a few months. I didn't have to prove it though.

 

I'm living in Sydney and that amount would probably last me about 2-3 months of living. Less so if you wanted to do touristy stuff.

 

When I applied for my WHV, I was granted it within an hour. I thought it would be much longer since I was weird and applying for it from Fiji! So you should get it fairly quickly. After granting, you have up to a year to enter the country and then you can stay for a year from that date.

 

Note: there is a specific forum for WHV on here that you might find useful (incl. jobs) http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/backpacking-whv

 

In order to get a second WHV, you need to do 3 months of regional work (e.g. fruit picking). A lot of people I know started doing that or WWOOFing (farm work but paid in accom and food) while they were looking for paid work which was useful for them to add up the days on their 3 month requirement.

 

Good luck!

[engaus]

Only thing I am going to add is that my partner came over on a WHV in Feb 2013 - first time to Australia (had done a few trips to Europe and the Middle East prior to this) - and was asked to show proof of funds. He wasn't asked about a return ticket but he did have over the $5,000.00 required so wouldn't have issues purchasing a flight back.

 

I just wanted to add this because I read a few posts about people not being asked for it, but chances are if my partner hadn't have been able to show he had that money he would have been sent back to the UK.

 

My partner was 24 at the time, applied in London online, received the visa in an hour or so. I don't see why you would have any problems applying providing you have no criminal history and have not medical issues.

 

Australia is expensive and if you planning on enjoying what it has to offer without having to find a job the minute you arrive i'd be taking more than the $5000.00.

 

Best of luck

[Ozmaniac]

There are no annual quotas for WHVs. If you meet the age and nationality requirements and have no criminal convictions, you will get a visa and will probably have it within a few hours if you apply online on the Australian government website. You should have access to AUD$5000 when you arrive - the funds can be in a bank account, in cash, in unused credit card balances or a combination of those.

http://www.immi.gov.au/Visas/Pages/417.aspx Subclass 417 WHV