What You Need to Know About a 462 Visa

A 462 Visa is a visa that will let you spend a year in Australia earning money. (Note that this is not the same as the Working Holiday Visa, which applies to a different set of countries and has less strict requirements.)

Eligibility

The first requirement for eligibility is a valid passport from one of 23 countries, which includes United States. You should also be between 18 and 31 years of age upon application. From here, the requirements become more specific:

> Funds not less than 5,000 Australian dollars or $3,700 as evidence that you can spend for yourself in Australia

> Health requirements, including passing a health exam

> Police certificate from any of the countries where you stayed for at least one full year within the past decade

> No pending debt to the Australian government

> Educational requirements (US citizens only need to provide a high school diploma)

Fees

Applying for a Work and Holiday visa requires a fee of 450 Australian dollars or about $334, but this does not include credit card fees and other processing costs. Expect your total costs to be around $365.

Online Application for American Citizens

American citizens cannot submit a usual paperwork application for a 462 Visa. Rather, you should do it on the website of the Australian government, except when you have a child younger than 18. If that is the case, you’ll have to contact the Australian Department of Home Affairs.

Waiting Time

About 34 days is needed to process 75{e5493bb5dd965a3bdbdb880c78b43108594355190ba5a4ddb74635aa894a9aac} of 462 visas, and some 80 days for the remaining applications.

Approvals

All countries that are eligible for a 462 visa have yearly quotas. The visa year begins first of July, so you can guarantee a spot if you apply July or August.

What a 462 Visa Allows During Your Stay in Australia

As we mentioned earlier, a 462 visa’s key purpose is to vacation and work in Australia for a span of one year. Because the Australian government doesn’t want you to work during your entire stay, they will allow you to work for a maximum of six months per employer. They will let you work beyond six months, but at another job.

Aside from working, you can also study for a maximum of four months during your visit. (It is not required that work and study time be continuous.)

Second 462 Visa

Eligibility for a second visa requires spending a minimum period of three months in an approved industry in Northern Australia (fishing and pearling, tree farming and felling, plant and animal agriculture, and tourism). It is not necessary to work for three straight months, but the total amount of time you spent on paid work should be three months (volunteering will not count). Finally, with second 462 visas, there is no quota.