Australia has today launched a new pre-application ballot process for the high-demand Work and Holiday (subclass 462) visa, allowing young people from India, Vietnam and China a fair opportunity to apply for a working holiday in Australia.
With a registration fee of AUD 25, eligible individuals from these countries can now register for the ballot, which began today.
This initiative, which is part of the 2024-2025 program year, aims to ensure an equitable and transparent selection process for applicants from countries where demand exceeds the available visa spots.
Eligibility Criteria
The Work and Holiday visa ballots for India, Vietnam and China will be held annually, with each country having a specific registration period. This year’s registration period opened on October 1, 2024, and participants must complete the process within the specified timeframe to be eligible for selection.
To register for the ballot, Indian applicants must:
- Age: Be between 18 and 30 years old (inclusive).
- Nationality: Hold a valid Indian passport.
- National ID: Have a valid PAN card.
- Account: Create an ImmiAccount and verify their email address.
- Fee: Pay the AUD 25 registration fee.
The Work and Holiday Maker arrangement is a key commitment under the Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA), which aims to enhance people-to-people ties between the two nations. Eligible Indian passport holders now have the opportunity to apply for a working holiday in Australia via the pre-application ballot process.
Indian Trade Minister Piyush Goyal highlighted this development in a recent post on X: “Concluded a very productive visit to Australia which will further strengthen our bilateral trade and investment ties in several priority sectors and open new areas of cooperation.
“During the visit, happy to learn that Work & Holiday visa, a key commitment under India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement will be operational from 1st October 2024 which will facilitate mobility and deepen people-to-people connect 🇮🇳 🇦🇺.”
Ballot Process
The ballot registration is completed via ImmiAccount, under ‘New application’. Once the form is filled and the registration fee is paid, the status changes from ‘draft’ to ‘received’, and the applicant is added to the ballot for random selection.
The ballot process aims to provide a fair and efficient way of managing the high demand for Work and Holiday visas. The selection is conducted through a random automated process, ensuring that every eligible applicant has an equal chance of being selected. Those selected will receive a ‘Notification of selection’ letter via email, inviting them to apply for the Work and Holiday visa.
However, it is important to note that receiving a selection letter does not guarantee the visa. Applicants must still meet all eligibility requirements to be granted a Work and Holiday (subclass 462) visa.
Once selected, participants will have their registration status updated to ‘selected’ in their ImmiAccount and will be invited to apply for the visa. The notification letter will provide further instructions, and some details will be pre-filled in the application form for convenience.
With registrations now open, eligible Indian applicants are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity to participate in the Work and Holiday visa program and experience the culture and lifestyle that Australia has to offer.
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