What To Think About When Applying For New Zealand Working Holiday Visa

By Author: Jo Alelsto
Total Articles: 405
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New Zealand, located across the continent of Australia, is a relatively small, rugged but very scenic and tranquil nation. It's just about three hours by plane from Australia, and has a population of around 4 million people. The country's European settlers began to settle here in 1642, and today compose the majority of residents. The Maoris, or New Zealand's indigenous people, currently compose around 11% of the total population, and the rest are either Asian or Pacific islanders. It offers one of the highest living standards in the developed world, and has a thriving agro-industrial economy. Those who wish to travel and work in this lovely part of the South Pacific may now be able to do this, through applying for a New Zealand Working Holiday Visa.

The country remains an integral part of the British Commonwealth, and has strong cultural and economic ties with the United Kingdom. In this part of the world, apple trees, sheep, kiwi fruit, olives and grapevines are common sights, and the landscape has a tranquil English countryside feel. New Zealand has three major cities. Auckland, located in the North ...
... Island, has a population of almost a million residents. Located in the North Island is the city of Wellington, which is the nation's capital, and situated across the Cook Strait in South Island is Christchurch, which is the nation's largest city. It has a population of 300,000 and is famous for resembling an ornate English town complete with elegant stone buildings, wide green gardens and a lovely river that cuts through the city's central commercial district

Living costs in this country are relatively lower compared to the United States or Canada; however the wages are a bit lower than those two nations. The economy here thrives around agriculture, the services sector, and the farming/mining industry. For those wishing to travel and work at the same time, the most common visa issued to these types of travelers is the New Zealand Working Holiday Visa (WHV). This work and travel visa is however, only limited to persons who live in countries that have reciprocal arrangements with New Zealand. Among the nations that have this arrangement with New Zealand are Canada, Argentina, Chile, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Ireland, France, Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, USA, Uruguay and the United Kingdom.

In order to qualify for a New Zealand Working Holiday Visa, the residents of the following countries mentioned earlier need to be between 18 and 30 years old, are able to prove that they have access to sufficient funds to support themselves while in the country, do not have any dependent children with them while traveling, have not yet experienced working in New Zealand before, and can show evidence of adequate medical insurance for the duration of their visit. To legally work here, travelers also need to apply for an IRD number from the country's Inland Revenue bureau, for taxation purposes. In order to get an IRD number, all you need to do is to download and fill up the application form from the IRD Website and send these to the New Zealand Inland Revenue office. You may also download an IRD form while overseas. In addition, some of the nation's employers may require that you directly open a bank account, for the proper delivery of your salary and other temporary benefits. Although some banks here are quite wary of allowing foreigners to open a bank account, showing your working holiday visa and explaining that you are here for a year would help speed up the process.

Jo is an author and publisher for ‘Visas for Australia' (http://www.visasforaustralia.co.uk), one of the world's foremost visa expert that has a dedicated sub group that arranges New Zealand working holiday visa. If you are going to take a trip and apply for a New Zealand Working Holiday Visa or if you wish to feel the joy and ecstasy of staying in Australia then you should have a look at Visas for Australia.