On 24 February 2016, Australia and Hungary signed a Work and Holiday Memorandum of Understanding, establishing a reciprocal Work and Holiday visa (subclass 462) arrangement between the two countries allowing young people from both countries to visit each other’s nations under the Australian Government’s work and holiday arrangements.
Other countries eligible for working holiday visa arrangements include Slovak Republic and Slovenia, the USA, the People’s Republic of China, Thailand, Chile, Mexico, Hungary, San Marino, The Czech Republic, Latvia and Andorra.
The arrangement was signed today at Parliament House between the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection Peter Dutton and Hungarian Ambassador to Australia, His Excellency Dr Attila Laszlo Gruber.
Mr Dutton said this was a great development as it would encourage young people to add Australia or Hungary as another holiday destination when going abroad to travel, work and study for a short term.
“Under the arrangement, people aged 18 to 30 years will be able to travel to each other’s country for one year and undertake short-term work and study under the Work and Holiday subclass 462 visa,” Mr Dutton said. This arrangement will allow up to 200 young adults from Hungary and up to 200 young adults from Australia to enjoy a holiday in each other’s country, during which they can undertake short term work and study.
In the coming months, Australia and Hungary will work closely together to implement the necessary legal and administrative processes to bring this visa into effect. The work and holiday arrangement will not commence until a start date has been agreed by both countries.
The commencement date will be announced on the Department’s website: http://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa-1/462-.
What is the difference between the Working Holiday visa (subclass 417) and the Work and Holiday (subclass 462) Visa?
The Work and Holiday visa allows successful applicants to work in Australia for up to six months with any one employer, study for up to 4 months and leave and re-enter Australia any number of times while the visa is valid. Work and Holiday (Subclass 462) visa is different to the Working Holiday (Subclass 417) visa in that the former requires a letter of support from the applicant’s government, requires applicants to speak functional English and meet educational requirements. Additionally the Work and Holiday visa does not allow applicants to apply for a second year visa unlike the Working Holiday Visa. Your eligibility for either the Work and Holiday (Subclass 462) or the Working Holiday (Subclass 417) will also depend on your country of citizenship.
The government is expanding the list as it recognises that both these visa programs significantly benefit the Australian economy, especially in the hospitality and tourism sectors.
Countries eligible for the working holiday (subclass 417) visa include:
| Belgium | Canada | Denmark |
| Estonia | Finland | France |
| Germany | Hong Kong* | Italy |
| Japan | Malta | Norway |
| Republic of Cyprus** | Republic of Ireland | Republic of Korea |
| Sweden | Taiwan | The Netherlands |
| United Kingdom |