417 vs 462: Which Working Holiday Visa Fits Your Situation

It is a temporary visa that permits you to travel to, enter and remain in Australia until 12 months after the date of your first entry. Whether you can apply at all depends on which passport you hold — the 417 and its sibling, the subclass 462 Work and Holiday visa, cover different countries.

This article sets out what the 417 allows, who can apply, how it differs from the 462, what work and study you can do, and what it takes to earn a second or third visa — so you can decide which working holiday visa fits your situation before you lodge.

The 417 is built for a working holiday: its principal purpose is a holiday in Australia, with work allowed to help pay for it. You are not required to work at all, but you are allowed to work for the entire duration of your stay, in any location, industry and role you choose — including tourism, hospitality and agriculture — but not for more than 6 months with any one employer without prior written permission (condition 8547).

Practically, this means the 417 gives you the freedom to travel the country and take jobs as you go. You can also study or train for a limited period (covered below). The visa period itself is fixed in law: it runs until 12 months after the date you first enter Australia.

Eligibility for the 417 turns on your passport. The Migration Regulations grant the visa only to a person holding a "working holiday eligible passport" — meaning a passport of a kind the Minister has named in a separate legislative instrument. In plain terms, there is a government list of qualifying countries, and your passport has to be on it. The list is set by a legislative instrument, LIN 26/048 (Migration (Arrangements for Subclass 417 (Working Holiday) Visa) Instrument 2026), and covers passports from Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, the Republic of Korea, Sweden, Taiwan and the United Kingdom.

From 1 July 2026, the maximum age for Cyprus, Finland, Germany and Republic of Korea passport holders rose from 30 to 35; these countries were already eligible for the 417 (LIN 26/048). Applicants must be aged at least 18 and no more than 35, or no more than 30 for passport holders from Belgium, Estonia, Hong Kong, Japan, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Taiwan (Migration Regulations 1994, Schedule 1 item 1225(3AA); LIN 26/048, Schedule 1).

The 417 and the 462 both let young people holiday and work in Australia, but they are different visas with different country lists. You cannot pick between them freely: which one is open to you depends on the passport you hold. If your country is on the 417 list, that is the visa you apply for; if it is on the 462 list, you apply for that one. Some 462 arrangements also carry extra steps the 417 does not — for example, a visa ballot is being introduced for Indonesian passport holders applying for their first 462, with registrations expected to open later in 2026.

A first 417 granted while you are outside Australia lets you travel to and enter Australia within 12 months of the grant date, and then remain until 12 months after the date you first enter. The 12-month clock starts on first entry, not on grant — so a delay between getting the visa and flying does not shorten your stay, as long as you enter within that first 12-month travel window.

If you are granted a further 417 while already in Australia holding a 417, the new visa lets you stay until 12 months after your current visa would otherwise have ceased. If you are granted one in Australia without currently holding a 417, you can stay until 12 months after the grant date.

On a 417 you can work in any location, industry and role, for the whole of your stay if you wish. There is no requirement to work and no restriction on the type of job, but condition 8547 limits you to 6 months with any one employer unless the Secretary gives prior written permission.

Every 417 carries two mandatory conditions imposed on all grants: condition 8547 and condition 8548. Condition 8548 is the study limit explained further below. Condition 8547 means you must not be employed by any one employer for more than 6 months without the prior written permission of the Secretary. Breaching a mandatory condition can put your visa at risk — see the cancellation section below.

A second and third 417 are not automatic — you earn them by doing a defined amount of "specified work" while on your current visa. "Specified work" is a defined category: it is not simply any paid job, but particular kinds of work in particular places that the rules recognise for this purpose. The day thresholds are set in the Migration Regulations and do not change year to year:

• Second 417: if you have held only one 417, you must have carried out specified 417 work for a total period of at least 3 months.
• Third 417: if you have held 2 Subclass 417 visas, you must have carried out specified 417 work for a total of at least 6 months while holding your second 417 (or a bridging visa granted with the application for it), all on or after 1 July 2019 (clause 417.211(6)).

In both cases the work must have been paid in accordance with Australian law and awards, and must not have been for an excluded employer.

Hypothetical example: a 417 holder on her first visa who wants a second 417 must complete a total of at least 3 months of specified work as the holder of that first visa, paid in line with Australian law and awards, for an employer that is not an excluded employer (clause 417.211(5)).

One standing exception: UK passport holders can be granted a second or third 417 without meeting any specified-work requirement if they apply on or after 1 July 2024 using their UK passport.

To be granted a 417 you must satisfy the Minister that you are a genuine visitor whose principal purpose is a holiday in Australia, and that you have:

• Enough money to cover the fare to your intended overseas destination when you leave Australia, and to support yourself during the working holiday;
• A reasonable prospect of finding work in Australia; and
• No dependent children accompanying you during your stay.

You must also meet a set of public interest criteria — these cover health and character requirements, among others (criteria 4001, 4002, 4003, 4004, 4005, 4010, 4013, 4014, 4019 and 4020). In plain terms, the character criteria go to whether you have a relevant criminal or security history, and the health criteria go to meeting Australia's health standards. If you have previously been in Australia, you must also meet special return criteria 5001 and 5002.

The base visa application charge is fixed in the Migration Regulations 1994, Schedule 1 item 1225(2): $840 if you are not, and have not previously been, in Australia as the holder of a 417, and $1,000 for any other applicant.

You can study, but only as a side activity. Mandatory condition 8548 limits you to a maximum of 4 months of study or training during your stay. The point of the condition is to keep study incidental — study should not be your main reason for being in Australia, unlike a student visa.

This 4-month limit applies to each visa separately: if you are granted a second or third 417, you get up to 4 months of study on each one. Two kinds of learning fall outside the limit entirely — correspondence and online courses provided by an overseas education provider (no limit on how long you study these), and workplace-based training, which the program treats as employment rather than study.

If study is actually your main goal, the 417 is the wrong visa and a student visa is the right one. If you are planning ahead, a 417 holder may be able to apply in Australia for a skilled or employer-sponsored visa (for example subclass 482, 186 or a regional visa) if they meet that visa's criteria. A 417 holder cannot apply for a Student visa in Australia: since 2 October 2026 that application must be made from outside Australia (Migration Regulations 1994, Schedule 1 item 1222(4)(a)(ii); LIN 26/102).

The 417 is a single-person visa when it comes to children. To be granted one, you must satisfy the Minister that you will not be accompanied by dependent children during your stay in Australia. This is a criterion you must meet both at the time of application and at the time of decision.

There is no provision in the subclass 417 criteria for including family members as secondary applicants — the visa carries only primary criteria that every applicant must satisfy individually. If you are travelling as a couple, each person applies for their own working holiday visa in their own right, based on their own passport eligibility.

You lodge a 417 application yourself through your ImmiAccount, using the online 417 application form under the 'New Application' link on the main landing page. Where you must be located depends on whether it is your first 417: for a first 417 you must be outside Australia at the time of grant; for a later 417, you must be in Australia at grant if you applied from inside Australia, or outside if you applied from outside.

If you have already breached a condition — studied beyond the 4-month limit under 8548, breached your work condition 8547, or let your status lapse — deal with it now rather than waiting. Breaching your visa conditions can lead to cancellation, and cancellation of your visa might bar you from making further visa applications to Australia and may prevent you from being granted certain visas to travel to, enter or stay in Australia. In other words, the consequences reach beyond the current trip to future visas.

If your visa has already expired, you need to apply for a Bridging visa E (BVE) immediately so that you become lawful again. A BVE is a short-term visa that lets you stay lawfully while you arrange to leave Australia. Acting quickly to regularise your status is the difference between leaving in an orderly way and compounding the problem.

These rules are fixed in the Migration Regulations 1994: the 12-month stay from first entry (clause 417.511), mandatory conditions 8547 and 8548 (clause 417.611), the 3-month and 6-month specified-work thresholds (clause 417.211(5) and (6)), the limit of three 417 visas (clause 417.222), the age range of 18 to 35 (item 1225(3AA)) and the visa application charge (item 1225(2)).

Other details are set in legislative instruments made under the Regulations, which can be replaced more easily than the Regulations themselves:

• Eligible countries and any younger age limit are set by LIN 26/048, which from 1 July 2026 raised the age limit for Cyprus, Finland, Germany and the Republic of Korea from 30 to 35.
• Eligible specified-work types and qualifying areas — set by LIN 22/012 under regulation 1.15FAA.

The reliable habit is to treat the Migration Regulations as the source for the rules that never move, and the Department of Home Affairs working holiday maker pages as the source for every detail that is kept current each program year. Where the two line up — as they do on the 12-month stay and the mandatory conditions — you are on firm ground.

This is general information, not personal migration advice; for tailored help with your own eligibility, speak with a registered migration agent. Global Migrations can assist Australian working holiday applicants.

Provided by Global Migration & Education Solutions (trading as Global Migrations), ABN 22 998 014 414, 36 Zodiac Way, Plumpton VIC 3335. Registered migration agent: Ranbir Singh, MARN 1069570. Phone +61 3 7043 2395, email info@globalmigrations.com.au. This content is not official Department of Home Affairs policy.