The Working Holiday visa (subclass 417) is the visa most UK citizens use for a first year in Australia. It gives you 12 months in the country, the right to work, and up to 4 months of study. UK passport holders, including British National (Overseas) passport holders, are eligible for the 417 with an age range of 18 to 35 inclusive (Department of Home Affairs, accessed 2026-07-01).
Who qualifies
- Aged 18 to 35 inclusive. You can lodge until midnight Australian Eastern time the day before your 36th birthday.
- A UK passport, including a British National (Overseas) passport.
- Evidence of about A$5,000 in funds, plus a fare onward or home.
- No previous entry to Australia on a 417 for the first visa, and no accompanying dependent children.
- The usual health, character, debt and Australian-values requirements.
The application fee is A$840 for FY 2026-27, paid in ImmiAccount on lodgement (Department of Home Affairs, accessed 2026-07-01).
The three-visa framework, without the 88 days
This is the part that makes the UK stream different from every other 417 country. For applications lodged on or after 1 July 2024 with a UK passport, second and third 417s do not require specified work. Irish, Canadian and other 417 applicants generally still need three months of specified work for a second visa and six months for a third; UK passport holders can apply again, up to the lifetime maximum of three 417 visas, if they meet the other criteria (Department of Home Affairs, accessed 2026-07-01). The repeat-year guide covers the detail, including what happens if your first 417 was on a different passport.
The six-month employer limit still applies
Working Holiday Maker visa holders are generally subject to condition 8547, which limits work to six months with any one employer unless an exemption or written permission applies. Home Affairs lists blanket exemptions from 1 January 2024, including working in different locations for the same employer and work in certain industries (Department of Home Affairs, accessed 2026-07-01). Check the condition before signing a contract longer than six months.
Health cover
The UK's Reciprocal Health Care Agreement may cover visitors who were living in the UK before arriving in Australia. It includes medically necessary out-of-hospital and public-hospital care plus some PBS prescriptions at the general rate (Services Australia, checked 2026-07-10). Enrolment is free through myGov or a Medicare enrolment form. The agreement does not cover everything: ambulance, dental and most extras sit outside it, so many people still price private cover.
Dual nationals: the passport you lodge with matters
Working Holiday Maker rules follow the passport used for the application. If you hold both UK and Irish passports, lodging with the UK passport puts you under the UK arrangements (no specified work for repeat years); lodging with the Irish passport puts you under the Irish three-month specified-work test for a second visa. Decide before you lodge, not after.
The next step
Take the UK 417 quick check for a first-visa verdict against the published rules, then build a profile if you want the document checklist: passport scan, funds evidence, ImmiAccount setup and lodgement, in order.
