AUSTRALIAN IMMIGRATION NEWS

New Work and Travel Visa Agreement for Indonesia and Australia

Tuesday, 3 March 2009

The Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) have announced a new reciprocal agreement between the Australian and Indonesian governments, which allows university educated Australian and Indonesian travellers aged between 18 and 30 years old to travel and work and holiday in each others’ countries.

The length of stay is issued for up to 12 months, whereby the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Chris Evans, said:

"The work and holiday visa arrangement allows young people from (our) two different countries who want to travel and experience a different lifestyle and culture to work and subsidise their holiday".

The visa is different from the working holiday visa that is available to 17 other countries in that the work and holiday visa requires the applicant to have the support of their government, hold or be studying towards tertiary qualifications, and speak functional English or Indonesian respectively.

Other requirements are that applicants have no dependent children, and must meet the health and character requirements. Applicants must also do temporary or casual work for no longer than 6 months with any one employer.

The other 6 countries that participate in the Work and Holiday programme with Australia are Bangladesh, Chile, Malaysia, Thailand, Turkey and the United States of America (USA).

There will be an annual limit of 100 work and holiday visas for both countries, which will be reviewed at the end of the year.

Mr Evans said that the programme "will provide a further incentive for young people from both nations to deepen their understanding of our histories, cultures, and economies".

"Indonesia is a key partner for Australia and this new arrangement is an investment in future relations with Indonesia. It will also help to develop links between people in both countries." The signing and implementation of the arrangement is expected to take place later this year. Once this takes place, eligible applicants from Indonesia will be able to participate in the program. Formal notification of the commencement of this arrangement will be published once available.

If you are interested in Visas to Australia, contact Migration Expert for information and advice on which visa is best suited to you. You can also try our visa eligibility assessment to see if you are eligible to apply for a visa to Australia.