India to be a part of the Working Holiday Program of Australia

India will soon be a part of the Working Holidaymaker Program as Australia plans to extend the program to over a dozen countries.

The Federal Govt. of Australia is in discussion with 13 countries to extend the Working Holidaymaker scheme. The Working Holiday Program is an important source of finding foreign workers for regional areas, especially farms in Australia.

The Working Holidaymaker Program allows young travellers to enjoy an extended holiday in Australia. The best part of the program is that these visa holders are also allowed to take up short-term employment.

There are two sub-categories to the Working Holidaymaker Program:

• Subclass 417- Working Holiday Visa
• Subclass 462- Working and Holiday Visa

The following countries are in talks with Australia for the Working Holiday Program:

1. India
2. Solomon Islands
3. Philippines
4. Latvia
5. Monaco
6. Brazil
7. Mongolia
8. Mexico
9. Andorra
10. Croatia
11. Lithuania
12. Switzerland
13. Fiji

Immigration Minister, David Coleman, said that Australia is trying to extend the Working Holiday Program to hire more workers for its regional areas. He said that changes were being implemented to solve the labour crunch that regional areas, especially farms are facing. Backpackers on the Working Holiday Visa tend to go deeper into the regional areas of Australia, unlike other international visitors. They also tend to spend significant which boosts the regional economies, as per The Economic Times.

The number of backpackers in Australia has been on the decline in the past 5 years. There were around 150,000 backpackers in Australia in March 2019, but the program has shrunk in recent years.

The Subclass 417 Working Holiday Visa is uncapped and developed nations like Canada and the UK are a part of it. The Subclass 462 Working and Holiday Visa includes developing countries like Vietnam, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Thailand.

Mr Coleman also said that the Working Holiday Program is not a channel for low-skilled overseas workers. Eligible applicants must meet the Working Holiday Visa requirements like functional English and completion of secondary education.

The new changes to the Working Holiday Program have brought cheer to farm owners in Australia who are facing a labour crunch.

India, at present, is not a part of either the Subclass 417 Working Holiday Visa or the Subclass 462 Working and Holiday Visa. But that is soon to change.

Y-Axis offers a wide range of visa and immigration services as well as products to overseas immigrants including Australia Evaluation, Visit Visa for Australia, Study Visa for Australia, Work Visa for Australia and Business Visa for Australia.

If you are looking to Study, Work in   Australia, Visit, Invest or Migrate to Australia, talk to Y-Axis, the World’s No.1 Immigration & Visa Company.

If you found this blog engaging, you may also like…

BEST PLACES TO VISIT IN AUSTRALIA