The New Zealand working holiday visa which targets young energetic individuals between the ages of 18 and 30 who want to ply their trade in New Zealand. The working holiday visa is the centrepiece of an exchange program between New Zealand and a number of other countries.

Some of the countries which feature in this exchange program are the United States of America, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan, Sweden, Korea, the Netherlands, Malta, Slovakia, Malaysia just to mention a few.

The visa has a life span of 12 months for all the countries expect for the United Kingdom. The New Zealand working holiday visa for UK citizens is varied for 23 months. However immigrants from the UK can only work for 12 out of the 23 months available on their visa.

New Zealand visa rules state that holders of a holiday working visa should not bring their dependants into New Zealand and should not supplement travel with work. In addition the work holiday visa holder is not allowed to apply for permanent employment.

Application for the New Zealand holiday work visa is made from the country of one’s origin. However immigrants from Canada, Singapore and the Netherlands have a special scheme which allows them to apply for the visa while in New Zealand.

Immigrants wishing to engage in permanent employment can apply for the Skilled Migrant New Zealand visa. This makes use of a Point Based System – PBS – to determine eligibility.

Attributes used to calculate points include age, education qualifications, work experience, region and if one has a job offer in New Zealand.