UK Youth Mobility Scheme
(Youth Mobility Visa)

A UK Working Holiday Visa under the new Youth Mobility Scheme entitles you to live and work in the UK for up to two years.

On the new Tier 5 UK Visa you will be allowed to work in the UK for the full two years of your stay. Apply for your UK Working Holiday Visa today.

To apply for a UK Working Holiday Visa you will need:

• Your visa processing fee AU$499
• The completed UK visa application forms
• Your valid passport from an eligible country. Please note that Visa First currently only organises UK Youth Mobility Visas (Working Holiday Visas) for Australian, New Zealand and Canadian citizens.
• Evidence of funds: You must be able to provide evidence of enough funds to partially support yourself in the UK – at least £1800 (approximately AU$3000/CA$2900/NZ$4000/€2200).

Visit Am I Eligible for more information.

Register online for your Youth Mobility Visa (formerly UK Working Holiday Visa) and complete the application form. We will contact you by phone and you can pay for your visa (AU$400 (includes registered post) or CAD 330 (includes registered post) or NZ$ 480 (includes registered post)) by credit card over the phone or by money order made out to Visa First. We'll then ask you a series of visa questions and we will send you an application form to complete and return to us along with copies of your passport and the required supporting documents.

The processing time for this UK Work Visa is 6 weeks. The British High Commission advises you not to book your flights to the UK until your visa is granted and your passport sent back to you.

The processing fee for UK Working Holiday Visas (including all embassy fees) under the new Youth Mobility Visa Programme is:

Australian Residents: AU$499
New Zealand Residents: NZ$625
Canadian Residents: CA$430

Yes, you will need to be able to provide proof of sufficient funds to partially support yourself while in the UK. A bank statement no older than one month which clearly displays your name, account number and the financial institution's name will be suitable as evidence of funds. It must show a minimum final balance of £1800 – approximately AU$3000/CA$2900/NZ$4000/€2200.

The Youth Mobility Scheme (Working Holiday to the UK) is a multiple-entry visa, which means you can leave and re-enter the UK as much as you like while your visa is valid. Remember that all time spent outside the UK after you first arrive is considered part of your 2 years.

Everyone working in the UK needs to have a UK National Insurance Number (NIN). Applying for an NIN can be a difficult process if you're new to the UK and it can take up to 2 weeks to process. Visa First can start organising your NIN application before you arrive in the UK to help speed up the process. Apply for your UK NIN Number today.

To make sure you can start working and getting paid in the UK straight away, Visa First is partnered with Traveltowork and can help fast track the process of setting up a UK bank account – which can take up to 6 weeks. Traveltowork is partnered with the UK's leading banks including Barclays, HSBC and Lloyds TSB and can set up a UK bank account for you. This service costs AU$75. Apply to open a UK bank account today.

Over 30,000 customers choose Visa First to organise their working holiday visas every year because:

• We make getting the visa you need fast and hassle-free.
• We are the only company with an online visa status engine which allows you to check the status of your visa 24/7. Check your status now.
• We're visa experts and have organised over 130,000 visas for people like you.
• Our visa guarantee means no visa – no fee!*
• We don't just do visas, we sort out everything you'll need overseas – from accommodation, bank accounts, airport pick up, jobs and much more.

Apply for your UK Visa with Visa First today.

No, you cannot apply for the UK Youth Mobility Scheme (UK working holiday) if you have children.

Yes. If you have already received a UK Working Holiday Visa or a UK Youth Mobility Visa but didn't actually go to the UK, you can re-apply for it again.

We recommend that apply for your UK Visa approximately three months prior to your intended arrival in the UK. The latest date that your visa can be stamped is three months from the day it is issued. So if you apply three months in advance the visa will start three months from the date of issue.

Get the processes started now and apply for your UK Visa today.

Yes. The British High Commission introduced digital fingerprinting on December 1st 2007. Once Visa First receives your completed application with payment and required supporting documents, we will submit it to the UK Immigration Authorities and provide you with full instructions on the further steps of your application, including details of the biometric (fingerprinting) appointment with Consular representatives.

Yes, you can enter UK for up to three months for holidays, after your working holiday visa expires.

You need to apply for your visa at least a couple of weeks before you turn 31. Once your application is lodged the visa will start within 3 months and will be valid for 2 years from then on so it will be OK to be in the UK even when you're already 32.

As Northern Ireland is a part of the UK there will be no problems working there with your UK working holiday visa.

There is no problem to apply for the UK Youth Mobility visa once you're in Ireland on a working holiday visa but you are allowed to do so only after 6 months have passed from the date you arrived in Ireland. Please be aware that it's advisable not to book any tickets to the UK before you have your visa granted as the processing time depends entirely from the Immigration Authorities.

To be eligible to apply for the UK YMS you need to meet the following criteria:

1. must never have been in the UK on a working holiday visa;
2. must apply outside of the UK - either from your home country OR from a country for which you have a valid long term visa and have already spent 6 months before submitting your application;
3. must be aged between 18 - 30 and have no children

The visa can't be put on hold. It starts running from the valid from date that is stamped on your passport. You can enter the UK whenever you decide within the visa validity but the time you have spent outside will be deducted from the allowed stay.

When you're applying for the UK Youth mobility visa, you need to send your documents to the British High Commission at least a couple of weeks before you turn 31. The visa starts the latest after 3 months from the date of the lodgment and is valid for 2 years from then on. You can enter the UK whenever you want within the visa validity but the time you spent outside will be deducted from the visa validity.

Once your visa for the UK expires, you need to leave the country. You can't switch to another visa category from inside the UK.

Switching is not allowed in or out of the religious worker category. So once you go to the UK you won't be able to switch to another type of visa.
With regards to the Youth Mobility visa you are not allowed to apply from inside the UK. You need to apply either from Australia or from a country which you have a valid long-term visa for and you are allowed to apply only after you have spent 6 months in the country. So unfortunately going to France for a couple of weeks won't do.

The UK visa allows you to stay in the UK only. If you wish to travel to Europe you need to have a separate visa depending which country you wish to visit.

You need to get the UK Youth mobility visa while you're in home country as the visa label must be placed in your passport. You are allowed to apply for this visa not earlier than 3 months of your expected arrival in the UK. In your case, as you won't be travelling straight to the UK, you should apply for your visa as soon as possible as the processing time takes up to 25 working days when the Immigration Authorities receive your documents. Once we submit the application we'll state arrival date in the UK a date within 3 months and the visa will start running from then on and will be valid for 2 years. You will be able to enter the UK whenever you decide after that date. The time that you spend outside the UK will be deducted of the visa validity.

The UK working holiday visa allows you to work only in the UK. There is no visa that allows you to work in Europe - each European country has its own requirements. If you advise me what passport you hold and which country you want to visit and work in and for how long, I will be able to check and get back to you.

You need to apply for the visa at least a couple of weeks before you turn 31. Once your visa is granted it starts from the "Valid From" date that will be stamped on your passport and is valid for 2 years. You can enter the UK whenever you want within the visa validity but the time you spend outside will be deducted from the period that you will be allowed to stay.

Basically the Tier 5 - UK Youth Mobility visa is a non-switchable category. Once the visa expires you must leave the UK. You need to apply for a "Certificate of Approval" to be able to marry in the UK. You must submit your application with the UK Home Office. The certificate is valid for three months from the date it is issued. You must give your notice to marry within this time. The certificate allows you to give notice to marry and does not mean you will be guaranteed leave as a spouse or civil partner. All applications have to be made by post, as you will not be able to apply in person at the Border and Immigration Agency's Public Enquiry Offices for this service. The application form has details of the documents you need to send with the form and where you should send it to. It's recommended that applications are sent by Royal Mail Recorded Delivery. You should allow between 20 and 70 working days for your application to be processed.

The UK visa doesn't give you permission to visit other countries.

Basically there is no fixed period that must be spent outside but I would advise you to spend at least one day outside of the UK and enter back once your working holiday visa has already expired on a visitor's permit. The time that you will be allowed to spend in the UK without a visa depends on the passport you hold.

When you apply for the UK Youth Mobility visa (which has replaced the working holiday one) you must sent your original passport to the British High Commission. They will keep your passport for the entire processing of the visa. Please be advised that at the moment the Immigrations in Australia are advising that it takes them approximately 5 working days once they receive the documents. Still sometimes delays occur so I'd advise you if possible to postpone your flight because you won't be able to leave without your passport and there is no way to speed up the process once your documents are with them.

Unfortunately you are not eligible to apply for this type of visa. The UK Youth mobility Scheme (it has replaced the working holiday scheme) is available only for Australians, Canadians, Japanese and New Zealanders. If you're interested in going to the UK you should consider different options.

It won't be possible to apply for the visa from South Africa because you must have a long-term visa for there and must have already spent at least 6 months before applying for the UK Youth Mobility visa.

Basically you can apply from another country if there is an office of the UK Border Agency where you will be able to go and get your fingerprints done. However to be able to apply from a country different from your passport one, you must have a valid long-term visa for this country and you must have already spent 6 months there before you submit your application for the UK Youth Mobility visa.

Your UK visa will start from the "Valid From" date that is stamped on your passport. If you enter the country before that date you will be allowed to stay on a tourist visa. However, to activate the working holiday visa you will be asked to leave the country and enter within the visa validity.

The UK working holiday visa is a multiple entry one – you can enter and leave the UK as many times as you wish within the visa validity. Still the UK visa doesn't give you permission to visit other European countries. You must check first if you will need to have a visa for the relevant country before travelling.

As long as you have a long term visa (the working visa is such) and you have already spent 6 months in Finland you should be able to apply for the UK Youth Mobility visa without having to travel back to Australia.

If you fall pregnant while you're in the UK on the Youth Mobility scheme you should leave the country as you will be breaching the visa terms and conditions.

There is absolutely no restriction on working in the same field that you worked in Australia. As long as you don't work as a professional sportsperson or a doctor in training you will be absolutely fine. The new Youth Mobility Scheme allows you to work for the entire 24-month period.

It will be better to have the visa organized in case you're required by your prospective employer for proof that you are allowed to work in the UK. There is no requirement to have arranged job before applying for the UK Youth Mobility scheme so this shouldn't be a problem at all.

There is no restriction on the period of employment with one and the same company as long as you don't overstay your visa and you don't breach the visa terms and conditions.

With the UK Youth Mobility visa you will be able to work in the UK and in Northern Ireland. In addition to this you are not allowed to work as self-employed, sports person or a doctor in training.

The fact that you have an Australian working holiday visa won't affect your application for the UK visa. At a later stage, if you want to go to Australia and you haven't activated your Australian working holiday and have left it to expire, there will be absolutely no problem to apply once again for it as long as you meet the visa terms and conditions.

The working holiday visa is a multiple entry one. You are allowed to enter and leave the UK as many times as you wish within the visa validity. With regards to the work you need to check the visa terms and conditions. The old Working holiday scheme (visas issued before November 2008) allows to stay for 24 months and work only for 12months in total. The new Youth mobility scheme allows people to work for the entire 24 months.

Unfortunately there is no way to obtain the missing 30 points because your passport is not from a country participating in this Youth Mobility Scheme. The eligible countries are Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Japan and Monaco. You can consider other visa categories to go to the UK.

Basically there shouldn't be a problem to enter back in the UK as a visitor. The important thing is to leave the country once your working holiday visa expires which you will do.

Basically if you have enough funds to support your stay in the UK there should be no problem to get your visa. Simply complete the application form and send it back to us with copies of the required supporting documents and we will be able to process your application.

Basically there should be no problem to obtain the UK Youth Mobility visa from Denmark without having to travel back to Australia. We will be able to organize it for you. You will simply need to complete the application form and send it back to us with copies of the required supporting documents. Then we'll check then and make sure that everything is OK and we'll lodge the application and organize your fingerprints appointment. You will have to go to the British Embassy in Copenhagen to get your fingerprints done.

It's not possible to apply for another working holiday visa (Youth Mobility visa) more than once. If you obtain an Irish working holiday visa you will be able to work only in the Republic of Ireland (Sothern Ireland) only. Northern Ireland is a part of the UK and an Irish visa won't cover you to work there.

If you have already used a UK working holiday visa it's not possible to apply once again. You can avail of this working holiday scheme only once. I'd advise you to consider other options / visas to go to the UK.

Unfortunately, this won't be possible because the UK Youth Mobility visa can be used only once. If you want to return to the UK you will have to consider different visa category.

I don't think that you will be able to apply for your UK Youth Mobility visa from Portugal because in order to be eligible to apply for this type of visa from a country, other than your home one you need to have a long-term visa valid for at least 6 months. Tourist visa is not acceptable.

With regards to the processing time it depends from the consulate's availability. They are aiming to finalise YMS applications within 28 working days after receiving the full pack of the required documents.

If there is no way to travel back to Australia to apply for your visa you will be allowed to enter the UK as a visitor for a period of up to 6 months but you won't be allowed to work.

If you were granted a working holiday visa to the UK before, then you are not eligible to apply for the UK Youth Mobility visa. It doesn't matter whether you have spent the whole visa period in the UK or not – the visa expires 2 years after its date of issue and you are not able to apply for the same visa type again.

There are quite lot different visa categories for the UK. You need to check which type of visa will be the most suitable for you. For those visa types you are not required to be aged under 31.

There is absolutely no problem to apply for your UK Youth Mobility visa from inside Australia. Please provide me with a contact number and I'll get a colleague of mine to call you back and explain you the procedure.

The UK working visa that you have is valid only for the UK. If you wish to work in Austria you will need to obtain a separate work permit. Please be advised that your prospective employer in Austria must apply for a work permit for you.

There should be no problem to apply from the UK as you have a valid visa but you must have spent at least 6 months in the UK before you're entitled to lodge an application from here. Please be advised that it's also possible to apply from inside Norway as you're not a subject to visa requirement to enter the country.

There shouldn't be a problem to enter the UK as a visitor once your working holiday visa expires but you must leave the country first.

If you hold a British passport you won't be required any visa for the UK. As the UK is a part of the EU you won't need a visa or permit to work in Ireland. You will simply need to register with the proper authorities when you arrive in Ireland. With the rest of European countries which are a part of the EU probably the situation will be the same. Still once you decide which European country you wish to visit and work please double check the requirements.

There are no restrictions for UK students as long as you have the proper work visa.

Unfortunately they are right. Even if you're not required to have a visa to enter the UK or if you have such visa issued it's always up to the discretion of the customs whether they will let you in the country. I'd advise you to contact the UK Home Office but I presume they will tell you the same.

Basically the fact that you have been previously to the UK on a holiday will not jeopardize your application for the UK Youth Mobility visa. It's important that you should not have been on a working holiday visa or on a youth mobility visa before. I'd advise you to apply for the Youth Mobility visa straight after you're back from your holiday in the UK. Please don't book any tickets in advance as sometimes it might take longer for an application to be finalized.

Yes, there shouldn't be a problem to have 2 visas at the same time as they are for different countries. Please be advised however that each visa has a validation period this is when the visa needs to be activated and a validity period – this is the period for which the visa is valid.
Please be advised that we can help you with the UK working holiday visa but for the French one you need to submit the application in person.

You can get the working holiday visa for the UK only once in your lifetime.  So if you'll be getting it only as a back-up I'd advise you not to because it will be much harder to get another type of work visa than the working holiday one after that if you want to go back to the UK to work.

Please be advised that the UK Youth Mobility visa is valid only for the UK. If you intend to travel to Ireland you should check if you will be required to obtain a visa or you will be able to travel only with your passport if your country is in the visa waiver list of countries.

Yes, as long as you will be arriving in the UK on your 18th birthday or later. Other conditions apply too. Please contact us for advice.

At Visa First we do everything we can to make sure you receive the best possible service. If you feel that we have not achieved this goal we have set up a complaints handling process:

Complaints Process:

1. Where an official complaint is received by Visa First, the company will record the nature of the complaint and issue an acknowledgement email to the client within 5 business days of receiving the complaint. The acknowledgement will provide the client with the contact name who is responsible for dealing with the complaint. The official complaint must be made by email (you may also write, although this will slow down the process), and confirm that the client wishes to enter this process. Please email your complaint to complaints@visafirst.com
2. Visa First will investigate the complaint as swiftly as possible and where applicable, the complainant will receive a regular written update on the progress of the investigation at intervals of not more than 20 business days.
3. Visa First will try to resolve the complaint within 40 business days of having received the complaint. If the complaint cannot be resolved within 40 business days, the Firm will write to the complainant notifying them of the anticipated timeframe for the conclusion of the investigation.
4. Within 5 business days of the conclusion of the investigation of the complaint, Visa First will issue a resolution letter detailing the outcome of the investigation. This letter will include, if applicable, an explanation of the terms of any offer that the company is prepared to make in settlement of the complaint.

Probably your visa has been granted. Sometimes if all the documents are OK and it's a straight forward application, and the Immigration Authorities are not experiencing backlog, it takes less time to process a visa application. The processing period that is announced is just an approximate one so you shouldn't worry at all. If your visa was refused probably they would have just sent the documents back to you or if there was something wrong – require additional documents