Work and Holiday visa quotes quotas with Thailand to be increased by Australia

Australia continues to increase its Work and Holiday scheme through signing visa agreements with new countries as well as increasing visa quotas for countries that already participate in the program.

Australia has now formed an agreement with Thailand to expand their work and Holiday agreement by more than doubling the number of visas under their arrangements.

According to Australian Immigration Minister Chris Evans the change is expected to increase the number of Work and Holiday visas from 200 to 500 per year for citizens from each country.

Work and Holiday visa scheme also allows young people in participating nations between ages of 18-30 to work in each other’s country for about 12 months. In order to be eligible for the Work and Holiday program it is necessary to have a degree in higher education or if still following courses- should have at least two years of study underway. Other pre-requisites are that they must speak English or the language of the destination country.

"This is an investment in future relations with Thailand to help develop links between people in both countries," Evans said. "This Visa assists young people in Australia and Thailand to travel and experience different cultures and has closer contact with a local community while holidaying."

Thailand was in fact the first South East Asian country to sign a Work and Holiday agreement with Australia in July of 2004. "Each year almost 50,000 Thai people visit Australia and Thailand is a popular destination for Australians with over 300,000 departures to Thailand every year," Evans noted.

"The expansion of the work and holiday arrangement will help to further enhance this important bilateral relationship," he added. Apart from Thailand, Australia has Work and Holiday agreements with Malaysia, Chile, Turkey, Indonesia, and the United States.

-- migrationexpert.com 2008-08-15

Australia issues 150,000 working holiday visas a year.

What does this "jump" from 250 to mere 500 for Thais mean?

135 thousand Oz Working Holidays Visas Issued in 2006-2007

Or, "Work and Holiday Visa", as named in the news, is a subset of that?

Australia issues 150,000 working holiday visas a year.

What does this "jump" from 250 to mere 500 for Thais mean?

135 thousand Oz Working Holidays Visas Issued in 2006-2007

Or, "Work and Holiday Visa", as named in the news, is a subset of that?

They appear to be different visa classes, for different countries, with slightly different conditions. See: http://www.immi.gov.au/visitors/working-ho...isa-options.htm

This appears to be a reciprocal agreement. So presumably this means that 500 Aussies can come to Thailand and work, with permits?

WOW! I wonder if the Thai labour department and immigration have heard of this?

However, following the link to the Aussie immigration website, I didn't see Thailand listed, only

"The Working Holiday visa is available to passport holders from Belgium, Canada, the Republic of Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong SAR, the Republic of Ireland, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Taiwan and the United Kingdom."

This appears to be a reciprocal agreement. So presumably this means that 500 Aussies can come to Thailand and work, with permits?

WOW! I wonder if the Thai labour department and immigration have heard of this?

However, following the link to the Aussie immigration website, I didn't see Thailand listed, only

"The Working Holiday visa is available to passport holders from Belgium, Canada, the Republic of Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong SAR, the Republic of Ireland, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Taiwan and the United Kingdom."

I believe the visa open to thailand is a "Work and Holiday" visa. The countries you list are eligable for a "Working Holiday" visa.