Working holiday visas: France age cap increases to 35 from 1 July 2019; more countries not needing government support

From 1 July 2019 France will be joining Canada and Ireland as countries whose nationals can apply for Subclass 417 – Working Holiday visas up to the age of 35 years old. The new legislative instrument also clarifies the age limits for each country by indicating, if any, the “younger age” that may apply instead of “maximum age” to better align with the wording of the regulations for this visa.

Additionally, a new instrument for Subclass 462 – Work and Holiday visas has been created to add Ecuador and Greek passport holders to the program as previously promised but also to exempt passport holders of Austria, Portugal and Spain from requiring evidence of government support for this visa. There are also minor changes to the way Singaporean, Thai, Turkish and Vietnamese applicants can apply by moving them to online applications unless authorise to do otherwise.