462 visas: Philippines added from 1 July 2024, ballot introduced for China, Vietnam, India

As part of the government’s outreach with its close neighbours, the Philippines will be the newest nation to be added to the cultural exchange work and holiday program from 1 July 2024. This was negotiated between the Australian and Philippine governments in September 2023 and comes after a similar deal with India in December 2022.

Up to 200 places will be available each year for suitably qualified Filipinos to come to Australia holding a subclass 462 – Work and Holiday visa.

The amending instrument shows that applicants must hold a valid passport issued by the Philippines and either hold a tertiary qualification or have successfully completed at least 2 years of undergraduate study or post-secondary education. They must also obtain a letter of support from their government.

Ballot introduced for first Work and Holiday visa for China, Vietnam, and India

It was forewarned that the introduction of a ballot/lottery-style system which was first applied to the subclass 192 – Pacific Engagement Visa had the potential to be rolled out to other programs and visas.

In the coming program year starting 1 July 2024, a ballot system will apply to the work and holiday visa program for China, Vietnam, and India according to the Department of Home Affairs’ website.

The reason given is simply the high demand for this visa in comparison to the number of visas available. There are 5,000 work and holiday visas for China, 1,000 for India, and 1,500 for Vietnam. While there are more places than other countries, with as little as 100 visas for some, demand cannot be regulated as for China and Vietnam at least, no letter of government support is necessary.

The ballot will only apply to the first work and holiday visa. There is a charge of AUD 25 to enter.

Processing of these visas for Chinese nationals is now paused until the commencement of the ballot, with Vietnam already reaching its cap.

While there is no intention of implementing a ballot for other countries, if a country’s cap is reachedquickly, and a letter of government support is not necessary, it is certainly possible that other countries will be added to the ballot. One can get an idea of if this is likely by reviewing the country cap page regularly.