How to Apply for the Work and Holiday Visa (Subclass 462) to Australia

Australia’s Work and Holiday visa (subclass 462) is a fantastic opportunity for young travellers who want to explore the country while funding their trip through short-term work. Whether you dream of road-tripping along the Great Ocean Road, working on a vineyard, or soaking up the beach lifestyle while earning money, this visa could be your ticket to a life-changing experience Down Under.

In this post, we’ll walk you through what the Work and Holiday visa is, how it differs from the Working Holiday visa (subclass 417), what you need to know to successfully apply, and share our personal experience as a Spanish and Czech couple applying for it — including everything about the English test you’ll need to take.

🗺️ Work and Holiday Visa vs. Working Holiday Visa: What’s the Difference?

Australia offers two types of working holiday visas for young travellers aged 18 to 30 (or 35 for some nationalities):

1. Working Holiday visa (subclass 417)

This is available to citizens of countries like the UK, Germany, Canada, and a few others. It has fewer application requirements compared to subclass 462 (no proof of English or education). It is easier to apply for and the revision takes less time. We have some friends from Germany, who applied just with their passport and filling out their details, and got their visa granted the same day after sending the application.

2. Work and Holiday visa (subclass 462)

This is designed for a different list of countries — including Spain and the Czech Republic. It comes with stricter eligibility criteria, such as proof of education and English proficiency. That is why it usually takes more time to be revised.

While both visas allow you to:

Stay in Australia for up to 12 months
Work while you travel (with some restrictions)
Study for up to 4 months
Apply for a second or third year by completing specific amount of work (usually regional or farm work)

…the subclass 462 application process is a bit more detailed.

🌍 Eligibility Criteria for Subclass 462 (Work and Holiday Visa)

The core requirements for all 462 applicants are:

Be 18 to 30 years old (inclusive) at the time of application
Hold a valid passport from an eligible country
Not be accompanied by dependent children
Have sufficient funds to support yourself initially (around AUD 5,000)
Have a return ticket or funds for one
Meet health and character requirements

And, for many countries — including Spain and the Czech Republic — there are additional requirements like:

Proof of English language proficiency
Proof of tertiary education or being enrolled in a degree
Obtain a letter of support from your home government (varies by country)

🇪🇸 Requirements for Spanish and Czech Citizens (from our experience) in particular

If you hold a Spanish passport, here’s what you’ll need:

✔️ Aged 18–30 (inclusive)

✔️ Hold a valid passport

✔️ Show proof of functional English

Accepted tests include IELTS, TOEFL, PTE, etc.
For IELTS, you’ll need an overall score of at least 4.5

✔️ Have completed at least two years of tertiary education (university-level)

✔️ You do not need a letter of government support

✔️ Meet health and character requirements

✔️ Have AUD 5,000+ in savings and a return flight or extra funds (we did not have

✅ Application is done online through the Australian Government’s immiAccount platform, where you’ll need to upload all your documents and pay the visa fee AUD 635$ (though the price can change at any time).

We'd recommend to have all documents ready for a complete application - however, if you start filling it out and then see you are missing something, the application will be automatically saved with all your changes. We had our applications open for about a month before we clicked send.. Just be careful not to send it incomplete - nobody will return you the fee in case your application is declined!

📝 What Documents You’ll Need

Here’s a general checklist to get started:

Passport scan (valid for the duration of your stay - Vicente's passport was expiring in January 2025 and his visa - after applying in September 2024 - was still granted. He renewed his passport in November shortly before we left to Australia)
Proof of English (e.g., IELTS certificate)
Proof of education (transcripts, diplomas or enrolment letters)
Bank statement showing funds
Health insurance (recommended - we did it afterwards)

⏳ How Long Does It Take?

Processing times vary but typically range from a few weeks to a couple of months, depending on your individual application, and the time of year. Applying well in advance of your planned travel date is recommended. We both waited about a 45 days until we finally got the Grant Notification email.

📚 Our Experience with the IELTS Test and what to expect

One of the main hurdles for us — especially compared to people applying for the 417 visa — was the English test requirement. We both chose to take the IELTS (International English Language Testing System), which is one of the most commonly accepted exams for this visa. We did it at the test centre in Frankfurt and paid 249 EUR (per person).

The test is divided into four parts, all focused on real-life English use:

Listening (30 minutes)
You’ll listen to audio recordings (conversations, lectures) and answer questions.
Reading (60 minutes)
You’ll read several texts and answer multiple-choice, short-answer, and matching questions.
Writing (60 minutes)
You write two texts: one letter and one argumentative or descriptive essay.
Speaking (11–14 minutes)
A one-on-one interview with an examiner, including questions about yourself, a short talk, and a discussion (ours was through a Zoom call).

We took the General Training version, as it’s more suitable for work and migration purposes. The Academic version is probably better is you aim to study there.

You’ll need an overall band score of at least 4.5 (equivalent to a CEFR level of B1) to meet the visa requirement. It sounds low — and it is manageable — but it’s still good to prepare, especially for the writing part.

💡 Our Tip:

We used free practice materials online to prepare (the British Council site is great). We also bought a workbook with sample exercises in a second hand book store, to be able to practice also outside the house, for example in a park on a picnic blanket.. But the Test Takers platform online is filled with exercises to practice.

The most important thing is to understand the format of the exam and the type of questions and exercises that might come up. In the end, each part has a given format with a few versions and the only thing that changes, is the topic. The better you familiarise yourself with the test, the higher chance you will have to finish it within the time limit. It only takes practice.

Final thoughts

The Work and Holiday visa offers an incredible chance to explore the country, meet people from all over the world, and even extend your stay by working in certain regions or industries.

We went through this process ourselves and know how confusing it can be at first — but once you're here, it's 100% worth it. 🇦🇺✨

If you have any questions about the application process or the IELTS, feel free to leave a comment or reach out!