The Ultimate Guide to New Zealand Working Holiday Visas

When the weekends rolled around in New Zealand, I was spoilt for choice: Would I spend Saturday tramping (that’s Kiwi for “hiking”) in the mountainous backcountry? Would I spend the night camping in an abandoned historic gold-mining town? Or should I attend the party at the high-country farm down the road, where we’d dig into h?ng? in the sheep-shearing shed?

Whatever I chose, FOMO wasn’t a factor. As a Canadian living in Aotearoa (the M?ori language name for New Zealand) under the working holiday visa (WHV) program, I had two full years to explore the country.

That’s not to say that all choices were easy. Moving to a new country—even if it’s temporary and done within the framework of a WHV program—comes with its fair share of challenges and ample confusion.

Here’s what I learned—and everything you need to know about getting and making the most of a working holiday visa in New Zealand.

Applying for your New Zealand working holiday visa

If you’re a Canadian between the ages of 18 and 35, or an American between the ages of 18 and 30, getting your working holiday visa for New Zealand is the easy and relatively affordable part. 

New Zealand Immigration’s website on working holiday visas offers clear and updated instructions for how to apply, and most offshore visas are processed within 20 days.

However, there are a couple of nuances you should be aware of before you submit your application:

Should I apply for a one-year or 23-month Working Holiday Visa (WHV) for New Zealand?

While Americans can only apply for a 12-month visa, Canadians are able to stay in New Zealand for up to 23 months on a WHV. However, to apply for a 23-month WHV, you’ll need to jump through a few hoops that you wouldn’t for the one-year visa. Namely, you’ll need a medical exam and chest x-ray, which can only be completed by a NZ government-approved physician. And unfortunately, there are currently only 42 approved physicians across Canada—so if you’re living outside a major centre, this may pose a problem. You can also expect to pay out-of-pocket for these exams, as they aren’t covered by healthcare.

But the extra time and money it takes to get the 23-month visa is worth it. Nearly every expat I interviewed for this article said you should expect to stay longer than a year. (Personally, I planned to stay for one year and left nearly three years later.)

Of course, you can also apply to extend your 12-month visa once you’re already in the country, but you’ll have to pay another application fee.

Can I enter New Zealand on a working holiday visa if I am a 36-year-old Canadian?

Surprisingly, the answer is yes! You just have to apply for the visa when you’re still 35—but once it’s approved, you have a full 12 months to enter the country.

This means that by the time you enter the country, you could already be 36. If you’ve applied for the 23-month version, you could spend the ages of 36 to 38 on a working holiday in New Zealand.

I’m a young professional. Should I do my working holiday visa (WHV) in Australia or New Zealand?

This is an intensely personal decision that depends on which sector you work in. But, there is one solid argument in favour of heading to New Zealand: While Australia’s working holiday maker (WHM) program prohibits you from working for any one employer for more than six months (although there are some exceptions to this rule, such as working in healthcare), there are no restrictions in New Zealand. That means that you could work for the same employer for the full year or 23 months that you’re in the country.

The other advantage is New Zealand’s size. For what it lacks in opportunities (which is where Australia probably has the leg up), it more than makes up for in networking opportunities. If you’re entrepreneurial or looking to be mentored in your field, it’s much easier to become a big fish in a smaller pond.

That was the experience that Albertan Gregory Gould had. When he entered New Zealand on his working holiday visa, he had “every intention” of just staying a year to backpack around and work as a fruit picker. However, he soon found himself employed in Wellington in an engineering role with a mobile development company. His one-year stay ended up being extended to four years. 

“My expectations were a light travel experience, and I ended up doing most of my growing into an adult, with a career job that I’m still at,” he says. “Now, I’m the second-most senior employee that works there.”

I’m just planning on doing unpaid labour in New Zealand, like housesitting, WWOOFing and working in exchange for accommodation. Do I still need a visa?

Visit Workaway.info, KiwiHouseSitters or HelpX and you’ll soon discover just how easy it is to work and travel your way across the country in exchange for accommodation.

But shortly before the pandemic, Immigration New Zealand started cracking down on what they define as work agreements.

“If your intention is to receive gain or reward, you are not considered to be a volunteer and should consider applying for a work visa,” says Immigration New Zealand’s website. “Please note that WWOOFing (Willing Workers on Organic Farms in New Zealand) is considered to be work, as WWOOFers receive food and accommodation. WWOOFers must hold a work visa.”

If you plan on working or volunteering in the country—even if you’re not being paid a traditional paycheque—you need a visa.

I’m self-employed or work remotely. Can I apply for a working holiday visa?

Absolutely! Individuals approved for working holiday visas can even apply to become a sole trader, which allows working holiday-makers to contract out their services.

I have another question about applying for a New Zealand Working Holiday Visa (WHV). Who should I ask?

Facebook’s Working Holiday Visa New Zealand group is a wealth of information—and sometimes misinformation—on a range of topics related to WHVs.

For answers specific to your country of origin, it’s best to go straight to the source and ask Immigration New Zealand. If you’re wary of government bureaucracy, you’re about to experience one of the first joys of living in NZ—compared to elsewhere, Immigration New Zealand’s staff are generally friendly, helpful and prompt in responding to inquiries. Get used to it. It’s the Kiwi way.

Getting down to business

Getting your paperwork in order is the easy part. But once you arrive in your new country, you’ll need to get down to business. Here are the basic bureaucratic tasks you’ll need to take care of.

1. Make sure you have travel insurance

New Zealand only has reciprocal health care agreements with Australia and the United Kingdom, with coverage typically limited to emergencies. It does not cover routine medical treatment, including prescriptions.

So, before you even get on a plane, make sure you’re ensured for both emergencies and routine medical care. In New Zealand, Orbit Protect offers specialized packages for international visitors entering the country on a working holiday visa. 

You’ll also be pleased to find that insurance will be reasonably affordable, compared to other destinations. This is partially due to New Zealand’s comprehensive ACC scheme, in which everyone—including visitors—who is injured in an accident in New Zealand receives free medical care.

Four days into her working holiday visa in New Zealand, Torontonian Michelle Spences-Lee Moore experienced this firsthand. Shortly after arrival, she fell from a loft bed, resulting in a punctured lung, multiple broken bones and a hematoma.

“I was terrified that I’d be handcuffed to a bed with a $20,000 bill,” she says. “Fortunately, ACC covered all my medical expenses, including my eight-day hospital stay.”

So, if you break your leg skiing in Queenstown, you’ll be covered by ACC. But if you have a dental emergency or get sick while you’re abroad, you'll need travel insurance.

2. Apply for an IRD number and seek out the advice of accountants

Before you can get to work or even open a bank account in New Zealand, you’ll need an IRD (Inland Revenue Department) number, which is the equivalent of a Canadian SIN, or an American SSN. You can apply online here.

You’ll be required to file tax in New Zealand using your IRD number and if you’re Canadian, Canada’s dual taxation agreements mean you won’t be double taxed in Canada. However, because the two countries follow different tax years, things can get messy. We recommend finding accountants in both New Zealand and your home country who are well-versed in dual taxation laws.

3. Get a phone first

With two-factor authentication widely used as a security feature, getting a SIM card for New Zealand should be one of your first orders of business.

The four main providers in the country are Spark, One NZ, 2degrees and Skinny. If you plan on travelling outside of urban areas, it’s advisable to choose Spark or 2degrees, which offer the best nationwide coverage.

4. Get a bank account

To save on international banking fees, it’s advisable to set up a New Zealand bank account. To do so, you’ll need your IRD number. You’ll also likely need an address and phone number to set up your bank account.

If you haven’t yet found a place to live but are staying somewhere temporarily (such as a hostel or Airbnb), ask your host if you can use their address. Just be sure to request that no hard copy mail is sent to that address—and once you do find a more permanent abode, remember to update the address on file.

If you need to transfer money from your home country’s bank account to a New Zealand account, most expats (myself included) swear by Wise.com for its low transfer fees. 

5. Familiarize yourself with the cost of living and wages

If you do a simple conversion of Canadian dollars to New Zealand dollars or look at New Zealand’s minimum wage (NZ$23.15 per hour), New Zealand might seem like a budget destination. But the reality is incredibly different. Easily disrupted supply chains and a reliance on imported products mean that basic goods and services can be more expensive than what you’re used to. Food prices, in particular, have gone up 12.1% year-on-year (2024), with Kiwis spending upwards of NZ$10 for a head of cauliflower.

Gould says that the sticker shock was one of the most challenging aspects of his time in the country.

“New Zealand is more expensive than I think we realized. It’s not nearly as ‘backpackable’ as it once was,” says Gould. “Food, gas and any electronic product you might need is paid for at a premium in New Zealand, with fewer consumer protections.”

However, much like Canada, there can be high variance in the cost of living depending on where you are in the country. Sky-high rent is the norm in cities like Auckland, while regional centres may offer more affordable living.

“If you decide to do a working holiday visa in New Zealand, I would encourage you to save more than what’s required for the visa to accommodate for the current financial climate,” advises Spences-Lee Moore.

Finding a job in New Zealand on a working holiday visa

How and where you will find a job depends largely on the experience you’d like to have in New Zealand. Are you looking to have a travel experience while earning some cash to pay the bills? Fruit picking or working in hospitality in rural areas will likely be your best option. Are you looking to grow professionally? Choose a city like Auckland or Wellington or Tauranga, where careers in technology and management abound.

A quick run-down of opportunities by region:

• If you’re looking for a job in hospitality or tourism: You’ll be sought-after in every region throughout the country!
• If you’re looking for a job in construction: Try Auckland, Wellington or Dunedin
• If you’re looking for a job in adventure tourism: Try the West Coast, Queenstown, Nelson/Tasman, Ruapehu or Southland
• If you’re looking for a fruit picking job: Try Gisborne/Tair?whiti, the Bay of Plenty, Hawke’s Bay
• If you’re looking for a job in viticulture: Try Marlborough, Gibsorne/Tair?whiti, Hawke’s Bay, Nelson/Tasman or Queenstown
• If you’re looking for a job in film: Try Wellington
• If you’re looking for a job in STEM: Try Auckland or Wellington

Popular job search sites include:

• seek.co.nz
• trademe.co.nz
• seasonaljobs.co.nz
• picknz.co.nz

Popular regional-specific job boards and recruitment services include:

• Rotorua: facebook.com/groups/Rotoruajobs
• Thames Coromandel Jobs facebook.com/groups/HAURAKIJOBS
• Whitianga Job Opportunities facebook.com/groups/WhitiJobs
• West Coast: westcoast.co.nz/business/business-support/upskill-west-coast
• Hawke’s Bay: www.phb.co.nz
• Dunedin: facebook.com/groups/dunedinjobs/
• Mackenzie: facebook.com/groups/3220064984743494
• Ruapehu: facebook.com/groups/ruapehujobs

A note about work-life balance

Generally, the travellers we interviewed said that Kiwis had a more laid-back approach to work. But this shouldn’t be conflated with laziness.

“It’s not that people don’t work hard—but careers aren’t necessarily their lives and in many Kiwi businesses there’s a strong commitment to good work-life balance,” says Gould.

Finding a place to live in New Zealand

If you plan on staying in one place long-term, start looking the moment you land in New Zealand. For a sense of what you can expect to pay in your region of choice, visit Tenancy Services. 

Finding affordable housing is one of the most difficult aspects of living in Aotearoa. In an email sent out to the country’s Regional Tourism Organizations (RTOs), we confirmed anecdotally that nearly every region in the country is experiencing ongoing housing shortages. However, some employers in the hospitality and tourism sector may offer on-site housing for staff.

Apartments can be found on Facebook Marketplace and TradeMe.co.nz. It’s common to rent apartments either directly from the landlord or through a rental agent.

An important note about cold and mould

The number one piece of advice offered by previous working holiday-makers? New Zealand is much colder than you think.

While winters in New Zealand are mild in comparison with much of Canada and the United States—particularly in the subtropical Northland, Auckland, Coromandel and Bay of Plenty regions—temperatures can dip into the single digits. That might not sound so bad, except consider this: Most New Zealand homes don’t have furnaces. (I am now an expert at building fires; the consequence of living in countless homes that didn’t even have a “heat pump” or an air-conditioner unit that also generates heat.) Nor do they have double-paned windows, or the level of insulation that we’re familiar with. That’s why it’s not unusual to find Kiwis sitting inside all “rugged up” (bundled up) with their “beanies” (toques) and jackets on.

It's not just a skewed perception offered by international travellers. Countrywide, there are concerns and government inquiries into the state of housing, with research indicating that more than half of homes have issues related to mould, dampness and heating. According to a 2022 survey conducted by Stuff.co.nz, one-third of rental homes have mould in them, which can lead to respiratory problems.

When you go to view rental homes, be sure to ask direct questions about how it’s heated and cooled and if there are any mould issues. Use your nose to sniff out issues on viewings—if a property smells strongly of bleach, there’s likely a mould issue within. If there is mould, ask the rental agent what the landlord will do resolve the issue, as it’s their responsibility to ensure a home is free of mould.

Why you should consider doing a working holiday visa in New Zealand

Regardless of whether you want to fund your travels or grow professionally, the opportunity to spend a year (or two) in New Zealand shouldn’t be overlooked.

“You get to reinvent yourself when you travel. You get to make a decision about what baggage you want to leave behind and what you want to bring forward,” says Gould. “It helps you identify what parts of yourself you really like, and those you want to change.”