The Australian government’s ballot initiative for the Work and Holiday program for mainland China, India and Vietnam has commenced for program year 2024-2025.

Key Points:

• The government will implement a visa pre-application ballot process in the 2024-2025 program year for these high-demand countries.
• As of Oct. 1, separate visa ballots have opened for China, India and Vietnam.
• The registration fee is 25 Australian dollars (about US$17) for eligible passport holders to enter the ballot process and be randomly selected to apply for a Work and Holiday visa.
• The government set an annual cap on initial subclass 462 visas for the program year:
  • China — 5,000
  • India — 1,000
  • Vietnam — 1,500

Additional Information: As BAL previously reported, previous registrations lodged for the program in 2023 cannot be used for selection in the new program, and the pre-application process will apply only to first Work and Holiday subclass 462 visa applicants from China, Vietnam and India. Foreign nationals from these countries who have already been granted a first Work and Holiday visa can continue applying for a second or third Work and Holiday visa online. Information on the pre-visa application process is published on the department website.