Applying for a Working Holiday Visa (Subclass 417) To Australia – The Ultimate Step-By-Step Guide with Screenshots

Attaching your supporting documents (new as of April 2019)

As of April 17, 2019, the Department of Home Affairs requires several supporting documents you must attach to your online WHV application.

Two documents are required:

• Your passport information.
• Evidence of funds for stay in Australia and departure.

If your documents aren’t in English, you must attach a translation. You aren’t required to provide a certified translation.

Document 1 – Your passport

You have to scan the page of your passport which shows your name and date of birth, passport number, issue and expiry date, and photograph. This step should be straightforward as passports are usually printed in the language of your country of citizenship and in English.

Document 2 – Evidence of funds

This step may be trickier. The Department of Home Affairs states that you must: “Provide evidence that you have sufficient funds for personal support during your stay in Australia (approximately AUD5000) and evidence that you have sufficient funds to purchase a return or onward ticket for a fare to depart Australia at the conclusion of your stay (in addition to your funds for personal support while in Australia).”

So you basically have to:

• show you have AUD5,000; and
• show you will have enough money to leave Australia at the end of your stay.

“Alright, let me just go buy my return ticket right away…”

No! Wait a second! We strongly recommend to wait until the WHV is granted to buy the plane ticket. First of all, even if WHV are rarely denied, it’s hard to get a refund on a plane ticket. Second, application processing times are guestimated—what if you’re still waiting for your WHV the day you’re supposed to leave? Finally, it’s often hard to book a return date more than six months after a departure date, unless you buy your ticket through a travel agency.

This is exactly why the Department of Home Affairs doesn’t require you to have a return ticket. To make things easier, you simply have to show you’ll be able to leave Australia when your WHV expires.

We strongly recommend offering additional funds as evidence you will leave Australia instead of buying a return ticket too early. But hey, if you do have your return ticket already, it’s acceptable proof—you still have to show you have AUD5,000, though.

What constitutes “evidence of funds”?

This is a very new requirement and we don’t have much information or feedback yet. One thing is for sure—a recent bank statement is acceptable evidence, it’s one of the two options in the drop-down menu.

The other option is “Other—specify.” We think that a statement from your bank representative could also be accepted. The letter should be in English (or with a translation) on bank letterhead. It should state that as of [a recent date] [you] do have [amount of money] available. The letter should be signed and stamped.

We don’t know yet if a simple screenshot of your bank account could be accepted (especially if the interface isn’t in English). If you do submit a screenshot as evidence of funds, your feedback is precious, let us know whether it was accepted in a comment below!

There’s also a forum thread where applicants are discussing the latest requirements and the evidence they’re submitting. Don’t hesitate to add yours (make sure to hide personal information!) if the Department of Home Affairs accepted it. Discussions are mostly in French for now but English participants are welcome.

How do I get a translation of my documents when they’re not in English?

If you don’t live in an English-speaking country, getting evidence of funds in English may be tricky. In that case, you’ll need to contact a translator. Note that the translation doesn’t have to be certified (which is good news, certified translators charge a lot more!).

You will still need to provide the original document, plus the translation in the same file (e.g. a PDF document).

The translation must be endorsed by the translator with:

• their full name
• address
• telephone number
• details of their qualifications and experience in the language being translated (even if not working as a professional translator)

Attaching the documents

1 document = 1 file

You need to have one file for your passport and one file for the evidence of funds. If you had your bank statement translated, the translation must be in the same file as the original bank statement.

PDF documents are accepted, as long as they are not encrypted or password-protected.

Several free online tools can merge multiple PDF files into one document, including PDF Merge or Combine PDF.

Accepted document extensions

The following document extensions are accepted: .bmp, .dcm, .doc, .docx, .dot, .els, .gif, .jpg, .jpeg, .jpe, .png, .pdf*, .ppt / .pptx, .rft, .txt, and .xlsx.

You can attach files up to 5 MB in size.

Uploading the documents

Ready? Now that you have the documents, the technical aspect is straightforward.

Select “Travel Document” to upload your passport information. Click on “Choose Files,” select the correct document on your computer and you will see a blue bar as it is being uploaded. Don’t forget to click “Attach” after!

Repeat the process for the evidence of funds.

Once you’re done, you should see “1 Received” below “Travel Document” and “Evidence of funds” as shown below:

Now, click “Next.”

You’re invited to submit your application. Note that it won’t be fully accepted until you pay the fee.

Click “Submit Now” to proceed with the last step—paying the WHV application fee online. You’ll find more info on the next page.