New Zealand WHV 2024 tutorial: how to apply for your Working Holiday Visa

If all goes well, you should receive an email from New Zealand Immigration after a few days telling you that your WHV has been accepted!

This email contains information such as your “client number” and your “application number”. Make sure you keep this email so that you can easily find these numbers if you need them. Above all, you will need it to apply for your IRD number online when you arrive in New Zealand.

You can print your visa on the New Zealand Immigration website by logging in. To quickly log on to your profile, click on this direct link.

When you arrive on your profile, you will see that the New Zealand immigration decision has been changed to “Approved”. At the bottom of the page, in the “Working Holiday Schemes” section, click on the link under “Description”:

On the next page, you can click on View eVisa:

When you click on the link, an HTML file called e-visa is automatically downloaded to your computer. Open it in your browser. If you notice an error on your visa (surname, first name, date of birth, etc.), contact the New Zealand authorities immediately at [email protected].

Bug: some working holiday makers are unable to download their visa. If this is the case for you, contact the New Zealand authorities at the following address: [email protected] to request your visa. 🙂

What does the New Zealand WHV look like?

The New Zealand WHV is very basic. It is a simple HTML text file containing information about you. It is the last part of the HTML text (starting with “WORK VISA”) that you should print out and put in your passport.

What happens next? Activating your WHV when you arrive in New Zealand

You have a maximum of 12 months to travel to New Zealand from the day your visa is issued. When you arrive in New Zealand, your visa will be valid for one year. Your work visa will be required to obtain your IRD number and your employer is entitled to ask you to provide it.