Tutorial: How to extend your Working Holiday Visa in New Zealand

Your Working Holiday Visa is coming to an end, but what if you’re not quite ready to say goodbye to New Zealand?

The good news is that it is possible to extend your WHV with the Working Holiday Extension Work Visa if you have completed 3 months of seasonal work in the horticulture or viticulture industries. The extension allows backpackers on a WHV to stay an extra 3 months in this beautiful country.

In this tutorial, we will show you how to extend your WHV in New Zealand. Unlike your initial WHV application, which was completed online, you can only apply for the extension by post.

Find the full details on the official Working Holiday Extension page.

Conditions of the Working Holiday Extension Work Visa

To qualify for the extension, you must:

• Hold a valid WHV: you must apply for your extension before the expiry date of your WHV, i.e. before the date on which you must leave the country.
• Be in New Zealand at the time of applying: you must be in New Zealand when you apply for your extension. Also, you must not leave New Zealand while your extension application is being processed.
• Have completed 3 months of seasonal work in horticulture or viticulture: you can only apply for an extension if you have spent at least 3 months of your current WHV planting, maintaining, harvesting or packing in horticulture (growing fruit, vegetables, plants, crops, etc.) or viticulture (cultivation and harvesting of grapes for making wine). These 3 months do not have to be full-time or consecutive!
• Not have already benefited from the extension: you can only apply once for the Working Holiday Extension Work Visa.

When to apply for the extension

Since your WHV must still be valid at the time of application, we recommend you send your application by post at least 1 week before the end of your WHV.

It will take between 30 minutes and 1 hour to complete the form. Post usually takes around 2-4 business days for delivery.

Costs

The exact cost of the extension varies depending on your nationality and your location in New Zealand, but is generally NZ$700 plus an International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy (IVL) of NZ$100. Enter your nationality and location at the time of applying here to confirm the costs.

Documents needed for the extension application

To apply, you will need:

• a certified copy of your passport, which can be done free of charge at any police station in New Zealand
• 2 passport-size photos
• a completed SSE/WHE Work Visa Application (INZ 1153) form, which you can download from the New Zealand immigration website
• proof of 3 months of seasonal work in horticulture or viticulture (read the next chapter for more info)
• proof you have enough money to buy a ticket out of New Zealand, in addition to the funds you have to live on
• a credit/debit card to pay the fees.