71 : On New Zealand Working Holiday Visa Application

Assalam and a very good day to you guys!

Since I got quite a number of questions through emails/facebook messenger/whatsapp/table talks, I would love to share with you guys on how to apply for once-in-a-lifetime working holiday visa in New Zealand. Pardon my writings, dear grammar nazi! :p

First, go to Immigration New Zealand website.

Normally the application will be opened on January 20 and above, every year. (You need to check the website regularly on January to know the exact date) Mind you, the places are VERY VERY VERY limited. According to the website, only 1150 places are offered to all Malaysian every year. During my time, all places were gone in 45 minutes!

READ ALL the requirements stated in the website for Malaysian HERE. If you think that you can fit in the requirements stated, please register yourself HERE. You dont have to wait until the application open, you can start doing it NOW.

So, when the application opens on January; all you need are :

•  a stable internet connection, 
• a credit card (not sure about the debit card & other online banking transactions. i did not own one, so i used my dad's. hey, of course la i paid!) 
• some patience. 

In my case, I woke up at 4 in the morning because the application opened at 5 am (10 am NZ time).
Then, I started to fill up the application at 5 and done with it on 545! There were lots of questions to be answered, merely about oneself; like what you do, what's your interest, do you have criminal records etc. I found it quite easy, just a bit of hassle to go through all the questions!

After filling up all the answers, it's time for the payment! It costs me around NZD165 when i did the application, so I am not sure about the current one. Most likely it's about the same.

If you can get through up until the payment is done, you are in a good health and you dont have any criminal records or problems with immigration in other country; most likely your visa will get approved. YEAY!

I'm trying to help you by answering few normal questions that I easily get after one read the requirements :

• Did you really need to have 2,250NZD in your account? - No. But I borrowed some amounts from family members, just to get it captured in my account statement.

• Did you do medical check up? - No. (Malaysian & Singaporean applicants are on exception to provide medical check up, UNLESS you are applying from New Zealand.)

• Did you have a return ticket with you? -No, I did not have it since I got the visa approved.

• Did you provide your account statement? -Yes, but they didnt ask when i entered New Zealand.

• Did you bring a hard copy of your visa? - Yes.

• What if my passport is about to expire? - You can use the passport number during application, then once the visa approved, you can email NZ Immigration to change your details. Please get it done BEFORE you travel to New Zealand.

For me, with the blessing from Him; it was so easy. My visa got approved within 48 hours after the application. And my immigration matters went smoothly when I entered New Zealand.

Most probably that's all for now. I will try to squeeze some times to write more about my experience in doing WHV and share it with those who are interested to know more about it. But I can't promise when will I write the next post :p

If you have any further questions, shoot me a mail at hazirah(dot)mahadzir(at)gmail(dot)com. I'll try my best to help you guys. Meh, i don't bite!

G'day, mate!