All 45 New Zealand Working Holiday Schemes, Country by Country
New Zealand runs 45 working holiday schemes. Thirty-two are capped and open on a set date each year; thirteen are uncapped and open all year. Age, duration, funds and quota all vary by scheme. This page lists every one, with its 2026 cap, age range, length, funds figure and opening date.
Quick Facts
| Schemes in total | 45, enumerated in Operational Manual section WI2 |
| Capped / uncapped | 32 capped, 13 uncapped |
| Total capped places, 2026 | 29,940 — of which the United Kingdom alone is 15,000 |
| Cost | NZ$770 on every scheme = NZ$215 + NZ$455 levy + NZ$100 IVL |
| Default age | 18–30. Nine schemes run to 35 |
| Default duration | 12 months. Four schemes differ |
| Default funds | NZ$4,200. Six schemes differ |
| Allocation | First come, first served — no draw, no lottery, no random selection |
| Countries with no scheme | India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and every African country |
| Source | INZ per-scheme pages, Ops Manual WI2, and the 15 January 2026 opening-dates announcement, read 20 August 2026 |
Every scheme at a glance
Funds are in New Zealand dollars and are the living-expenses figure only — every scheme also requires a return ticket or the money to buy one, on top. "Open" means the 2026 opening date for capped schemes; uncapped schemes take applications all year.
| Scheme | 2026 cap | Age | Duration | Funds | 2026 opening |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | 1,000 | 18–35 | 12 months | 4,200 | 24 September |
| Austria | 100 | 18–30 | 6 months | 2,250 | 12 May |
| Belgium | Uncapped | 18–30 | 12 months | 4,200 | Year-round |
| Brazil | 300 | 18–30 | 12 months | 4,200 | 8 October |
| Canada | Uncapped | 18–35 | 12 or 23 months | 350/month | Year-round |
| Chile | 940 | 18–35 | 12 months | 4,200 | 15 October |
| China | 1,000 | 18–30 | 12 months | 4,200 | 2 July — filled |
| Croatia | 100 | 18–30 | 12 months | 4,200 | 10 September |
| Czech Republic | 1,200 | 18–35 | 12 months | 4,200 | 18 June |
| Denmark | Uncapped | 18–30 | 12 months | 4,200 | Year-round |
| Estonia | 100 | 18–30 | 12 months | 4,200 | 4 March |
| Finland | Uncapped | 18–35 | 12 months | 4,200 | Year-round |
| France | Uncapped | 18–30 | 12 months | 4,200 | Year-round |
| Germany | Uncapped | 18–30 | 12 months | 4,200 | Year-round |
| Hong Kong SAR | 400 | 18–30 | 12 months | 4,200 | 19 March |
| Hungary | 100 | 18–35 | 12 months | 4,200 | 23 April |
| Ireland | Uncapped | 18–30 | 12 months | 4,200 | Year-round |
| Israel | 200 | 18–30 | 12 months | 4,200 | 21 May |
| Italy | Uncapped | 18–30 | 12 months | 4,200 | Year-round |
| Japan | Uncapped | 18–30 | 12 months | 4,200 | Year-round |
| Korea (South) | 3,000 | 18–30 | 12 months | 4,200 | 14 May |
| Latvia | 100 | 18–30 | 12 months | 4,200 | 22 July |
| Lithuania | 100 | 18–30 | 12 months | 4,200 | 19 August |
| Luxembourg | 50 | 18–30 | 12 months | 4,200 | 8 July |
| Malaysia | 1,150 | 18–30 | 6 months | 2,250 | 11 February — filled |
| Malta | 50 | 18–30 | 12 months | 4,200 | 12 August |
| Mexico | 200 | 18–30 | 12 months | 4,200 | 26 February — filled |
| Netherlands | Uncapped | 18–30 | 12 months | 4,200 | Year-round |
| Norway | Uncapped | 18–30 | 12 months | 4,200 | Year-round |
| Peru | 100 | 18–30 | 12 months | 4,200 or 7,000 | 1 October |
| Philippines | 100 | 18–30 | 12 months | 4,200 | 12 March — filled |
| Poland | 100 | 18–30 | 12 months | 4,200 | 15 July |
| Portugal | 50 | 18–30 | 12 months | 4,200 | 19 February |
| Singapore (Work Exchange Programme) | 300 | 18–30 | 12 months | 2,250 | 3 June |
| Slovakia | 100 | 18–35 | 12 months | 4,200 | 5 May |
| Slovenia | 100 | 18–30 | 12 months | 4,200 | 1 April |
| Spain | 2,000 | 18–30 | 12 months | 4,200 | 9 April |
| Sweden | Uncapped | 18–30 | 12 months | 4,200 | Year-round |
| Taiwan | 600 | 18–30 | 12 months | 4,200 | 28 May — filled |
| Thailand | 100 | 18–30 | 12 months | 7,000 | 5 August |
| Turkey | 100 | 18–30 | 12 months | 7,000 | 27 August |
| United Kingdom | 15,000 | 18–35 | 12, 23 or 36 months | 350/month | 25 June |
| Uruguay | 200 | 18–35 | 12 months | 4,200 | 17 November |
| USA | Uncapped | 18–30 | 12 months | 4,200 | Year-round |
| Vietnam | 200 | 18–30 | 12 months | 4,200 | 3 November |
Status shown is as at 20 August 2026 and changes without notice. Where an age range is shown as 18–30 for a capped scheme that INZ has not restated individually, that is the general rule in WI2.1 — confirm on your own scheme's page before relying on it.
The 13 uncapped schemes
Belgium · Canada · Denmark · Finland · France · Germany · Ireland · Italy · Japan · Netherlands · Norway · Sweden · USA
No quota, no opening date, no closing date. If you hold one of these passports, there is no calendar to plan around — you apply when you are ready.
Two of the thirteen are unusually generous. Canada runs to age 35 and offers 12 or 23 months. Finland also runs to 35, which surprises people, because it is the only uncapped scheme other than Canada to do so.
More detail: capped and uncapped schemes compared.
The 32 capped schemes
Together they hold 29,940 places for 2026 — a figure we have added up from INZ's published per-scheme quotas rather than one INZ publishes itself.
The distribution is extremely uneven:
| Cap size | Schemes |
|---|---|
| 15,000 | United Kingdom |
| 3,000 | Korea |
| 2,000 | Spain |
| 1,000–1,200 | Czech Republic (1,200), Malaysia (1,150), Argentina (1,000), China (1,000), Chile (940) |
| 200–600 | Taiwan (600), Hong Kong (400), Brazil (300), Singapore (300), Israel (200), Mexico (200), Uruguay (200), Vietnam (200) |
| 100 | Croatia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Thailand, Turkey, Austria |
| 50 | Luxembourg, Malta, Portugal |
No cap changed between 2024, 2025 and 2026. Only the opening dates move, and they move by roughly a week each year.
The four things that vary most
Age — only nine schemes go past 30
The rule in WI2.1 is "no less than 18 years of age and no more than 30 years of age, unless their scheme allows a different age limit". Nine schemes allow a different limit, all of them 18–35:
Argentina · Canada · Chile · Czech Republic · Finland · Hungary · Slovakia · United Kingdom · Uruguay
The other 36 stop at 30. See age limits.
Duration — only four schemes are not 12 months
| Scheme | Length |
|---|---|
| Malaysia | 6 months |
| Austria | 6 months |
| Canada | 12 or 23 months (you choose) |
| United Kingdom | 12, 23 or 36 months (you choose) |
| All 41 others | 12 months |
Funds — six schemes differ from NZ$4,200
| Requirement | Schemes |
|---|---|
| NZ$7,000 | Thailand, Turkey |
| NZ$4,200 or NZ$7,000 | Peru — the lower figure applies with an acceptable English test result |
| NZ$2,250 | Austria, Malaysia, Singapore |
| NZ$350 per month of stay | United Kingdom, Canada |
| NZ$4,200 | Everyone else |
Extra requirements — degrees, English and residence tests
| Scheme | What it adds |
|---|---|
| China | Senior high school qualification verified by CSSD; must currently reside in China; English evidence under 2 years old |
| Peru | 3 years' full-time tertiary study verified by Peru's Ministry of Foreign Affairs; English optional but changes the funds figure |
| Philippines | Tertiary qualification of at least 3 years' full-time university study; English evidence |
| Singapore | University degree, or the equivalent of at least 2 years' full-time university study |
| Thailand | Tertiary qualification of 3+ years; letter of support from Thailand's Department of Children and Youth; English evidence |
| Turkey | Tertiary qualification of 4+ years; English evidence |
| Vietnam | University qualification of 3+ years; English evidence under 2 years old |
| Hong Kong SAR | Must be a resident of Hong Kong holding a valid HKSAR or BN(O) passport |
| Taiwan | Valid Taiwan passport and a Taiwan household registration certificate |
| United Kingdom | British citizen ordinarily resident in the UK or in Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man |
| USA | Must normally reside in the USA |
Six schemes impose a genuine English proficiency test: China, the Philippines, Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam and Peru. INZ's own English page for these schemes does not publish the accepted tests or the minimum scores — it sends applicants to a lookup tool instead. We do not publish score thresholds for that reason. Check the tool for your scheme.
The countries with no scheme at all
There is no arrangement between New Zealand and India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka or Indonesia, and none with any African country. The 45 schemes above are the complete list; Operational Manual WI2 enumerates them and nothing else qualifies.
This is not an oversight in our table and not a temporary closure. It is a bilateral arrangement that does not exist. Indians are New Zealand's largest work visa cohort by a wide margin, which makes the gap conspicuous — the alternatives are set out at no scheme for India.
Iceland — the possible 46th
New Zealand announced on 23 October 2025 that it was in negotiation with Iceland over a new scheme. As at 20 August 2026 no terms have been published: no cap, no age range, no duration, no start date. Nothing about it can be planned around yet.
Singapore is not, technically, a working holiday visa
Singapore's arrangement is formally the Work Exchange Programme Visa, set out at WI2.130. It works the same way in practice — 300 places, age 18–30, 12 months, NZ$770 — but the legal name is different, and its INZ page sits at a different address from the other 44. It also requires a degree or the equivalent of two years of full-time university study.
Step 1: Find your country in the table
If it is not there, no scheme exists and no amount of preparation changes that.
Step 2: Read your own scheme's settings, not the general ones
Age, duration and funds all vary. The general rules are a starting point, not your rules.
Step 3: Check whether your scheme is capped
Capped means an opening date and a race. Uncapped means apply whenever. See opening dates.
Step 4: Check your scheme's extra requirements early
A CSSD verification, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs verification or an English test cannot be obtained in the week before an opening date.
Step 5: Apply, and pay the NZ$770
All applications are lodged online and in English, with translations of any non-English document. See how to apply.
Where these figures come from
Caps and opening dates come from INZ's announcement of 15 January 2026. Ages, durations, funds and extra requirements come from the individual scheme pages on immigration.govt.nz. The scheme count and the general rules come from Operational Manual section WI2. All read on 20 August 2026.
One inconsistency worth knowing about: the prose of INZ's own announcement says "31 countries" while the table on the same page has 32 rows. The table is the reliable artefact, and 32 is the number that reconciles with 45 schemes overall.
This page is general information about published rules. It is not immigration advice and does not assess anyone's eligibility. For that, use a licensed immigration adviser or a New Zealand lawyer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which countries can get a New Zealand working holiday visa?
Forty-five: Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong SAR, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Peru, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, the United Kingdom, Uruguay, the USA and Vietnam.
How many New Zealand working holiday places are there each year?
The 32 capped schemes hold 29,940 places for 2026 by our count of INZ's published quotas. The 13 uncapped schemes have no limit, so there is no meaningful total for the system as a whole.
Which scheme has the most places?
The United Kingdom, at 15,000. That is five times the next largest, Korea at 3,000, and it is a cap rather than open access. Spain is third at 2,000.
Which schemes are hardest to get onto?
The ones that filled in 2026 were Malaysia, Mexico, the Philippines, Taiwan and China. Small caps against large populations — the Philippines and Peru at 100 places each, for instance — carry the most pressure. INZ does not publish fill times, so nobody can rank them precisely.
Can Indians get a New Zealand working holiday visa?
No. India has no such arrangement with New Zealand, and neither do Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Indonesia or any African country.
Which schemes allow applicants over 30?
Nine: Argentina, Canada, Chile, the Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Slovakia, the United Kingdom and Uruguay. All nine run to 35 inclusive.
Which scheme lasts the longest?
The United Kingdom, at up to 36 months, followed by Canada at up to 23. Every other scheme is 12 months, except Malaysia and Austria at 6.
Is Singapore's scheme the same as the others?
Almost. It is legally the Work Exchange Programme Visa rather than a working holiday visa, and it requires a degree or two years of full-time university study. The cap is 300, the age range 18–30, the length 12 months and the fee NZ$770.
Is Iceland joining?
It is in negotiation, announced 23 October 2025. No cap, age range, duration or start date has been published, so there is nothing to apply for.
