LYD1A KERR

I applied for a Working Holiday Visa 417 a few months ago but had a somewhat strange situation. Now that I’m safely in Melbourne, Australia, without any issues, I thought I’d share my application experience!

My boyfriend and I sent our applications off at the exact same time. His was granted immediately (classic), but mine triggered a request for health examinations.

I assumed this was because I declared I had type 1 diabetes, and so I booked into the nearest visa medical clinic for a pretty penny of £300 ish. However the receptionist seemed sceptical that I even required a medical in the first place, and asked if I had any other ‘more serious’ conditions…

Fast forward a week or so, and I checked my emails on our way home after a walking holiday. Nestled among a load of spam was an email from Australia granting me my visa! I really didn’t know how to feel about this because my medical was still booked and I thought there was some sort of error.

I immediately filled out a contact form asking what had happened because I didn’t want to get my hopes up and cancel my medical prematurely. After a few days I decided I would top up my phone credit and ring Australia directly.

After an hour on hold at 6am, I was transferred to a cheerful Australian who happily explained that despite the fact the system automatically flagged me for a medical, someone had manually reviewed my application and decided it wasn’t necessary. He explained it was probably due to the reciprocal health care agreement with the UK.

To say I was elated was an understatement, and girl math meant I just made £300 which pretty much made the whole visa free. To add to my delight, I even got a reply to the form I submitted confirming in writing that I didn’t require a medical after all.

If you are interested in applying for a working holiday visa in Australia, I advise checking the home affairs website directly and find the requirements specific to your home country as it’s varied depending on where you are from.

I personally couldn’t recommend the experience more and am excited to share more blogs about what I am up to!

Thank you for reading!

Love, Lydia x