Can I extend my Working Holiday Visa?

There are limited circumstances where you can extend your original Working Holiday Visa. Firstly if you have worked for 3 months in the viticulture or horticulture industries you can apply for a 3 month extension. Secondly if you are from Canada or the UK and didn't apply for a 23/36 month visa originally you can apply to extend to this maximum while still in NZ.

The Working Holiday Extension Work Visa is aimed at giving travellers who have spent 3 months working in the viticulture or horticulture industries to get themselves an additional 3 month extension to their visa. This extension can only be applied for once and the key thing to note is that the work doesn't need to have been continuous or for the same NZ company. So if you have done some fruit picking work check through your payslips and find out whether you have accrued enough time. 

Evidence you need to provide to Immmigration can include letters from employers, pay slips and your tax records. Seasonal work must be planting, maintaining, harvesting, or packing crops in the horticulture or viticulture industry. Any work outside of these specified roles (for example in plant nurseries or in food processing and manufacturing) does not qualify. To apply you need to fill in Form INZ 1153 and send off to NZ Immigration. It currently costs NZ$800 to get this visa so you'll need to weigh up whether the extension is worth it.

The Working Holiday Scheme Subsequent Work Visa is for travellers from Canada or the UK who can apply for Working Holiday Visas for up to 23 or 36 months respectively. If during your initial application you only applied for 12 months you can extend it by completing form INZ 1223. You will need to prove you still have funds to pay for your additional time in NZ and also provide general medical and chest X-Ray certificates. It currently costs NZ$770.

Make sure you check out our latest job listings including work in fruit picking.