NEW VISA OPENS UP WORKING HOLIDAY OPPORTUNITIES IN NEW ZEALAND
The chance to enjoy a working holiday to remember in New Zealand is now open to more people than ever thanks to a brand new Work Exchange Visa, available exclusively through BUNAC’s Work New Zealand programme. This opportunity, previously only open to applicants aged 30 or under, now allows British citizens up to 35 years old to live and work in New Zealand for up to 12 months. The new visa requires less personal support funds on arrival in New Zealand and is available to those who have already held the once in a lifetime Working Holiday Visa for New Zealand and wish to return to the country. The Work Exchange Visa is ideal for students or career-break travellers looking to take time out on a unique working adventure, from an extended summer or winter break to a full gap year.
By taking short-term casual work, Work New Zealand participants are able to finance this exceptional opportunity to experience everything that New Zealand has to offer from the capital, Wellington to the outstanding natural beauty of areas such as Fiordland National Park. Job opportunities range from retail, hospitality and tourism roles - including ski resort work - to temping and telesales. Fruit-picking and other agricultural work is also popular. For many participants, New Zealand gives them the chance to fulfil their dream of a lifetime whether it’s experiencing the sheer adrenalin buzz of bungee jumping in Queenstown or swimming with dolphins in their natural habitat off the Kaikoura Coast.
Another new feature of this year’s Work New Zealand programme is that applicants can now choose between travelling on BUNAC-arranged flights and making their own travel arrangements to New Zealand. Those who take BUNAC’s Group Package can look forward to a three-day organised stopover in Hong Kong as part of their outbound journey, the chance to meet and travel with other participants, the first two nights’ pre-arranged accommodation in Auckland and representatives at both the departure and arrival airports.
The Work New Zealand programme cost is £450 and covers regional information talks throughout the UK, full pre-departure support from BUNAC’s London office including use of their Visa Service, comprehensive programme handbook and Lonely Planet guide plus access to the walk-in resource centre of BUNAC’s subsidiary organisation in Auckland. The application fee for the Work Exchange Visa is an additional £70. Flights and insurance are extra.
For further information on Work New Zealand, or BUNAC’s full range of overseas work and travel programmes, please call (020) 7251 0662 or visit www.bunac.org.
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Press: for further information, contact Sarah Leavesley or Haydn Parks @ BUNAC,
Tel: (020) 7251 0662, e-mail: sarah.leavesley@bunac.org.uk or haydn.parks@bunac.org.uk
Photography is available on request.
Editors’ Questions and Answers
Q. How does the new Work Exchange Visa differ from the existing Working Holiday Visa?
A. There are three key differences:
- The upper age limit is 35 compared with 30
- The maximum length of stay is 12 months compared with 23 months
- Participants must have personal support funds of £1,200 on application (none for the Working Holiday Visa), although these may be put towards the cost of flights. However, on entry to New Zealand the requirement is simply a flat rate of £400 compared with £140 for each month’s stay, making it
less onerous for stays of 3 to 12 months.
Please see page 3 of the enclosed brochure for further details on the visas.
BUNAC is the only organisation to currently offer both types of visa.
Q. What flight options are open to participants?
A. They can choose to take BUNAC-arranged flights to and from New Zealand. Outbound flights cost £899, which covers a range of benefits including the organised stopover in Hong Kong. Homeward flights start from £585, with a choice of nine routes. Los Angeles, Fiji, Honolulu and Tahiti are some of the stopover places available on the homeward trip. All BUNAC flights are with reputable airlines such as Qantas and Cathay Pacific. Alternatively, participants have the flexibility to organise their own travel.
Q. When can participants travel?
A. They can arrive in New Zealand at any time of the year however, October and November, the start of New Zealand’s summer, are popular.
Q. Who is BUNAC’s subsidiary in New Zealand and what does it offer?
A. International Exchange Programs, New Zealand (IEP NZ). Their Auckland office is the local point of contact for participants once in New Zealand. Their experienced team of staff is on hand to provide participants with help and advice and to answer questions on topics such as travel, finding work and accommodation or any other aspect of their trip. They also offer participants a social programme of events and excursions around Auckland and Christchurch.
Q. When was BUNAC’s Work New Zealand programme established?
A. 1997.
Q. What other work and travel programmes does BUNAC offer?
A. Programmes range from the camp counselling programme, Summer Camp USA, to flexible work and travel programmes in Canada, the USA and Australia and volunteering programmes.
Press: for further information, contact Sarah Leavesley or Haydn Parks @ BUNAC,
Tel: (020) 7251 0662, e-mail: sarah.leavesley@bunac.org.uk or haydn.parks@bunac.org.uk
Photography is available on request.