For Australia’s wanting to work in London through our awesome London ConneXtion trip, here is some slightly boring, but very helpful information on applying for your Visa..

It is best to make sure you have your visa and an up to date passport before securing your place on the London ConneXtion trip.
Note- this information is for Australian passport holders and is current at time of writing however it is subject to change so please ensure you check with the UK home Office which is found here.

I’ve tried to outline the key points for The Tier 5 UK Youth Mobility Visa is previously called the working holiday visa for Australian’s so you can all see what is required and whether you are eligible to apply and to save you from going to a Visa expert who will happily take your money when actually for Australian’s this is quite a straight forward Visa to apply for!

Eligibility Requirements

• Available to anyone from Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Monaco, Taiwan & Republic of Korea.
• Must be over the age of 18 and under 31 years of age.
• Have £1,800 Pounds (Approx $3000 AUD as of 1st July 2013) in available funds at the time of applying.
• You must apply for the visa outside of the UK
• Costs
• The Application cost for the Youth Mobility Visa is £200 Pounds (Approx $ 330 USD as of 1st July 2013)

Application Documents Required

• Complete application form VAF9 either online or download and complete with a pen
• Passport sized recent color photo
• Original proof of funds document. This can be an official bank statement or letter from your bank printed on their letterhead and stamped. It must include your name, account number, date, balance in excess of £1800 pounds and logo from your bank.
• Completed Appendix 7 Form
• Valid Passport for the duration of your visa period
• All the above needs to be original documents meaning no photocopies, eftpos receipts or falsified paperwork.

Application Process

The whole Australian working holiday visas process starts with filling out the VAF9 application form either online or manually by downloading it. Most of this is fairly straight forward asking for details about you. As part of the application process you’ll get to pick the start date for when your visa will begin. Keeping in mind that this date must be within 3 months of when you are completing your application. So if you intend to arrive in the UK on the 1st September you’ll need to be applying for the visa no earlier than the 1st June of the same year.
Once completed you’ll be given the option to pick a time to attend your biometric appointment. This appointment is required for them to collect a copy of your finger prints which will be used when arriving in the UK on your visa. You’ll be asked to give (usually one finger) them when being processed by customs. The appointment takes all of about 5-10 minutes and you will need to bring with you the following documents:

• youCompleted VAF9 application form
• Passport photo meeting above mentioned specifications
• Appointment booking confirmation letter
• Passport

You’ll leave the biometric appointment with a stamped application form and documentation on where to post your completed application and supporting documents off to. At last check you have 14 days from your biometric appointment to get your documents in the post to be processed.
It is advised to post your documents off in an registered express post envelope and to included a second one for posting back to you. Take note of the tracking numbers on the envelopes for your own reference.
The above is a general overview for the entire application process please note that this information is subject to change so for most recent updates please refer to the link here.

Once you receive your visa it’s time to book up your London ConneXtion trip which can easily be done right here!

Any further questions we’d love to hear from you so please email us at [email protected]