Steps To Apply for New Zealand Working Holiday Visa for Filipinos

The New Zealand Working Holiday Visa for Filipinos online application will open February 11, 2020 10am NZ time (or 5am PH time). In my previous post, I wrote about my experience applying for a New Zealand Working Holiday Visa for Filipinos. Since I received a number of messages asking the same thing, I am writing this update to help you prepare if you also want to apply for this visa.

Step 1: Decide if you really want to have a New Zealand Working Holiday Visa!

Timeline: 3-6 months before February, which is the application opening

For me, this is the most important thing to do first! Because if you’re just scrolling different blogs for information and you’re not sure yet if you really want this, then  you might just be wasting your time! Once you know in your heart that you want this, then whatever requirement you will need to produce, you will have the motivation to SPEND and acquire it!

Step 2: Check out if you’re capable of producing all requirements for the Working Holiday Visa

Once you decide that you really want to go to New Zealand, then it’s time to see if you have all the requirements, or if you can produce them. Remember, this is just to “check” first if you can produce the documents should you have the slot! You don’t have to have them on hand right away.

Timeline: At least 2 months before February

Requirements for New Zealand Working Holiday Visa for Filipinos

You must be 18-30 years old and have sufficient funds (NZD4500 or around PHP 150,000) by the time you submit your requirements. You can visit this site to check it straight from Immigration Website.

Below are documents that will be submitted to New Zealand Immigration once you pass step 3. You need to submit evidences of the following after 2 weeks of getting the slot!

1. Your good health: Chest Xray certificate that is issued only by the authorized agencies. You can’t just do xray from any hospital! The information on the accredited agencies will be sent to you by the Immigration.
   For me, I went to St. Lukes Hospital Taguig City to do the X-Ray after I got the slot! You can have the result after just 2 or 3 days so no need to have it prior to application.
   
2. Your identity. Passport biographical data page and Birth certificate
3. Your qualification. Diploma, Certificate of Graduation, Transcript of Records or any proof that you have finished a tertiary education (college).
4. Your english ability. IELTS certificate of at least band 4 or a certificate that I have a tertiary qualification from an institution where all the tuition was in English.
   For me, I wasn’t sure if my university can provide such evidence because there were subjects that were taught in Filipino. So I took the IELTS before I even applied for the slot, since it could take weeks before they send the result! So imagine if I got the slot and I don’t have the IELTS cert yet? 
5. Your funds are sufficient. Bank certificate, bank statements and credit card statements proving you have at least 150,000php in your account under your name!
6. Others: Letter of undertaking to take medical insurance (like a promise you will get an insurance when you travel to NZ) and a  Letter of authorization for verification of documents (so they can call your bank to verify your information.)

Step 3: Apply for a slot online!

So you’ve done Step 2 and you think you can provide all documents required? Don’t get too excited yet! Because having all those documents won’t matter if you are not successful with this step 3! Trust me, I’ve been there! Haha. During my first attempt (2017), I already prepared all documents (even taking the IELTS!!! and the XRAY!) but I failed to get the slot so I wasted money! So make sure that you get step 3 right!

It is not easy to get the slot (trust me again, I failed twice! haha). It only opens once per year and for 2020, it is open on Feb 11, 2020 at 5am PH time, and the site can only accept 100 successful applications! During my first and second try (on my own), I couldn’t even load the next page because the server was so slooooow due to the volume of people accessing it at the time! But doing it on my own didn’t work so I won’t enumerate the steps here (such as filling up the forms online etc. etc.). There are other blogs you can visit that describes this process!

But what I will share here is how I got successful during the third time that I applied, which was through the help of a person who developed a program so that filling up application will be swift! It was quite an amount but I considered it an investment! I mean going to NZ is more important because I decided in my heart I really have to go here! (Remember step 1?). I don’t want to lose the chance, and I couldn’t wait another year (because I am 31 years old already by next year). So I spent for the service, and was successful at getting the slot!

Step 4: Submit all the requirements.

Once you are successful in getting a slot, you will receive an email from Immigration about the instructions on how to send your requirements. You are given 2 weeks only to submit all! In the past, people with slots submitted through agencies, but for th past couple of years, submitting scanned copies via email was allowed. So I just submitted my requirements online. By this point in my experience, I already have the IELTS, Education documents and identity proof so I only needed to work on my XRAY, bank certificates, and statements, and create the letter of undertaking and authorization. Our application was Feb 7, 2019 and I submitted my documents Feb 15.

Step 5: Wait for the results.

The next and final step is to wait if you are APPROVED or DENIED! When I submitted my documents online, I only got an automated reply, and I didn’t hear from Immigration until May 14! So  I actually waited for 3 gruelling months for the results! My friend who helped me only got his APPROVED result after 8 days in the previous year so I was really worried that maybe I will be denied. But thank GOD it was APPROVED! It took long but what’s important is that I have the visa! 🙂

 

Conclusion

So there you have it… My 5 steps to having the New Zealand Working Holiday visa for Filipinos. I will post another blog about expenses in applying, your possible income here, and the cost of living here on my next post so make sure you subscribe for updates! If you have questions, feel free to join our FB community for people who want to have this visa, too! You can post your questions there and I’ll be happy to answer.