QueueCheckofficial waits, shared datesWork and Holiday visa (subclass 462) processing time
Visa topicFirst applications from China, India and Vietnam require ballot selection
Work and Holiday visa (subclass 462): first applications from China, India and Vietnam use a random ballot; a selected registrant has 28 calendar days to lodge the visa application
Last checked September 2, 2026. This figure may have changed, so confirm the official source below before making plans.
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Official wait
First applications from China, India and Vietnam require ballot selection
Published as official guidance rather than one number; the official summary on this page has the full picture.
Updated Sep 2
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Official updates over time
Work and Holiday visa (subclass 462): first applications from China, India and Vietnam use a random ballot; a selected registrant has 28 calendar days to lodge the visa application
Updated Sep 2, 2026, 5:09 AM
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Reading the Work and Holiday visa (subclass 462) figure
A ballot sits in front of the application
For first-time applicants holding passports from the highest-demand countries, there is a selection step before an application exists. Registration opens for a defined period, selection is random and automated, and only those selected may then apply. Being selected is permission to apply and nothing more: the visa itself is still assessed on its merits afterwards. Any processing figure describes what happens after selection, and says nothing about the months a hopeful applicant may spend waiting for a ballot round to open.
The cap is national, annual, and applies to the first visa only
Places for first-time grants are limited per country for each program year, which runs from the first of July. Once a country's allocation is exhausted, no further first visas are granted to that nationality until the year turns over, regardless of how quickly individual applications could otherwise be decided. Second and third visas, earned through specified work, are not capped, so the same visa subclass behaves like a rationed resource for newcomers and an ordinary application for people already in the program.
It is not the other working holiday visa
There are two working holiday subclasses and they are routinely confused, including by employers. This one covers a different list of countries, and adds requirements the other does not have, including evidence of English and of education. Most nationalities also need a letter of support from their own government, with a handful of exceptions where that requirement was dropped. Advice written about the other subclass is not merely less relevant here; on the entry requirements it is wrong.
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