Working Holiday Visa Australia and The Health Exam

After moving to Melbourne on a working holiday visa (subclass 417), I wanted to share my experience. Particularly for anyone who’s apprehensive about the health examinations sometimes needed for it.

After applying for SEO jobs on Linkedin, I got the incredible news of an offer in December 2022. Given how long sponsored visas can take, the company I’m working for suggested I apply for a working holiday visa (WHV). Then once in Australia, they’d be able to transfer that to a sponsored visa. This allowed me to start working within 6 weeks of getting the job, as opposed to waiting several months! It all worked out, so I’m very glad I took this route.

Here is a bit about my working holiday visa experience and everything I had to do for it. Including the health examination!

Related Post: How to Make Friends in Melbourne – all the groups I wish I knew about when I first moved!!

What is the Australia Working Holiday Visa?

Some facts about the working holiday visa in Australia:

It allows you to work and travel around Australia during a 12 month period.

You can leave and re-enter Australia as many times as you’d like during your 12 month stay.

There are opportunities to apply for a second and third working holiday visa, granted you do the specific days of farm work. This has now changed as of 1st July 2024 for UK passport holders – if you’re a UK passport holder, and did your first WHV on that passport, you can apply for a second and third working holiday visa without needing to do the specified farm work. For those applying without UK passports, unfortunately for now, farm work is still required in order to apply for second and third year WHV.

You have until the day before you turn 31 to apply, although some countries are up to 35. For UK citizens, this age has now increased to 35 too!

You can’t enter with dependents (children or spouse).

You have a year to activate the visa (enter Australia) from the date it’s granted.

You can’t work in the same job for more than a 6 month period.

How much does the working holiday visa and the health examination cost?

As of July 2024, the working holiday visa costs AUD$635 for first year. It cost AUD$659 for the second year WHV (for UK citizens without needing farm work). The medical examination costs £300.

How to apply for the working holiday visa

I applied for my working holiday visa the day after I accepted my job offer. As it was my first time, I applied for the subclass 417. I found the application here. The application itself was straightforward, comprising of a series of basic questions on me and my history. This included previous education, any criminal records and long-term periods out of my home country.

One question asks if you’ve ever been out of your home country for more than 3 months in the past 5 years. Because I had embarked on a 6-month backpacking trip a few years prior, my application was flagged for needing a health examination. Apparently, if you spend extended periods of time in countries at high risk of TB, you’ll likely be required to undergo a health examination. I will touch on this more later.

Once you have finished your visa application, you’ll need to attach some documents. The mandatory documents include passports and proof of funds, via bank statements. I gave 3 months of bank statements, my passport, covid vaccines records and university degree. The vaccines records felt relevant at that time but I wouldn’t bother now.

The Health Examination for the WHV

As previously stated, some people are required to undergo a health exam as part of their application. Once you’ve submitted your visa, if a medical exam is required, you’ll receive an email stating it’s needed. You have within 28 days of receiving this email to do the health test. You’ll also be able to see if a health exam is needed in your actual Immi account, under “health assessment”. Here is a screenshot from mine:

How To Book the Health Exam

To book your health exam, you will first need to fill in a 501 Medical Examination Form. For step-by-step details on how to do this, check out the Australian Government’s guide on organising the health examination.

Once you have completed your 501 Medical Form, it will generate a referral letter. This is extremely important, so be sure to save it and bring a printed copy to your health exam. This referral letter will also provide you with an individual HAP ID. This HAP ID is specific to your visa application. It’s needed to book your health examination online and you’ll need to bring it with you on the day of your medical assessment.

Now you’re ready to book the appointment. The health examination can only be done at select clinics that collaborate with the AUS Government. For those in Australia, you can book your medical appointment here. For those outside of Australia, you can book your appointment here. Select your country from the drop down menu and “Panel Physician – Details”. This will show you the specific clinics that can do this test for you. As of July 2024, it costs £300.

There are only 5 clinics in the UK that provide this particular medical examination. The one in London (Knightsbridge) was my closest one, so on the 4th January, I made my way to the clinic. I was apprehensive about the appointment given how bad the Google reviews were. However I had a great experience! This clinic specialise in providing health examinations for various visas in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Belgium and the UK.

The Health Examination Appointment

Upon arrival at the Knightsbridge Clinic, I handed over my passport. They had pre-printed forms waiting for me to read and sign, primarily consisting of waivers. Following this, I provided a urine sample and had a chest x-ray. This whole process took about 5 minutes.

The last part was a medical check with a doctor. This consisted of basic questions on family medical history, any regular medications or previous illness. He also checked lymph nodes, ears, eye, listened to my heart and felt my stomach. I was offered a female doctor for this but I wasn’t fussed either way.

I went back to reception to collect my passport. They told me my results would be sent directly to the Australian Government (via HAP ID), so I didn’t have to do anything from here. The whole process was very quick and all staff were extremely friendly.

How Long Until My Visa is Granted After Applying?

I must have googled this 10 times a day!

My visa was granted within 48 hours of this medical check! 20 days from when I initially applied. The Australian Immigration website states that most applicants will hear back within 90 days of applying. Here’s a link that’ll show you the expected wait times depending on the visa you’ve applied for and where you’re from.

I would say the vast majority of people I’ve spoken to in Australia on a WHV had it approved in a matter of minutes. It seems the people who required health exams, like myself, were the ones that had to wait a little longer.

Working Holiday Visa Outcome

If your visa is granted, you’ll be informed of the grant number, visa start date and your visa conditions. If your visa is rejected, you have the right to appeal the decision. I imagine at this point, it could be worth getting in touch with a visa agent who might be able to navigate the rejection.

My Visa Timeline:

15th December 2022: Job Offer

16th December 2022: WHV Applied

4th January: Health Examination

6th January: Visa was granted

1st February: I was on a flight to Melbourne

3rd February: The start of my new life in Australia

Wishing everyone applying for this visa the best of luck! For more information on the varying working holiday visas, check out the official site here. The Australian Government makes regular changes to ALL their visas, so I’d urge you to consult their official site and even speak with an immigration expert if needed.