Guide to Working Holiday Visa in Europe – How To Stay in Europe for 1 to 2 years!

Do you want to stay in Europe for more than the usual 90/180 day scheme? Do you want to earn money while being there? Do you want to be immersed in European Culture? Well, if you are 18 to 30 (or 35) years old, then you could get a Working Holiday Visa in Europe!

What is a working holiday visa?

A working holiday visa is a residence permit that allows tourists to take up (and sometimes study) jobs in the nation that issued the visa to supplement their travel finances while contributing to certain local industries. 

Some visas are offered due to reciprocal agreements between countries encouraging travel and cultural exchange.  However, there are some restrictions on this visa:

• Age Restrictions: Usually from 18 – 30 or 35 years old
• Types of Employment – from Crews, Farmhands, Officers, Consultants, etc.
• Length of time – a maximum of 6 months, 1 or 2 years
• Visa holder must have sufficient funds
• Health or travel insurance needed

If you want to know all the countries that have a Working Holiday Visa program, then check out the article on our website. This article will discuss more on Europe, so here are the countries that offer a Working Holiday Visa program in Europe. Data are from Foreign Affairs or Embassies of countries.

Schengen Area Working Holiday Visa

The working holiday visa serves as a Type D national visa, which permits the holder to stay and work in the country they applied during the visa’s period of validity. They can also travel to the rest of the Schengen Area for up to 90 days in a 180-day period (i.e. a maximum of 180 days in the 25 other Schengen countries during the visa’s one-year validity).

What does this 90/180 rule mean? It means you can only travel within the Schengen area for a maximum of 90 days within half a year. So if you entered another Schengen country on January 1st, and traveled from January 1st – March 30th, a total of 90 days, then you would need to exit the original country where you have a Schengen Visa. You can return after 180 days from July 1. 

Another example would be entering on January 1st 30th (30 days), exiting on January 31st then going back in traveling on March 1st to 30th (another 30 days), exiting again and going back on June 1st to 30th (another 30 days), so you need to exit on June 31st and come back for another 90 days starting July 1. It is a maximum of 180 days in a one-year validity because 360 days = 1 year, 90 days x 2 = 180 days.

So here are the Schengen Countries with Working Holiday Visas and the nationalities eligible to apply:

Austria

Citizens of Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, Hong Kong, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, and Taiwan, aged 18 to 30, 6-month or one-year Austrian working holiday visa

Canadian graduates, 18-30, Youth Workers Exchange Program – Swap 

Belgium

Citizens of Australia, Canada, South Korea, New Zealand, and Taiwan, aged 18–30, 1-year Belgian working holiday visa

Czech Republic

Citizens of Canada, aged 18–35, 12 months WH visa

Citizens of Australia, Canada, Chile, Israel, Japan, New Zealand (up to 35), South Korea and Taiwan, aged 18–30, 2-year Czech working holiday visa 

Denmark

Citizens of Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea Can, 18-30, 1-year Danish working holiday visa

Estonia

Citizens of Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, aged 18 to 30, 1-year WH visa

Finland

Citizens of Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea, 18-30, 1-year working holiday visa

France

Citizens of Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Russia (4-months), Taiwan, Mexico, and Uruguay, aged 18–30 or 35, 1-year French WH visa

Germany

Citizens of Argentina, Australia, Canada (up to 35), Chile, Hong Kong, Israel, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Taiwan and Uruguay, aged 18 to 30, 1-year German working holiday visa.

Greece

Citizens of Australia and Canada, aged 18 to 30, 1-year working holiday visa

Hungary

Citizens of Australia, Chile, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand (up to 35), and Taiwan between the ages 18–30, 1-year Hungarian working holiday visa

Iceland

Citizens of Australia and Japan, aged 18 to 30, 1-year WH visa

Italy

Citizens of Australia, Hong Kong, New Zealand, and South Korea, aged 18 to 30, 1-year working holiday visa

Latvia

Citizens of Australia, Canada (up to 35), New Zealand, aged 18 to 30, 1-year working holiday visa

Lithuania

Citizens of Canada, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea, aged 18 to 30/35, 1-year working holiday visa

Luxembourg

Citizens of Australia, Canada, Chile, New Zealand, South Korea, and Taiwan, aged 18 to 30, 1-year WH visa

Malta

Citizens of Australia and New Zealand, aged 18–30, 1-year WH visa

Netherlands

Citizens of Argentina, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, New Zealand, and South Korea, aged 18-30, 1-year Dutch working holiday vis

Norway

Citizens of Argentina, Australia, Canada (up to 35), Japan and New Zealand who are between the ages of 18-30, 1-year Norwegian working holiday

Poland

Citizens of Canada (18-35), Chile, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, and Taiwan, aged 18 and 30, 1-year Norwegian working holiday

Portugal

Citizens of Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, Japan, New Zealand, Peru, South Korea, and the United States, aged 18 to 30, 2-year working holiday visa

Slovakia

Citizens of Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, and Taiwan, aged 18–30 or 35, 1-year Slovak working holiday visa

Slovenia

Citizens of New Zealand, aged 18 to 30, 1-year Slovene working holiday visa

Spain

Citizens of Australia, Canada, Japan, and New Zealand, aged 18–30, one-year Spanish WH visa

Sweden

Citizens of Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, Hong Kong, New Zealand, South Korea, and Uruguay, aged 18-30, 1-year WH visa

Switzerland

Citizens of Australia, Canada, and Chile, aged 18 to 30/35, 1-year Swiss WH visa

Other European Countries with Working Holiday Visas:

Andorra

Citizens of Australia, aged 18 to 30, 1-year Andorran WH visa

Croatia

Citizens of Canada and New Zealand, aged 18 to 30, 1-year WH visa

Cyprus

Citizens of Australia, aged 18 to 25, 1-year WH visa

Ireland

Citizens of Argentina, Australia, Chile, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Taiwan, and the United States, aged 18-30, 1-year working holiday visa

Citizens of Canada, aged 18-35, 2-year WH visa

Monaco

British citizens, aged 18 to 30, 2-year WH visa

Romania

Citizens of South Korea, aged 18 to 30, 1-year WH visa

San Marino

Citizens of Australia, Canada, and South Korea, aged 18-35, 1-year WH visa

Citizens of Canada, aged 18 – 35, “Youth Mobility program”

Ukraine

Citizens of Canada, aged 18-25, 1-year WH visa

United Kingdom

Please refer to Guide to UK Working Holiday Visa

Working Holiday visas are limited and sometimes a tedious process. However, the outcome will be worth-it. Imagine the cultural experience you will have and also the opportunity to go to other Schengen Countries. I wish, with my Filipino citizenship I could go there, but we can’t apply for this type of visa in Europe yet.

Consider yourself lucky if you can apply for a working holiday visa in Europe. I wish you luck in future endeavors. Happy travels!

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