Working Holiday Visa Australia for South Korean Citizens: 2026 Guide
Updated: 29 October 2026
South Korean citizens come to Australia on the Working Holiday visa (subclass 417). Home Affairs lists the "Republic of Korea" on the 417 passport list with an age range of 18 to 35. Most of this guide covers turning one year into two or three through specified work, including farm work.
This site is an independent guide and is not run by any government. Use it to plan, then confirm every rule on the Home Affairs website.
Key facts for Republic of Korea passport holders
| Item | What Home Affairs says |
|---|---|
| Visa | Working Holiday visa (subclass 417) |
| Age | 18 to 35 when you apply, for the first, second and third visa |
| Price | AUD840 first visa; AUD1,000 second; AUD1,000 third |
| Length | First visa: up to 12 months, counted from the day you enter Australia |
| Second year | At least 3 months (88 calendar days) of specified work on visa one |
| Third year | At least 6 months (179 calendar days) of specified work on visa two |
| Short visits | ETA (subclass 601). South Korea is not on the eVisitor list |
Full eligibility and application steps are in our subclass 417 guide. The short version: lodge your first 417 online from outside Australia, apply alone, have about AUD5,000 plus your onward fare, and wait for the grant before you buy tickets.
Planning your second year from your first week
Home Affairs' specified work page explains how the days are counted. The key points:
- "3 months" means 88 calendar days, equal to the three shortest calendar months. Weekends or normal rest days inside your work period are included.
- You must match a full-time worker. Count the normal work days or shifts a full-time employee in that role would do over 88 days. Working 2 days a week across 3 months is not enough; you would need to work part time for longer.
- You can split it up. Several employers and several short jobs are fine, but the total can never take less than 3 calendar months.
- One day is one day. A 10-hour day still counts as a single day of specified work.
- Piecework counts. Work under a piecework rate agreement can be counted.
- Weather is your risk. Unpaid days lost to severe or seasonal weather do not count, and Home Affairs makes no exception for bad weather or any other reason. Paid public holidays and paid sick days do count.
- Timing. All the work for a second visa must be done while you hold your first 417.
Home Affairs' own advice is not to leave specified work until the end of your stay. Start early, and keep a copy of your employment contract.
Does farm work count? What "plant and animal cultivation" means
Farm work falls under "plant and animal cultivation in regional Australia". Home Affairs defines it as harvesting or packing fruit and vegetable crops, and the immediate processing of animal products such as shearing, butchery, packing and tanning. Its examples include:
- picking fruit in an orchard;
- pruning and trimming vines and trees for a commercial fruit or nut crop, if that is your main task (general garden maintenance does not count);
- making dairy produce from raw material;
- feeding and herding cattle on a farm.
What does not count: secondary processing, which includes winemaking, brewing and distillation, milling, making small goods such as processed meats, and retail of dairy or butchery products.
Location matters too. The job must be in an eligible regional postcode, and the specified work page lists every postcode by state. For now, Home Affairs is also temporarily applying flexibility, so support work such as administration or cleaning for a specified industry in an eligible postcode may be accepted. All of it must be paid in line with Australian legislation and awards.
Farm work is not the only route. The approved list also covers tourism and hospitality in Northern or Remote and Very Remote Australia, fishing and pearling, tree farming and felling, mining and construction in regional Australia, and bushfire or natural disaster recovery work in declared areas. For harvest jobs, Home Affairs points to the Australian Government's Workforce Australia jobs board. Our farm jobs guide and second-year guide go further.
One bonus: since 1 January 2024, plant and animal cultivation anywhere in Australia is exempt from the usual 6-month limit with one employer. You can stay on with a good farm without asking permission. See condition 8547.
The third year
For a third 417 you need 6 months (at least 179 calendar days) of specified work done while holding your second 417, on or after 1 July 2019. Work done on your first visa cannot be reused. Your third application must also be lodged before your 36th birthday, in Australian Eastern time. There is no fourth 417. See our third-year guide.
You may have read that some working holidaymakers no longer need specified work. That rule is only for applicants who lodge with a passport issued by the United Kingdom. It does not cover a Korean passport.
Short visits on an ETA
A South Korean passport is on the ETA (subclass 601) list but not on the eVisitor list. You apply in the Australian ETA app, which has an AUD20 service charge, and each stay is up to 3 months. Travel industry representatives can apply for you in the app, but you must be there in person for the live photo. Home Affairs publishes app guidance notes for industry users in Korean as well as English and Japanese.
How it fits with your 417:
- After your 417 is granted, you need no ETA to enter Australia.
- An ETA grant does not end your 417.
- If you hold both, your 12-month working holiday period still starts on the day you arrive, even for a short trip. The ETA only takes effect after the 417 ends.
See our ETA guide for South Korean citizens.
Before you lodge: biometrics, health and insurance
- Biometrics: Home Affairs might ask you for them. Its list of Australian Biometrics Collection Centres (correct as of October 2026) includes Seoul.
- Health examinations: the Republic of Korea is on Home Affairs' low tuberculosis risk list, where temporary visa applicants generally need no health examinations unless special circumstances apply.
- Insurance: the Republic of Korea is not on Services Australia's list of countries with a reciprocal health care agreement for visitors. Home Affairs strongly recommends health insurance, because you are personally liable for your medical bills. See our insurance guide.
Recently decided 417 applications took 2 days for half of applicants and 58 days for 90%. Home Affairs expects the average for most working holiday applications to be around three months.
Questions from Korean applicants
Do I have to do farm work to get a second year?
No. Farm work is one option. Tourism and hospitality in Northern or remote areas, construction or mining in regional Australia, and disaster recovery work also count.
Do weekends count toward the 88 days?
Yes, weekends or normal rest days within your period of employment are included. Unpaid days lost to bad weather are not.
Does work at a winery count?
Picking grapes and pruning vines for a commercial crop in regional Australia can count. Winemaking itself is secondary processing and does not.
Can Korean passport holders skip specified work, like UK applicants?
No. That arrangement applies only to applicants who use a UK passport.
Do I need an ETA if I already have a working holiday visa?
No. You can enter Australia on your 417 alone.
For other visa types, see our Australian visa guide for South Korean citizens. For the age rules of every country, see the age limit guide.
