Ever since we arrived in Australia and started dealing with the dream of exchange students, the agreement of a "Work and Holiday" program has always been an assumption. Many people said it could happen, but there was always uncertainty. And now, we have been surprised by one of the most important visa agreements between these two countries, which will allow 500 young Brazilians to come to Australia to work and tour the country for a year, starting on July 1, 2022.
Good Day's slogan has always been "Never Stop Learning" and that's no coincidence. We were born to make the dream of many people who want to study and work in Australia come true. We have become a reference and part of the history not only of Brazilians, but of people around the world who have chosen our expertise to take English, undergraduate, postgraduate and other courses in the land of the kangaroos. And "Work and Holiday" is here to give Brazilians access to this desire: to experience Australia.
Before the pandemic, Australia recorded an average of 60,000 to 70,000 arrivals from Brazil, and Brazil recorded the arrival of 40,000 Australians, according to the Embassy. The numbers have been reduced in the last two years due to the closure of Australia's international borders because of Covid 19. "I was pleased to sign the Memorandum of Understanding with Australian Immigration Minister Alex Hawke in the Australian parliament today. " said Mauricio Carvalho Lyrio, Brazil's ambassador to Australia.
What are the next steps? You need to keep an eye on the website Department of Home Affairs to apply, which can open at any time. The basic criteria for participating in the Work and Holiday visa program in Australia are:
- have a passport from an eligible country
- 18 to 30 years old (inclusive)
- apply from outside Australia
- not be accompanied by dependent children
- have not previously entered Australia on a subclass 462 or 417 visa
Australia's labor shortage
What we see here in Australia today is that the country has an excellent employment situation, but still has a labor shortage. With the arrival of Brazilian energy, the program will undoubtedly be a success. It's also a chance for these people to improve both their language skills and their careers.
We know that this limit of 500 places could increase in the future, and also the length of stay in Australia, all of which depends on this first wave of Brazilians coming here. "All of these agreements and conditions are adjustable. There are countries that have more places, but there are countries that have fewer places. I know that an agreement was recently signed with a country that starts with 100 places, which is a fifth of the places that will be offered to Brazilians," explains Ambassador Mauricio Lyrio Carvalho.
We are already looking forward to welcoming and getting to know as many Brazilians as possible who are going to take part in "Work and Holiday", to help them in this new stage of their lives with knowledge and study, after all, "Never Stop Learning".
