Applying For A UK Working Holiday Visa From Canada

So, I’ve been away for a bit; but, I have good reason. Towards the end of October I’d decided to apply for a working holiday visa for the UK. I didn’t really have any set plans or ideas of what I would do but I did it anyways. Applying for the visa is not a simple process. There were definitely a lot of things that I’d learned along the way that I wish I’d known before. So I’m making a guide to hopefully help anyone else out who might have the same questions as me.

What is the Working Holiday Visa

Most people know it as a working holiday visa but most countries have their own name for it. It is called the Tier 5 Youth Mobility Visa in the UK. The idea behind the youth mobility scheme is to make it easier for people between the ages of 18-30 to obtain visas to live and work in Canada, New Zealand, Australia, the UK etc. for up to two years. Each country has their own list of countries that you may apply for visas to. From this point forward I’m going to specifically discuss the process for Canadians applying for a visa for the UK.

Things to Think About

Before you start the application, I recommend having a bit of a plan laid out. Think about where you want to go and where you’re going to settle once arriving in the UK. Knowing where you will be will come in handy when you need to pick up your Biometrics Residency Permit (BRP, more on this later.) Another thing to consider is how long you’d like to stay. The price of the visa depends on how long you choose to stay. I decided to apply for a one year visa but you can apply for a maximum of two. You’ll want to make sure you’re aware of all past travel history and the length of each trip, this includes day trips to the USA. If you have all your old passports, fantastic, because that makes it easier to look back at past international trips. If you’re like me and often do day trips to the States you’re probably not going to remember all dates. Luckily there’s a website for that. All you need is your full given name and your passport number so you can retrieve a list of each time you’ve entered the US with that passport.

What You Need To Apply

So, you’ve decided how long to stay, what city you’re going to settle in and the dates of all your past travel now it’s almost time to start applying. I strongly recommend having all your documents sorted before you start applying. There’s a lot of things they need to check when you apply. You’ll want to make sure you’re organized and don’t make a mistake. Your passport is the most important document you will need; but, it must be in good condition, have one empty page available (back and front) and must be valid for your entire stay in the UK.

The second most important thing you’ll need is copies of bank statements. You need to be able to prove that you have a minimum of £1,890 in savings. These statements can include

• A monthly statement of the accounts that you will have access to, or
• A print out of your bank summary with an official stamp from the bank.

Everything I had read told me to go to the bank and get my bank summary before applying but never explained why. I can honestly say, if you decide which day you are going to sit down and fill out the application go to the bank that morning. A bank summary is, in my opinion, the best option as it has everything on one page and only shows the balances of your accounts and total assets. However, it needs to be dated and stamped for the day of your application. Alternatively, you can get a printed copy of your bank statement. But, you will need to print one for each account and it shows your spending history for the last month. The closing balance on your account statement can be from the day of your application or any date up to 30 days prior to your application. I, on a whim, decided to apply for my visa on the night of November 7th. November 9th I went to the bank to get everything printed. I ended up getting about eight pages of bank statements printed, all dated for November 8th, because they can only print bank summaries from that day. Luckily, when I’d submitted my application it was already November 8th in the UK so that was counted as my date of application. If you can, just save yourself the hassle and stress and get your bank summary printed the morning of.

The last thing you will need is a credit card. You’ll need to make two different payments during your application, one for the visa itself which was 403USD and the Immigration Health Surcharge 300GBP. For some reason Canadian visa applications for the UK are processed through an office in New York. When you go to make your payments the prices are converted from GBP to USD and you are charged in USD. So that’s something to keep in mind when estimating the cost of your visa. You’ll have to covert from GBP to USD then to CAD and add on whatever conversion fees your credit card has.

The Application

Honestly, the application process can be quite tedious and confusing at times so make sure you’re ready to sit down and focus on it. The first portion asks briefly about your travel plans, you’ll need to know the date you plan to arrive in the UK. The next portion is your personal info. You’ll have to fill in where you were born, where you’re currently living and for how long, just the general who you are stuff, passport info and details about your parents. Now we start getting into the real stuff.

This is where you need to know your travel history. First they ask how many times in the last 10 years you’ve been to the UK. It’ll ask for the date of visit, the reason for the visit and the length of your stay. Next it asks how many times in the last 10 years you’ve visited Australia, Canada, New Zealand, USA or the Schengen area. The Schengen area is a group of 26 European countries that have gotten rid of passport and border control at their mutual borders. Make sure you double check if you’ve visited any countries in this area. the last question for travel history is if you’ve visited any other countries in the last 10 years. You’ll need to know your complete travel history here cause it will ask for each country you visited, why and for how long.

One of the main things about this visa is that you don’t need a sponsor or a job before your arrival. You don’t even have to work while you’re here if you are able to support yourself. That being said, there is a question on the application that asks about the job title you will hold, who the company sponsoring you is and what your monthly income will be. I started to worry a bit at this part. I was certain I did not need a sponsor. After an extensive Google search and rewording my question many times, I found an answer about 5 pages back on a TripAdvisor forum. Someone said that they had put down N/A and $0; but, never said if it worked or not. So, I can confirm that it did. I put down exactly those words and I made it. In a later section of the application it asks if there is anything else you’d like to say that you did not get the chance to say already. In this section I talked about what my plans for arrival were, what skills I had (including languages I spoke and additional schooling or courses I’ve taken) and what kind of job I would be looking for.

Lastly, it asks for the address that you will be staying at in the UK. This address does not need to be your permanent address in the UK, hostels and hotels are okay. They ask for an address so that you can pick up your Biometrics Residency Permit (BRP.) It will be sent to the post office closest to the address you supply. This card is you visa, it says you’re allowed to be in the country and it is really important to pick it up as soon as you can. To make picking this up easier, it’s best to have an idea of where you’ll be settling. I knew I was going to be arriving into London and would spend a few days there first. I assumed my BRP would be ready for pickup as soon as I arrived because I gave my date of arrival. That was a bad assumption, it actually took a while before it arrived. I ended up having to get my card rerouted which was an extra £20. Save yourself time, frustration and money by just giving an address for the city you will be permanently staying in.

The Interview

They call it an interview, it’s not really. There’s absolutely nothing to stress or worry about. As long as you have all your documents you’ll be fine. Choosing your appointment is one of the last parts of the application. You’ll directed to the VFS Global website, choose the location, date and time that is convenient for you. People using the Toronto office can use it for free, users for all other offices are charged a 100USD fee. I was able to schedule an appointment for about a week after the date that I had submitted my application. My advice is to just print everything. Print copies of your application, all of your receipts you receive, all of it. You may need some of it for the interview and it’s always good to keep the copies just in case. For the interview you will need to bring,

1. Your current passport, which must be valid for at least 6 months
2. Your proof of funds, which you got before you started your application. Remember they must be dated for the day of your application or any day 30 days prior
3. Your application
4. Your IHS number

Make sure you arrive 15 minutes prior to your appointment time to check-in. Then you’ll have to wait for someone to escort you to the offices. The interview really only consists of someone checking over all your information to make sure it is okay. You’ll enter your address and prepare a shipping label for when your passport gets shipped back to you. They’ll ask for various documents, check everything over and prepare everything to be sent to New York to be processed. Next they’ll scan your fingerprints and take your photo and that’s it! You have fully completed your visa application.

Good luck!