Working Holiday exchange programme

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Summary:

Through the 'Working Holiday' cultural exchange programme, young people from Luxembourg, New Zealand, Australia, Taiwan, Canada, Chile, Japan, and South Korea can go on a working holiday for a limited time in another partner country.

The programme's beneficiaries will be issued a 12-month visa that entitles them to stay and work in the partner country of their choice.

The Working Holiday programme is a cultural exchange programme that provides young Luxembourgers with an opportunity to live and work temporarily in one of the following partner countries:

In return, this programme also offers young people from all the countries mentioned above the opportunity to discover Luxembourg.

Countries that have signed a Working Holiday programme partnership agreement undertake to:

  • deepen cooperation with each other; and
  • promote better mutual understanding.

The aim of the programme is to provide young partner-country citizens with a chance to:

  • experience another country's culture and lifestyle;
  • live abroad for a short period of time;
  • work while abroad to supplement their financial resources.

Who is concerned

The Working Holiday programme is open to all citizens of Luxembourg and of the countries mentioned above who are between 18 and 30 years old.

For citizens of Taiwan, Chile, Canada and South Korea, the upper age limit is 35 years old.

Prerequisites

To obtain a Working Holiday visa for any of the partner countries, you must:

  • satisfy the age requirements at the time of your application;
  • possess a valid Luxembourg passport;
  • not be travelling with dependent persons (e.g. dependent children);
  • have sufficient financial resources to:
    • support yourself during your stay abroad; and
    • purchase a return ticket;
  • fulfil the health requirements for obtaining a medical certificate;
  • have a clean criminal record;
  • not have previously been a beneficiary of the programme in Luxembourg or the partner country;
  • pay the visa application costs.

For applicants who wish to travel to Australia, in addition to the requirements mentioned above, you must:

  • hold a higher education diploma, or have successfully completed at least 2 years of undergraduate studies;
  • provide a letter from the competent Luxembourg government authority authorising you to stay in Australia as part of the programme. To obtain this letter, you will need to forward your application to:
    Direction des affaires consulaires et des relations culturelles internationales
    Assistance consulaire
    9, rue du Palais de Justice
    L-1841 Luxembourg
    assistance.consulaire@mae.etat.lu.

In addition, for the countries listed below, you must also be residing in Luxembourg at the time of your application:

  • Taiwan;
  • Canada;
  • Chile;
  • Japan; and
  • South Korea.

To obtain a Working Holiday visa to enter Luxembourg, you must, regardless of your country of origin:

  • satisfy the age requirements at the time of your application;
  • hold a valid passport issued by your country of origin;
  • not be accompanied by dependent persons (e.g. children under your responsibility);
  • have sufficient financial resources to:
    • support yourself during your stay in Luxembourg; and
    • purchase a return ticket;
  • fulfil the health requirements for obtaining a medical certificate;
  • have a clean criminal record;
  • not have previously been a beneficiary of the programme.

If you are a citizen of Taiwan, the application process also requires that you come in in person (by appointment only).

In addition, you must also be residing in your country of origin at the time of your application if you are a citizen of one of the following countries:

  • Taiwan;
  • Chile;
  • Japan; or
  • South Korea.

If you are a citizen of Canada, you may also be eligible for the programme if you are:

  • a university student on a work placement with a company in Luxembourg, under a pre-existing work-placement agreement;
  • a recent graduate with a pre-existing employment contract for a maximum term of one year.

Full details on the requirements that apply for each partner country can be found on the website of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Defence, Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade (Ministère des Affaires étrangères et européennes, de la Défense, de la Coopération et du Commerce extérieur).

It is also recommended that applicants consult the website of the competent Luxembourg or Belgian diplomatic or consular mission in the partner country for more detailed information.

Costs

The visa application costs will depend on:

  • the destination country; and
  • the diplomatic mission that is competent for processing the application.

How to proceed

Filing your application

You can file your application with the competent foreign authorities:

Foreign citizens must file their application through the Luxembourg diplomatic or consular missions in their country of origin.

Long-stay (type D) visas bear the following wordings:

  • Australia: Code L15;
  • New Zealand: Code L16;
  • Chile: Code L17;
  • Taiwan: Code L18;
  • Canada: Code L19;
  • Japan: Code L20;
  • South Korea: Code L21.

Rights

The Working Holiday visa:

  • entitles you to:
    • stay in the partner country for up to 12 months;
    • leave and re-enter the country as often as you like while the visa is valid (except in the case of Japan, where you will need a special re-entry permit whenever you want to re-enter the country);
    • work for a limited period of time during your stay;
    • enrol in a programme of study or undertake a work placement for a limited period of time.
  • does not entitle you to:
    • unemployment benefits;
    • social welfare aid.

Foreigners in Luxembourg under a Working Holiday visa are not required to apply for a residence permit from the General Department of Immigration (Direction générale de l’immigration).

Supporting documents

Depending on the destination you choose, you will need to include several supporting documents with:

  • your online application; or
  • your application file submitted in person.

For further details, view the official page.

Certain destinations require the documents to be translated into English and the destination country's official language.

Who to contact

Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Defence, Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Directorate of Consular Affairs and International Cultural Relations

Address:
9, rue du Palais de Justice L-1841 Luxembourg Luxembourg
Phone:
(+352) 247 82 386
Email address:
d6@mae.etat.lu
Email address:
service.visas@mae.etat.lu
Website:
https://mae.gouvernement.lu/en/directions-du-ministere/affaires-consulaires.html

Related procedures and links

Procedures

Declare your stay abroad to the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Defence, Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade - MAE (Lëtzebuerger am Ausland)

Links

Further information

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