4. A Working Holiday in United Kingdom

The United Kingdom, without doubt, is the most popular country to live as a Working Holidaymaker. It is the dream destination of may wannabe Working Holidaymakers. The main reason is of course the strong pound rate; however, the UK itself is a great country with varied opportunities for the adventurous traveler. With a medley of attractions like seaside towns (Cornwall, Sti.Ives), quaint villages (Wales, the Shires), cosmopolitan cities (London, Manchester), and the Highlands (Edinburgh, Loch Ness), the UK attracts anybody with an ounce of travel lust in them.

Many travelers gravitate towards London, since the financial capital of the world has huge opportunities for the working traveler. You can find countless working travelers, mostly Australians and Canadians, enjoying life in London as a waitress or a bartender. They work for a few months, save enough money and then travel, either inside UK or to other European destinations. (Though UK is currently experiencing a recession and this has put a dampener on aspiring applicants).

The UK Working Holidaymaker visa is valid for 2 years, but visa holders can work for only 12 months. Eligibility requirements are more or les the same as listed in the first post of this blog. The visa is available to citizens of all Commonwealth countries, but this status will change soon, as the current WHM scheme will close on Nov 27, 2008.

A new WHM scheme, called Youth Mobility Scheme (YMS), will be activated on November 28, 2008. The YMS visa is valid for two years, and visa holders can work throughout those 2 years. This blog gives you information about applying to WHM visa in any country. However, if you want to know more about this Tier 5 UK visa for working holidays, extensive details can be found at this website:

http://www.intergate-immigration.com/uk-youth-mobility-scheme-tier-5-visa.php

As of now, Americans and South Africans are not eligible for the new scheme. Expect updates frequently in this blog.

Links:

WHMers in UK – Lisa

WHMers in UK – Mei

9. So who am I to write about WHM visa?

I am not a consultant or an official, I'm an ordinary applicant, just like you. I talk from experience, to be frank. I spent a lot of time on researching about this visa, so I thought I will share my thoughts with aspiring WHM applicants.

Since I already had a good, well-paying job in my home town, this step was taken after months of thinking and planning...which is what you should do, too. I spent 2 months (May and June) scourging the internet researching about this visa, one more month (July) researching places in UK to prepare the holiday plan, and one more month (August) to prepare the financial/application documents. Only then did I apply last month.

My application is still under process and looking at the current economy crisis in UK, I am very doubtful of a positive outcome... I am based in India, and here, no one knows how long it will take to issue the visa. Some say 15 working days, some say 12 weeks, some even say 1 year (I know several who got their interview call 10 months after they applied!)... so I have not banked much hope on this, which is good for my sanity. But if I don't get my visa, it won't be bcos I didn't prepare my documents properly, at least I will not be sad because I have done everything I could.

So people, I request you to thoroughly read all forums on the internet, take time to talk to a few consultants abt this visa, think clearly if you want to spend a year in UK as holidaymaker bcos the job scene in UK is very difficult now… this is not a visa to apply in hurry, it’s a life-changing decision, lots of factors go into it, so please don’t do this in haste…

And please don’t consider the WHM as an easy way to get into UK, it is definitely not.. and that attitude somehow shows in your documents, and it’s very easy for a seasoned visa officer to find it out… it's not me who's saying this, I heard the comment straight from a visa officer, while watching an interview that was aired some time ago on an Indian channel...

So after careful consideration… if you still want to apply, then you can confidently go ahead and do it with peace of mind… :). I really hope that this blog helped you in clarifying some doubts about the WHM visa. ALL THE BEST!