On 1 November 2021 the United Kingdom and New Zealand (as well as the UK and Australia) announced an update to their existing free trade agreements.

This update has significant implications for both countries, as well as for Kiwis and Aussies who are keen to travel to the UK via the Youth Mobility Scheme Visa (YMSV) & UK nationals who are looking to travel down under on a Working Holiday Visa. 

Following this, we now bring you some exciting news – New Zealand & the UK has a date to look forward to! From the 29th of June 2023, the age limit to be eligible for the Youth Mobility Scheme Visa will increase from under 31 to under 35 years old. They are also extending the length of this visa from the current 2 years, up to 3 years.  

This means that more New Zealanders will be eligible to access the YMSV, and be provided with a longer period of time to gain valuable work experience and explore the UK and Europe. Great news all round!! 

For those travellers who are currently on a Youth Mobility Scheme Visa, you will be able to apply for an extension from the 29th of June, so you can live and work in the UK for 3 years instead of 2.  

These changes will also benefit UK travellers coming to NZ with the same increase in age limit and they will be able to work throughout their stay of up to 3 years. Great news all round!! 

We are expecting Australia to be close behind so watch this space for new developments as they come. There haven’t been further details on how the extension of time will impact the cost of the visa either, so we will update you as soon as we hear.  

You can find out more on the new release from the UK government website or the NZ government website.  

Next steps…  

If you haven’t yet registered with anzuk please click on the following link & we can chat further about your work preferences.  

 Teach in the UK with anzuk 

Or, if you have any friends/peers who may be interested, we offer a $150 referral bonus following 10 days worked in the UK:  

We look forward to speaking with you soon.