New visa scheme between PH, New Zealand starts on Feb. 5

MANILA, Philippines – Filipinos can now go to New Zealand for work or study for up to a year with the launching of the “Working Holiday Scheme (WHS)” starting February 5, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced Monday.

“Effective February 5, 2014, Filipinos and New Zealanders, ages 18 to 30 years, will be able to apply for the WHS visa allowing them the opportunity to stay for one year in New Zealand and the Philippines, for leisure, holiday or temporary work,” DFA said in a statement.

“WHS participants may enroll in training or study for a maximum period of three months or work for one year with a limit of three months per employer,” it said.

Participants will leave the country at the expiration of their visa.

“A quota of 100 WHS visas per year will be issued to successful Filipino applicants and the same number to successful New Zealand applicants,” DFA said.

The agreement for the WHS was signed by DFA secretary Albert del Rosario and his counterpart in New Zealand, Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully, last October 2012.

This is the first time the Philippine will implement a WHS scheme while New Zealand has already implemented the scheme with 34 other countries.

“The implementation of the WHS is expected to generate closer people-to-people understanding and goodwill through tourism, cultural and educational exchanges and short-term employment,” DFA said.

“Allow young participants from the Philippines and New Zealand to experience first-hand the thriving way of life in the communities and engage more closely with the local people in each other’s country,” he said.

More details of the WHS scheme for interested Filipino applicant can be viewed on the New Zealand Embassy website (https://www.nzembassy.com/philippines).

There are 37,116 permanent, temporary, and irregular Filipinos in New Zealand as of December 2012, according to the Commission on Filipinos Overseas.