Working Holidaymakers

Commonwealth citizens, aged between 17 and 27, may be allowed to come to the UK for up to two years on a working holiday. Since 1 October 1994, they need entry clearance, they also have to show that any work they will take will be incidental to their holiday, and that they have the money to maintain themselves without recourse to public funds and to pay their return fare. From 1 October 1994, the rules state that they should not intend to 'engage in business, provide services as a professional sportsman or entertainer or pursue a career in the UK'. The Home Office's intention is to stop people from working throughout the two years, or taking professional jobs.

Working holidaymakers' passports are endorsed with leave to enter on condition that 'the holder does not enter employment paid or unpaid other than as a working holidaymaker and does not engage in any business or profession without the consent of the Secretary of State for the Home Department'. The Home Office states that they should not work for more than 25 hours a week or for more than half of their time in the UK. They may also have a formal condition requiring them to maintain and accommodate themselves and any dependants without recourse to public funds.

The rules about the families of working holidaymakers state that married people are only able to be working holidaymakers if their spouses also qualify and intend to be working holidaymakers too. People with children who will become five years old during their potential time as working holidaymakers are not eligible, and children will only be allowed in if they will still be under five at the end of their time in the UK. It is no longer possible to aggregate several periods of time as a working holidaymaker to make up two years; the time is to be counted from the first entry as a working holidaymaker.

In practice, many more white than black Commonwealth citizens have been able to make use of this provision and the majority of the people coming have always been Australians, New Zealanders and Canadians (although since South Africa's readmission to the Commonwealth significant numbers have also come from there). During the 1980s and early 1990s it became more widely known, and numbers of young people from West Africa and the Asian subcontinent applying as working holidaymakers rose. It is widely believed that the increase in numbers from black Commonwealth countries is the reason for the Home Office changing the rules and now requiring entry clearance before travelling. In 1995, 15,556 working holidaymaker applications in Canberra were granted and 14 refused;Kingston granted 107 and refused 7; Accra granted five applications and refused eight.

Michael Reason LLM, April 2000.

http://www.michael-reason.com

References

JCWI Immigration nationality & refugee handbook 1999 edition

Butterworths Immigration Law Handbook