The New Zealand Working Holiday Visa for Singaporeans, officially referred to as Singapore Work Exchange Programme Visa by NZ immigration, allows Singaporeans aged 18 to 30) to travel to New Zealand and work there temporarily for up to 12 months.
I’ll be sharing my experience applying for the Visa for you to get an idea of the process if you’re interested in applying too 🙂
To apply for the visa, visit the Singapore Work Exchange Programme Visa page on the NZ immigration website.
There is a yearly quota of 300 for Singaporeans, but in the time I’ve considered applying from 2022 to 2024, the SG quota doesn’t seem to run out too fast unlike other countries where people have to wake up super early to apply for the NZ WHV the moment the quota renews for the year.
The cost of the NZ WHV has increased over time. When I applied in 2024, it was 455NZD. As of April 2025, the NZ WHV for Singaporeans costs 770 NZD.
Supporting Items
During the application, Immigration NZ will request for 2 supporting items:
- Chest X-ray
- Degree
Chest X-ray
As Singapore is not listed as a country with low incidence of TB, you’ll be required to submit a chest X-ray.
When to do the chest x-ray?
They will send you an email requesting for the chest x-ray after you have applied for the visa on their website. For me, this was on the same day I applied for the visa.
In the email I received, they requested for the chest x-ray to be submitted within 15 calendar days so make sure you’re in SG and have time within the period of sending your application to get the x-ray done.
Where to get the chest x-ray?
You need to get this done with one of the approved panel physicians by Immigration New Zealand (INZ) which you can find here.
The clinic will help you with the chest X-ray and send it directly to INZ for your WHV application.
My Experience:
I got the chest x-ray done at Radlink in Paragon which cost ~SGD$70. The process was quite fast, I arrived at ~850am and was done by 930am on a weekend.
But I would think it also depends on the crowd on that day as I’ve heard some people have had to wait a few hours before.
I received an email confirming the health assessment has been submitted to INZ 3 days after visiting the clinic.
Application Timeline & Process
It seems like there is no fixed timeline for WHV applications with some being approved within a month and some spanning across several months. Some say it depends on your case officer?
On their website, they say 80% of applications are generally processed within 2.5 weeks.
For me, my Visa was approved within 2 weeks:
- Applied visa: Mid july 2024
- X-ray request: received on the same day i applied for the visa
- X-ray done: 6 days after application
- X-ray submitted by clinic: 9 days after application
- Request for degree: 6 days after application
- Degree submitted: 9 days after application
- Visa Approved: 11 days after application
When to Apply for the NZ WHV
I think understanding how the NZ WHV works will help you decide when to apply for it.
For this WHV, you need to arrive in NZ within 12 months from the day it is approved, and the visa will expire 12 months after your first arrival into New Zealand.
For example:
- If your visa is approved on 17 April 2025, you need to arrive in New Zealand before 17 April 2026
- Let’s say you first arrive NZ on 1st December 2025, your visa will expire 12 months later on 1st December 2026
Hope this was helpful for you in some way, and all the best on your application, it’s the first step to an exciting journey ahead!
