Today is a very special day for the Malaysians who are applying for Working Holiday Visa in New Zealand. The NZ Working Holiday visa for Malaysian is open to apply on the Immigration website today 20 Jan 2016 at 10 am NZ time (5 am Malaysia time). Each year it is only available to 1150 Malaysian, and it is approved on a first come first serve basis.
I know many people have stayed up late till 5 am to apply it. Based on the past experience, it always becomes unavailable very soon because too many people apply for it.
A friend of mine in Malaysia contacted me at 10.10am NZ time (5.10am). He told me that he was trying to apply the working holiday visa but was unable to access the website. He tried since 5 am in the morning until afternoon, yet did not get the visa in the end because it was full. I knew that he is very upset, and I felt sorry for him as he has already tried for two years. I tried to help my friend but it was unsuccessful.
Image from NZ Immigration website
The message is discouraging!
I tried to access the Immigration website from New Zealand. The system was extremely lagging in the morning and hard to access, because too many people were loading the website at the same time. Sorry that I was one of the people who contributed to the lagging although it had nothing to do with me! >.< I was just curious. The website was usually quick on the normal days.
Well, it was less complicated when I applied 4 years ago. At that time, the working holiday visa for Malaysian was not so popular. I didn’t need to wake up early / stay up late to apply. Thanks to the internet… everyone can access information online and it just becomes more difficult each year.
During my time, if we want to apply for working holiday visa we just need to make up our mind. But for now, in addition to that, you also need to compete with many thousands of people to have the chance.
Coming to New Zealand is one of the best decisions that I have ever made. It is a life changing decision. New Zealand is the most unexpected journey in my life. I have so much good memory and I have learned so much. It is an irreplaceable journey. I always encourage people to join the working holiday scheme if you want to experience the life here (and if you are under 30 years old).
I worked in the vineyard in Blenheim for 3 months with the working holiday visa, and I will never forget my time in there. Until today, I still miss the days in Blenheim. So much. It was one of the best memories in my life. I miss my friends and the companion.
Congratulations to those who have a successful application. If you don’t, please do not get upset (as many people did) – New Zealand is definitely a country that you should travel even without a working holiday visa. I think the New Zealand Immigration should have allowed more quotas for Malaysian because 1150 places are too little!
Latest update @ 2017: for your information, I have posted more information about New Zealand. Here are some of the popular posts:
- New Zealand is the Most Unexpected Journey in My Life
- New Zealand Working Holiday Visa for Malaysian in 2017
- How to work and live in New Zealand permanently
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