Working Holiday Scheme

To provide an opportunity for young people in Hong Kong to gain first-hand experience living and working in a foreign culture and broaden their horizons, the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) has established bilateral Working Holiday Scheme (the Scheme) with the Government of New Zealand, Australia, Ireland, Germany, Japan, Canada, Korea, France, the United Kingdom, Austria, Hungary, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Italy respectively.  Apart from facilitating cultural exchanges between Hong Kong and our partner economies, the Scheme also enhances bilateral cooperation and promotes tourism and development between the two places.

Under the Scheme, participants may stay in the host economy for an extended period.  They are also allowed to take up short-term employment as an incidental aspect of their stay, or even enrol in short-term course(s) (except Ireland) so as to acquire a better understanding of the cultural and social developments of the host economy.  The Scheme enables young people to gain invaluable experience while holidaying and working abroad, which would help strengthen their self-confidence, resilience and inter-personal skills.

While Hong Kong youths can go overseas for working holiday, youths of our partner economies can also come to Hong Kong for holidaying under the Scheme.