New Zealand Tourism Pushes to Raise WHV Age Limit to 50

(NEW ZEALAND) As of August 18, 2025, New Zealand tourism leaders are pushing to lift the Working Holiday Visa age cap from 35 years to 50, arguing the change would bring more visitors, fill job gaps in hospitality, and speed the sector’s slow climb back from Covid. The idea, backed by operators across the country, has drawn fresh attention as visa uptake softens and monthly approvals sit below past norms.

Among the most vocal supporters is Tim Alpe, managing director of the LyLo hostel brand in Auckland. He says widening access to older travelers would make New Zealand stand out and tap people who often have more savings and time, including career changers and parents whose children have left home. Industry groups say this group tends to take longer trips and spend more on tours, food, and local transport than many younger backpackers.

The proposal would not change the core purpose of the visa. The Working Holiday Visa lets young people from countries with bilateral deals visit, work, and study for a short period, mainly to support travel. Today, most eligible nationals can stay up to 12 months, with longer stays for Canada 🇨🇦 (up to 23 months) and the United Kingdom (up to 36 months). The age cap has long been 35, matching common practice in similar schemes overseas.

Immigration New Zealand data point to the context behind the push. Approvals for working holiday makers fell by about 11% in the year to February 2025. Long‑term trends show a slide from 65,910 visas in 2018 to 48,345 in 2024, with a deep dip in 2020–2021 and only a partial rebound since. As of March 2025, the working holiday population in the country sat near 32,490, slightly higher than a year earlier, but monthly approvals hover around 3,000, still short of historic levels near 5,000 per month.

Officials have not announced a change. Immigration New Zealand says it is following visa trends and broader policy settings. Government sources have signaled interest in steps that attract visitors and workers as part of the economic recovery, and revisiting Working Holiday Visa conditions is among the ideas under discussion. Tourism operators argue the age move would be fast to explain, easy for travelers to grasp, and well suited to the current market.

Policy change under consideration

Supporters pitch the 50 cap as a practical way to widen the pool without altering the visa’s intent. They note that the scheme has always focused on travel first, with work and short study as supporting parts. Raising the cap would be a first for New Zealand and, advocates say, a point of difference at a time when many countries still hold to 35 years.

Travel demand is rising but remains below the high tide of the late 2010s. Visitor arrivals reached about 3.26 million in the year to November 2024, up roughly 360,000 on the year, yet still about 16% under the pre‑Covid mark of 4 million. Tourism businesses say closing that gap will require steady policy steps that draw people who stay longer and spend more across the country, not only in the main cities.

According to analysis by VisaVerge.com, expanding the target age range could bring in travelers who plan ahead, book private rooms more often than dorm beds, and are comfortable taking regional flights or long‑distance buses to see smaller towns. That, in turn, could spread income beyond the classic backpacker trail and support peak seasons as well as shoulder months.

Raising the cap would still require work:

• Many working holiday schemes are built on bilateral agreements, so policymakers may need to update deals country by country.
• Systems and processes would need technical tweaks.
• Officials would have to watch for any labour market effects or signs of misuse.

Immigration New Zealand has indicated it will keep tracking approval volumes and traveller behaviour as discussions progress.

Impact on applicants and industry

For would‑be travelers, nothing changes today: the current cap remains 18 to 35 years, with length‑of‑stay rules unchanged for each partner country.

If the proposal moves ahead, people aged 36 to 50 from eligible countries could apply under the same general settings used now, including work limits and health and character checks.

What applicants can expect based on today’s framework:

1. You must hold a passport from a country that has a working holiday agreement with New Zealand and apply before you reach the age cap in place at the time you submit.
2. You need to meet health and character rules and show enough funds to support yourself at arrival and on departure.
3. You apply online through Immigration New Zealand’s system; fees and any quotas depend on your nationality and current policy.

Tourism operators say the change would help ease staffing gaps in entry‑level roles where short‑term workers are common, especially in:

• Cafes
• Hotels
• Tour operations

Employers stress that working holiday makers are not a fix for long‑term shortages, but they can steady rosters in busy seasons and keep small towns open for visitors. Accommodation providers add that older travelers often prefer private rooms and book tours with local guides, which can lift takings per visitor.

Process, timing and monitoring

The government is weighing broader migration settings in parallel, including updates to the Accredited Employer Work Visa and other streams designed to support growth. Any Working Holiday Visa change would likely roll out in steps, with consultation through late 2025 and the possibility of pilots or phased starts in 2026.

Officials would monitor:

• Visa approval numbers
• Length of stay
• Visitor spending
• Any labour market or policy side effects

If ministers agree to lift the age limit, the government will need to update public guidance quickly so people can plan travel and employers can plan hiring.

For official information and any future updates, readers should refer to Immigration New Zealand at https://www.immigration.govt.nz. INZ’s site lists current eligibility, country‑by‑country caps, and the online application process.

Until then, current rules stand while ministers weigh the age expansion proposal.