Working Holiday: what it is and Chile's agreements

There is a category of international agreement that almost nobody associates with diplomacy, yet it is one of the few an ordinary citizen uses directly. A Working Holiday is neither a work visa nor a tourist visa. It is an intermediate figure two states create between them, precisely because neither of the other two fitted what people actually wanted to do: see a country and fund the stay by working.

Its real value lies in reciprocity. Every agreement opens the door in both directions: the same young Chileans who travel to Berlin or Tokyo have their German or Japanese counterpart arriving in Santiago on the same permit.

Which countries have an agreement with Chile

There are seventeen bilateral agreements in force: Germany, Australia, Austria, Canada, South Korea, Denmark, France, Hungary, Ireland, Iceland, Japan, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, the Czech Republic and Sweden.

To these is added the Pacific Alliance mechanism, which operates with Colombia, Mexico and Peru.

With Switzerland there is a different instrument, a Trainee Exchange Agreement, often confused with a Working Holiday but not equivalent to it.

The common requirements

Each agreement sets its own conditions, quotas and deadlines, but the baseline is similar throughout: be aged between 18 and 30, with Canada applying a different range; hold a valid passport; have no criminal record; carry international medical and hospitalisation insurance for the full period; hold a return ticket or the funds to cover one; show sufficient funds for the initial stay; and travel without dependent family members.

How it works in practice

The stay runs up to twelve months, renewable once under the terms of each agreement. No job offer is required in advance: work is found after arrival. The programme is designed for holidaying and working, although short courses within the permitted stay are allowed. The permit allows multiple entries and exits while it remains valid.

One detail decides applications: several agreements set a maximum number of visas per year, and that quota runs out. It pays to apply as soon as the window opens.

Where you apply, and why that matters

Applications are not filed in Chile before a Chilean office, but with the embassy or consulate of the destination country, and each mission publishes its own dates, quotas and forms.

That is where the programme stops being an abstract procedure. The consular section of an embassy in Santiago, the one most people associate only with visas and stamps, is the entry point to an agreement two foreign ministries negotiated years earlier. Diplomacy becomes visible right there at the counter.

Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Chile, Working Holiday programme. Data verified on 18 August 2026. Agreements, quotas and requirements change: always confirm with the mission of the destination country before applying.