Working Holiday Visa Country Caps: Paused Countries and What to Do Next

AI-generated conceptual illustration. The scene and pause symbol are fictional, not an official immigration notice.

Australia | Country statuses checked 15 September 2026

A country appearing in a working holiday visa pause headline does not tell you everything about a traveller’s position. Someone who has not applied, someone waiting for a decision and someone already holding a visa have different questions to resolve.

Our check of the Home Affairs country-cap table found 23 countries marked paused, two marked open and four directed to ballot arrangements. No row was marked closed. This article records that dated snapshot; check the linked official pages before acting.

Why the August report listed 24 paused countries

ABC News reported on 18 August 2026 that applications from 24 countries had been paused, including Indonesia. The report described uncertainty for applicants and concern about the effects on horticulture and regional tourism. It also reported slower processing and limited information about the broader changes.

Indonesia now has a ballot-status entry. Its change explains the difference between the ABC’s August list and the 23 paused rows we counted in September. It should not be read as an announcement that ordinary Indonesian applications have reopened.

The distinction matters when sharing news with a worker or planning a harvest team. Keep the report’s publication date attached to its claims, then use the current official country entry for the next application step.

Which countries are paused?

The table below covers first Work and Holiday visas, subclass 462. Every country listed was marked paused when checked. Figures are annual grant caps, not remaining places.

Source: Department of Home Affairs, Status of country caps.

A larger cap is not a promise that applications will reopen sooner. Nor can an employer convert these numbers into a forecast of workers available in a particular town or harvest week. The table does not show each applicant’s progress, intended travel dates or choice of work.

How to read the status labels

• Open: new applications can be lodged. San Marino and Türkiye are listed open, with caps of 100 each.
• Paused: lodgements are temporarily stopped. They may resume during the same program year.
• Closed: the annual allocation is filled; reopening waits until 2 July in the next program year.
• Check ballot status: follow the separate registration and selection process.

Home Affairs gives general reasons for pauses: managing lodgement volumes, monitoring caps and supporting migration settings. It does not provide a separate reason or reopening date for every paused country. Website status changes can take up to 48 hours to appear.

For example, seeing “paused” beside Spain does not establish that all 3,400 grants have been used. Treating a temporary pause as a fully exhausted allocation would add a conclusion the table does not support.

Indonesia: a new ballot is expected later in 2026

Home Affairs’ latest WHM update says Indonesian first subclass 462 applications will move to a ballot. Registrations are expected later in 2026; a confirmed opening date has not yet been published there.

Eligible holders of an Indonesian Government Letter of Support, or SDUWHV, from a previous program year will be able to register. That letter does not reserve a place, provide priority or remove the ballot requirement. Home Affairs says eligible registrants will have an equal chance of selection.

An applicant holding an old support letter therefore needs to watch for the new arrangements. A letter and a prospective job offer should not be treated as evidence that a visa application can already be lodged or that an arrival date is settled.

China, India and Vietnam: registration is different from selection

The official ballot page says registration for the 2026–27 ballots is closed. The registration window ran from 4 to 25 June 2026. An entry saying “check ballot status” does not mean someone can register today.

The page records first selections on 10 August 2026 for China and India, and 26 August 2026 for Vietnam. Further selection dates are to be announced after selections occur. The published selection period ends on 30 April 2027.

Selected registrants receive an invitation giving them 28 calendar days to apply, with the deadline measured in Australian Eastern Standard Time. Selection does not guarantee a visa. Applicants must follow the expiry date in their notification and meet the visa requirements.

This creates two separate checks: whether a person entered the ballot while registration was available, and whether they have since received a valid invitation. A screenshot of the general country-cap page answers neither.

Does this affect subclass 417 or second and third visas?

The Working Holiday Maker program contains two subclasses: Working Holiday, subclass 417, and Work and Holiday, subclass 462. The country-cap table discussed here concerns first subclass 462 applications. Home Affairs states that second and third subclass 462 visas have no caps.

That does not make a second or third visa automatic. Eligibility and the applicant’s individual circumstances still need checking. Likewise, a subclass 417 applicant should use the rules for that subclass rather than treating a subclass 462 country list as an answer to their case.

For an overview of the different checks, see our working holiday visa pause guide for employers and travellers.

What if an application is already lodged?

A lodgement restriction and the time taken to decide an existing application are different issues. In its current processing update, Home Affairs says it is prioritising onshore WHM applications and some offshore decisions may take several months. Published processing times are a guide, not an individual decision date.

The Department directs applicants or their authorised representatives to ImmiAccount to check progress, provide information and respond to requests. It recommends waiting for a grant before booking flights or making travel, work or study commitments. See the official processing update.

In practical terms, a traveller’s “I have applied” message should lead to a discussion about uncertainty, not a confirmed starting date. Keep tentative arrangements clearly labelled and decide when to review them.

What if the worker already has a visa?

A country-cap label is not a check of someone’s existing visa. Visa Entitlement Verification Online, or VEVO, provides current visa information and conditions. Registered organisations can use it for a visa holder who has given permission.

Employers should check the individual’s work conditions and validity, then separately confirm availability, skills, transport and accommodation. Avoid assuming that a worker from a paused country cannot work, or that someone from an open country already has permission to start.

A practical way to use this information

For travellers: identify the exact visa subclass and stage before comparing your position with a friend’s. Keep the relevant official link, your application or ballot status, and any invitation deadline together. Where the official information does not resolve your circumstances, seek individual advice before making commitments.

For farm employers: record whether an expected worker is considering an application, waiting for a decision, holding a grant or already available locally with checked work rights. These stages carry different scheduling risks. A nationality list cannot replace those conversations and checks.

For example, a hypothetical grower expecting three travellers might find one has not yet been able to apply, one is awaiting a decision and one has a visa but no confirmed transport. Recording all three simply as “arriving next month” would hide the decisions that need attention.

Set a review date for each uncertain arrival and an internal deadline for filling critical gaps. Our harvest workforce planning article explains how to turn those checks into a practical staffing plan.

Sources and currency

This article was checked on 15 September 2026 against the Home Affairs country-cap, ballot, latest-news and VEVO pages linked above. The country-cap page displayed a last-updated date of 7 September 2026. The ABC report is dated 18 August 2026 and is used as reporting context. Statuses and arrangements can change; the official pages remain the place to check before acting.

About the author

Hari Yellina is Chief Executive Officer at Orchard Tech. View his profile and more articles.