Jersey, Guernsey and Isle of Man residents are no longer accepted onto the country’s UK Working Holiday Visa Scheme, which allows travellers to work while they are away for up to 23 months to fund their trip.
New Zealand immigration authorities say they ‘have recently changed the interpretation of our instructions’ and consider that the islands are not part of the UK.
Islanders have already been hit by the change – having paid £120 for visas only to be rejected due to the change in policy.
The money is only refundable in exceptional circumstances.
Jersey is part of the British Isles but not part of the UK.
However, the Island has an agreement with many countries, including Australia and Canada, to enable Islanders to be accepted for visas.
Dave Nurse, head of the Island’s Customs and Immigration Service, said his team had contacted agents in the UK for clarification on the matter.
‘We have received a small number of inquiries from Jersey residents on this matter and have contacted the New Zealand Immigration authorities,’ he said.
‘They have advised us that the New Zealand Working Holiday Visa Scheme is only available to British citizens who are ordinarily resident in the UK and is therefore not available to British citizens who are resident in the Crown Dependencies or British Overseas Territories.
‘Unfortunately it is not merely a technicality, as Islanders will be aware the Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories are not part of the UK and of course it is a matter for any individual country to make their own rules concerning the eligibility of foreign nationals for any scheme.
‘Having said that, we have been in touch with our colleagues in the UK for clarification and are awaiting a response.’
Currently, people living in Jersey can only travel to New Zealand on the UK Working Holiday Visa Scheme if they can prove they are British and ‘they are ordinarily resident in the UK’.
‘The requirement is considered to be met if the applicant has not been absent from that country for more than two years immediately preceding the application,’ according to the New Zealand Immigration Office.
Jersey residents who are British but cannot prove they ‘are ordinarily resident in the UK’ can still visit New Zealand for up to six months on holiday as part of the country’s Visa Waiver Programme. However, under that scheme, they are unable to work.
New Zealand has Working Holiday Visa Schemes with 45 different countries.
