Beatrice TanIf you haven’t heard already, Australia’s Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull launched a Work and Holiday Visa Programme specifically targeted at youth between the ages of 18-30 to work and travel in Australia for up to a year. Apart from inspiring youth to get an experience of living in a foreign land, the visa is also meant to promote cultural exchange and strengthen partnership ties between Australia and Singapore.
On 23 August, Australia’s Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, Mr Steven Ciobo was in Singapore to unveil Singapore’s first two applicants who have been successfully granted the visa!
From left to right, Ms Deborah Yap, Ms Amira Rahmat, Ryan Tan and Minister Ciobo | Image credit: Tourism Australia
Who are they?
Meet Deborah Yap, 29, an Advertising Account Manager and Amira Rahmat, 24, a Life Sciences graduate of the National University of Singapore, who are Singapore’s very first successful applicants to be granted this visa.
What projects are they looking at?
When asked what piqued her interest to sign up for the visa, Amira excitedly shared her love for conservation and wildlife and expressed her desire to pursue her passions in Tasmania. Having recently done volunteer work with a sea turtle conservation project in Sri Lanka, she also hopes to learn more about habitat restoration during her time there.
A lover of camping and the great outdoors, Amira also added that she is looking forward to enjoying the Aussie outback experience and go diving at the Great Barrier Reef.
Like Amira, Deborah expressed her elation on being granted the visa. Inspired by her friends from Indonesia and Malaysia who had similarly embarked on adventures with their visa passes, she jumped at the chance to apply for the visa when it was made available to Singaporeans. For Deborah, plans for her time in Australia include being immersed in the coffee culture and the wildlife and aquatic experiences.
Both agree that cultural exchange would definitely be something that they are looking forward to the most. Indeed, this is one of the aims of the initiative itself. Having lived in Melbourne as an undergraduate from 2008-2011, the co-founder of Strangers’ Reunion, Curious Palette and Strangers at Work, Ryan Kieran Tan, was also present to share his aussie experience. When asked to impart some words of wisdom, Ryan jokingly quipped, “Don’t hang out too much with the asians!” Ryan encouraged the ladies to get out of their comfort zone in order to truly be able to attain an authentic experience of Aussie culture. We couldn’t agree more!
How to apply?
Sounds exhilarating? If you are between 18-30 and think you would also like to apply for this aus-ome opportunity, get ready because the next round of applications open on 2 October 2017! Visit the official website for more information on application procedures and requirements for the Work and Holiday visa. Lodge your first application at Singapore’s Australian Visa Application Centre.
