Young Chinese using high-tech ways to get NZ working holiday visas

Some Chinese applicants seeking New Zealand Working Holiday Visas (WHV) have reportedly turned to high tech-solutions to get ahead of the game, prompting fears of unfair advantage.

A screenshot of page showing the snap-up services of New Zealand's working holiday visas on Taobao.com. [Photo:ynet.com]

New Zealand only offers 1000 places to young Chinese to live in the country for a year, to find temporary work and to travel.

The scheme is open to Chinese citizens between the ages of 18 and 30, with a valid passport, who meet certain health conditions, and who have enough money to buy a return flight ticket.

It’s especially popular in China because it doesn’t demand a high level of English.

New Zealand has become an attractive destination for Chinese citizens seeking to travel, work and study. [Photo: baidu.com]

But, many who applied online this year say they were unlucky even though they started trying from the early hours of Friday morning, when the application process began.

One reason, according to Beijing Youth Daily, is the number of services on the online retail platform Taobao.com claiming a 100% success rate in helping applicants.

Two kinds of services are reportedly on offer. One helps applicants through the process from the very beginning. The second helps applicants get visas if they don’t make it onto the quota.

New Zealand has become an attractive destination for Chinese citizens seeking to travel, work and study. [Photo: baidu.com]

"To grab the visa quota, we are using snap-up software, which is like the plug-in software college students often used for selecting a sought-after course. Also, we have a double guarantee, which means staff familiar with the process can facilitate the application on official websites," one service provider on Taobao.com told Beijing Youth Daily.

These services typically charge up to 5000 yuan (US$731).

Some applicants fear these companies create an unfair advantage, making it harder for individuals to apply.