- Australia's Department of Home Affairs paused Work and Holiday (subclass 462) visa applications for citizens of two countries
- Both countries have annual grant caps under the programme, with one capped at 500 visas and the other at 100 visas per programme year
- Australia's Department of Home Affairs noted that paused caps may reopen later in the same programme year, urging applicants to monitor the official website for updates
Australia's Department of Home Affairs has temporarily halted Work and Holiday visa applications under the Subclass 462 programme for citizens of two countries, as strong demand pushes certain national caps close to their annual limits.
According to the department's status of country caps page, last updated on 12 October 2026, applications from Brazilian and Mongolian passport holders are currently paused.
Source: UGC
Brazil has an annual grant cap of 500 visas, while Mongolia's cap stands at just 100.
Why Australia Paused the Visa Applications
The Department of Home Affairs outlined two reasons it may pause a country's application cap.
The first is to spread out the volume of lodgements across the programme year to help manage processing efficiently.
The second is to keep a close watch on numbers when a country is nearing its annual grant ceiling.
A paused cap is not the same as a closed one. Once a cap is marked closed, no new applications will be accepted until the programme year restarts on 2 July.
A paused cap, however, may reopen at any point within the same year, and the department has urged affected applicants to check the website regularly for changes.
Full Picture of the Subclass 462 Programme
The Work and Holiday programme covers 29 partner countries in total. Of these, most remain open for first visa applications.
Indonesia is also transitioning to a ballot process, with registrations expected to open later in 2026.
The department noted that caps apply only to first Work and Holiday visas. There are no caps for second or third visas under the Subclass 462 programme, meaning those already in Australia on a subsequent visa are unaffected by the current pauses.
Applicants from Brazil and Mongolia who attempt to lodge an application while the pause is in effect will encounter an error message on the ImmiAccount portal.
The department confirmed that updates to cap statuses can take up to 48 hours to reflect on the website after a change is made.
UK mentions long-term visa route for foreign graduates
Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that UK government posted a publication about different visa applications and their duration for applicants.
Graduate visa allows foreign graduates to remain in the country for at least 18 months after completing an eligible degree.
Source: Legit.ng
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