Can I apply for a holiday work permit 12 months early?

I've applied for a job at the London Olympics (summer 2012), the company has just asked me to get a valid visa in order for them to continue looking at my application.

If I apply for a visa right now, it would be approved May/June 2011, a solid year before the Olympics.

Any ideas?

If you're under 31 years old, you could apply for a Tier 5 Youth Mobility visa, which would allow you to come to the UK for a maximum of 2 years. You can arrive to the UK any time between the date of issue and the expiration date. Of course, if you arrive one year after it was issued, you will have only one year left on it but since you only want to work during the 2012 Olympic games, it shouldn't be a problem for you.

VisaWise | Immigration Consultancy
OISC Registered Immigration Advisers
London, United Kingdom
info@visa-wise.co.uk
www.visa-wise.co.uk

Thanks for the reply, yes, I'm 23 so no problem there.
I am planning a bigger trip than the UK, beginning with New Zealand and Australia.

Now, my 1 year work permit for New Zealand was approved, and the way it works is that, from May 2, 2011 (the date it was approved), I have 12 months to enter New Zealand and "validate" the 12 month visa.
This to me means that April 2012-ish would be the latest date I could enter New Zealand, to work for 12 months. But any entry later than April 2012 would cause my work permit to expire.

(while I plan to go a lot sooner than that, I am trying to apply my understanding of a visa process from one country to another...possibly expanding my universal knowledge )

Now, to date, my understanding of a UK work permit is that I will not get any "validation period", as it will be effective the day it is approved. Meaning that if it is approved Ex: June 15, 2011 ... By June 15, 2013 it will have expired, regardless of the time I have spent in the UK, be it 3 months, or a complete 24 months. . . . . do I have the full picture?

Yes, you have the full picture. There's no validation period in the UK. Your YMS visa will last 2 years starting from the date it was issued, no matter the date you enter the UK.

However, if you arrive one year after your visa was issued, immigration officers at the border may ask you to prove that you still meet the requirements, especially regarding your maintenance funds.

VisaWise | Immigration Consultancy
OISC Registered Immigration Advisers
London, United Kingdom
info@visa-wise.co.uk
www.visa-wise.co.uk

with the YMS, you can post-date it up to 3 months in advance (WorldBridge suggests that you should apply for a visa 8-10 weeks before you plan to travel but can be approved up to 3 months out). e.g. if you apply for it now and put your travel date as say August 13th 2011, you will probably be approved for it to begin August 13th 2011 and that is when the time starts ticking on it.

Oh, thanks Lynz, I didn't see your post until now. I'm getting into the application of it right now. Do you think it would be a problem applying within Canada, but going New Zealand before the application has been fully processed by immigration's UK?

You have to stay in Canada until your application is decided.

VisaWise | Immigration Consultancy
OISC Registered Immigration Advisers
Members of the Quebec Bar
London, United Kingdom
info@visa-wise.co.uk
http://www.visa-wise.co.uk

the good news about the yms visa, is that it seemingly is approved very quickly! I had a biometrics appointment for a Monday afternoon, everything arrived in Ottawa by Tuesday late morning/early afternoon, my visa was approved Wednesday late morning/early afternoon and by Thursday mid-morning, it was back in Toronto waiting for pick-up (you have to pay an extra $16 for them to ship your visa/passport to you and since I work almost right around the corner I just picked my stuff up however at the Toronto location, you can only do so between 4pm-5pm).

I got mine post dated until August 22 2011. They could approve it for before your proposed travel date in which I just wrote in pen the please post-date the visa and signed it.

Visawise, Do you know if could apply for the YMS in New Zealand as a back up plan?

Yes, as long as you have a legal status there when you apply, it's fine. We thought that you needed a UK visa now in order to show to a prospective employer?

VisaWise | Immigration Consultancy
OISC Registered Immigration Advisers
Members of the Quebec Bar
London, United Kingdom
info@visa-wise.co.uk
www.visa-wise.co.uk