working holiday visa - help!

I have a working holiday visa. I know that I am only permitted to work for 12 months, and I am just wondering how these 12 months are calculated. As I have been supply teaching I have had all of the school holidays off as well as a few weeks off here and there for holidays, and days off each week for extended weekends (and other days off). Would I calculate it as 5 days a week working for 52 weeks, which would mean that I could work for 260 days in total? Or if I worked at all in a month does that count as one months work? Or if I worked at all in a week does that count as a weeks work? Your help would be greatly appreciated.

Hello! No, unfortunately the working holiday visa is measured in actual real days from the time that the visa is issued. If the start date on your visa is July 1, 2005 and it's good for one year, it's good until July 1, 2006. They don't measure the days you've worked, or even the days you've been in the country.

oh now i'm worried, i actually managed to call the visa office and they said that it is the number of days. i really want to have that in writing but can't seem to find it anywhere. where did you find out otherwise?

I honestly don't remember where I heard that. All I know is that my visa expired 2 years after the date it was issued, with no leeway for my actually coming into the country after that date. I had a devil of a time trying to extend my stay (see the thread on unmarried partner visas). The stipulations were that I could work full-time for a year, or part-time for 2 years, and that was measured from the day my visa was issued. Of course, the rules changed so that the work was unrestricted and I could work full-time for 2 years.

My information in general came from extensive conversations with a visa specialist contracted by my employing company, and by reading the websites, by speaking to people at the IND, and by speaking to an actual immigration officer at the IND office in Liverpool. For what it's worth, the customer service reps at IND are contradictory and largely useless.

For what it's worth, the customer service reps at IND are contradictory and largely useless.

Agreed! While sorting out a work permit for when my working holiday-maker visa expired, I spoke with four different customer reps, and got four different answers - even though they all double-checked with their managers! It's basically just a call centre with unskilled workers who don't give a toss!