The UK Border Agency has announced that from autumn 2008, a number of current youth mobility schemes will be combined into a Tier 5 Youth Mobility, as part of the Points-Based Immigration System. The current Working Holidaymaker Scheme will be merged with other schemes: au pairs, BUNAC, the Gap Year entrants concession, the Japan: Youth Exchange Scheme and the concession for research assistants to MPs.



Meanwhile, under the UK's Working Holidaymaker scheme, Commonwealth citizens, aged between 17 and 30, may be eligible to enter the United Kingdom as Working Holidaymakers. However, once the new Youth Mobility scheme in introduced later in 2008 it is thought residents of South Africa, a Commonwealth country will no longer be eligible for the scheme. Employment should be seen as incidental to the holiday and therefore work is not allowed for more than 12 months out of the permitted 24 months.

Entry Clearance is a catch-all term under UK Immigration legislation that refers to both visas and entry certificates issued to persons seeking to enter the UK, the point being that while all visa nationals will require a visa to enter the UK for any purpose, there are certain circumstances where non-visa nationals also require entry clearance prior to arrival at a UK port of entry; these clearances are called entry certificates and not visas. A visa (short for the Latin carta visa, lit. a document that has been seen) is a document issued by a country giving an individual permission to formally request entrance to the country during a given period of time and for certain purposes (see below for caveats and exceptions) and usually stamped or glued inside of a passport, or sometimes issued as separate pieces of paper.

The Australian mainland has been inhabited for more than 42,000 years by indigenous Australians.After sporadic visits by fishermen from the north and then European discovery by Dutch explorers in 1606,the eastern half of Australia was later claimed by the British in 1770 and initially settled through penal transportation to the colony of New South Wales, commencing on 26 January 1788. As the population grew and new areas were explored, another five largely self-governing Crown Colonies were established during the 19th century. Many countries require possession of a valid passport and visa as a condition of entry for foreigners, though there exist exemptions (see below for examples of such schemes).

The UK Border Agency came into existence 1 April 2008. Formed as a result of a Cabinet Office report, a decision was taken to merge the Border and Immigration Agency, UKvisas and the port of entry functions of HM Revenue and Customs into one new integrated border control body. It is headed by Lin Homer, who was chief executive of the BIA, and is divided into three broad command structures, each under the management of a Senior Director:

The cash reserve required from IGS and FTWiSS applications to cover initial basic living costs has always been unspecified and flexible, and hence it allowed for applicants with very different costs of living to meet the eligibility criteria. Under Post Study Work, an amount for the cash reserve has been specified. Those switching in the UK from student to Post Study Work need to show a cash reserve of at least 800; those applying for entry clearance in their home country will need to show at least 2800.

The application fee to extend leave in the UK under Post Study Work has increased to 400 (from 395 for FTWiSS and IGS). Entry clearance applications for the scheme at a British Embassy or High Commission are expected to increase to 205 (200 for FTWiSS and IGS)