🇯🇵 Available quotas and application calendar for the Japan Working Holiday

Volare Editorial | September 3, 2026

The government of Japan maintains active bilateral youth mobility agreements with over 30 nations. However, vacancy availability and the application system vary drastically depending on the applicant's passport and the Japanese fiscal calendar.

For young people interested in the Japan Working Holiday program, understanding the quota system is the critical first step. While some nationalities enjoy unlimited access, others must compete for reduced spots that often sell out shortly after opening. Based on data from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan (MOFA), below we break down the real availability and key dates for this 2026 cycle.

Summary Board 2026 Annual Quota Availability

To help you measure your level of competition, we have consolidated the official annual visa limit established for the 2026 cycle:

Volume of Spots	Nationalities and Official Quotas
Unlimited Quotas (∞)	🇩🇪 Germany, 🇦🇺 Australia, 🇩🇰 Denmark, 🇳🇴 Norway, 🇳🇿 New Zealand, 🇵🇹 Portugal, and 🇸🇪 Sweden.
High Capacity	🇰🇷 South Korea (10,000), 🇹🇼 Taiwan (10,000), 🇨🇦 Canada (6,500), 🇬🇧 United Kingdom (6,000), and 🇫🇷 France (1,800).
Moderate Capacity	🇭🇰 Hong Kong (1,500), 🇮🇪 Ireland (800), and 🇪🇸 Spain (500).
Limited Quotas	🇵🇱 Poland (500), 🇦🇷 Argentina (400), 🇨🇱 Chile (400), 🇸🇰 Slovakia (400), 🇨🇿 Czech Republic (400), 🇦🇹 Austria (200), 🇫🇮 Finland (200), 🇭🇺 Hungary (200), 🇳🇱 Netherlands (200), and 🇺🇾 Uruguay (200).
Micro Quotas (<100)	🇪🇪 Estonia, 🇱🇻 Latvia, 🇱🇹 Lithuania, 🇱🇺 Luxembourg, 🇲🇹 Malta (All with 100 quotas). 🇮🇸 Iceland (30 quotas).

Strategic Volare Note: In countries with limited quotas, the calendar usually restarts on January 1st (calendar year) or April 1st (coinciding with the start of the Japanese fiscal year).

How to apply The 4 Administrative Groups

To ensure a successful application, knowing how many quotas are available is not enough; it is fundamental to identify the administrative group and timeline your local embassy follows:

Summary Board Group 1 Standard January Process

This is the majority group for Latin America and a large part of Europe. The procedure relies on a system reset at the beginning of the year.

🇦🇷 🇨🇱 🇺🇾 🇦🇹 🇸🇰 🇪🇪 🇫🇮 🇭🇺 🇮🇸 🇱🇻 🇱🇺 🇵🇱 🇨🇿 Nationalities	Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Austria, Slovakia, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Iceland, Latvia, Luxembourg, Poland, Czech Republic
Calendar Opening	January 1st of each year.
Application Method	In-person process with a mandatory prior appointment (managed by email or the embassy's booking system).
Resolution Time	Fast approval: average of 5 to 7 business days after the appointment.

Summary Board Group 2 Open Calendar Without Appointment

Countries in this block enjoy maximum bureaucratic flexibility, as their quotas are unlimited or their demand is so low that they do not saturate consulates.

🇩🇪 🇩🇰 🇳🇴 🇳🇿 🇳🇱 🇵🇹 🇸🇪 Nationalities	Germany, Denmark, Norway, New Zealand, Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden
Calendar Opening	Open all year. There is no risk of premature depletion.
Application Method	In-person process without an appointment (Walk-in) during established consular hours.
Resolution Time	Standard approval: average of 5 to 7 business days.

Summary Board Group 3 Strict Period Systems

For these Asian and European nations, applying outside the designated dates results in automatic rejection.

🇰🇷 🇭🇰 🇮🇪 🇹🇼 Nationalities	South Korea, Hong Kong, Ireland, Taiwan
Asian Rule (KR/HK)	In-person application in 4 strict quarterly periods (January, April, July, and October/September). Results announced a month later.
Europe/Taiwan Rule (IE/TW)	Application in 2 annual periods (January/February and July/November). The physical process is only done after receiving embassy authorization.

Summary Board Group 4 Unique and Special Cases

These nations operate under unique regulations, either due to outsourcing services to third parties or having atypical start dates tied to the Japanese fiscal year.

🇪🇸 🇬🇧 🇨🇦 🇦🇺 🇱🇹 🇲🇹 Nationalities	Spain, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Lithuania, Malta
🇪🇸 Spain (Advanced)	The calendar for the 2026 cycle opened early on December 15, 2025. In-person process with an appointment.
🇬🇧 United Kingdom (Fiscal Year)	Its massive quota of 6,000 visas restarts every April 1st. Mandatory prior appointment.
🇨🇦 🇦🇺 Canada and Australia	Allow application by postal mail if the applicant lives far from the consulate. Open calendar all year.
🇱🇹 🇲🇹 External Centers	Lithuania manages its quotas exclusively through VFS Global. Malta applies at the Embassy of Japan in Rome (Italy).

Volare Complete Guide

Knowing exactly when your country's appointment system opens is the difference between traveling to Japan and having to wait a whole year. For more details on the full application process and to review the fund requirements, we invite you to check our Official Japan Working Holiday Visa Guide.