Japan: How long do the Working Holiday quotas usually last?

Redaccion Volare | March 6, 2026

The speed at which vacancies for the Japan Working Holiday program are exhausted is not uniform. According to statistics from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), availability depends directly on the annual allocation granted to each country and the local demand volume.

To help interested parties plan their application precisely, we have divided the 31 participating nations into four groups according to the reality of their market and the historical behavior of their quotas:

1. Group 1: Unlimited Quotas (Never run out)

Nationalities: Germany, Australia, Denmark, Norway, New Zealand, Portugal, and Sweden.

• Status: These are not subject to an annual quantitative limit. Since they have unlimited quotas, spots never run out, allowing citizens of these countries to apply with total peace of mind at any time of the year, without fear of the program closing due to a lack of vacancies.

2. Group 2: High Demand (Usually run out quickly)

Nationalities: Argentina, Chile, Spain, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.

• Status: Limited quotas with very high demand. In Spanish-speaking countries (Argentina, Chile, and Spain), slots and quotas usually run out in a matter of hours or a few days after their official opening.

• Asian Case: For Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, the quotas are massive but divided into strict quarterly application periods where competition is at its peak.

3. Group 3: Massive Quotas (Usually last most of the year)

Nationalities: Canada, France, and United Kingdom.

• Status: They possess a very high volume of spots (between 1,800 and 6,500 annually). Although there is a formal limit, they rarely run out during the first quarters of the year, giving applicants a comfortable margin of several months to prepare their file calmly.

4. Group 4: Moderate Demand (Usually last until the end of the year)

Nationalities: Austria, Slovakia, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Czech Republic, and Uruguay.

• Status: Limited quotas but with moderate demand. Generally, the quota is not consumed immediately after the calendar opens, so spots usually remain stably available for several months or even until the end of the annual cycle in December.

General Recommendation

Regardless of the group, MOFA recommends not purchasing flight tickets before having appointment confirmation or visa approval, especially in Group 2 countries, where quota availability is highly volatile.

For more information on the application process and fund requirements, consult our Japan Working Holiday Visa guide.