Does Age Matter in Getting a Visa Approval?

If You're Between 18–35 Years Old

1. Working Holiday Visa (Temporary)

If you are between 18–35 years old and you are holding a passport from a developed country, you can leverage:

Your citizenship + age to apply for a = Working Holiday Visa in various countries.

A working holiday visa allows you to travel and work in another country for up to 1–2 years, with a possibility of renewal as well. It can only be issued to only adults between 18 to 30 years old, and sometimes up to 35 years old.

2. Student Visa (Temporary)

You can technically be a student at any age, but your visa application may be scrutinized more closely by a visa officer if you are applying for a student visa for a diploma program at the age of 40 years old.

This is why if you are looking to obtain a student visa, you may have a slightly easier time obtaining it when you are relatively younger.

It is possible to obtain a student visa as a relatively older student, but you need to show genuine reasons for studying a particular program at your age.

3. Au Pair Visa (Temporary)

Read More: How Do You Get an Au Pair Visa?

4. Permanent Residency

One of the reasons why some countries around the world are offering permanent residency is to boost their demographics of working-age taxpayers.

To fulfill this goal, age is often taken into consideration as part of the immigration process.

Generally, applicants between the ages of mid-20s to mid-30s would be at an advantage because:

• This age range is usually when they are economically productive, and

• They have the potential to be even more productive in the future as their career ascends.

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If You're Between 35–55 Years Old

1. Work / Business / Investor Visa

If you belong to this age group, generally, the easier visas you can apply for are:

• Work visas (usually temporary)
• Business / investor visas (can be temporary or permanent)

You may find it relatively easier to obtain this visa compared to a student in their 20s who has just graduated, because at this age:

• You may already have many years of work experience that you can demonstrate in your visa application if needed, especially if your skillset is quite specialized in nature.

Remember:
When applying for a work visa, you do not only want to impress your employer, but a visa officer as well.

• If you have a history of becoming a business owner generating a decent amount of income, you may also have an easier time applying for a business/investor visa.

2. Permanent Residency

Age is only one of many factors that are considered for a permanent residence application.

Although you may not be in the same advantageous position in terms of age compared to professionals in mid-20s to early-30s, you can compensate for that by having:

• A higher work position,
• More skills, and
• More years of work experience.

If you have managerial experience, this is a huge advantage that you can leverage to obtain permanent residency. Many countries that use point-based systems to grant permanent-residency award relatively high points for applicants with managerial positions or experience.

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If You Are >55 Years Old

Retiree Visa

A number of countries around the world offer retirement visas for those aged 55 and above, provided that:

• They can demonstrate that they possess a sum of money in their bank accounts befitting for retirement, or
• They are receiving a monthly pension and/or some form of other investment income.
• They are covered by a (private) health insurance.

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