AMP
-
Posts
219 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Gallery
Articles
Everything posted by AMP
-
Try “insureandgo.com”, I think that’s the one I used. Alternatively “globelink.co.uk”. I’ve just checked and they don’t seem to have an upper age limit. Good luck.
-
I do so hope that everything is sorted out for you soon. It must be so frustrating for you and also now worrying. Fingers well and truly crossed that all will be sorted in the next couple of weeks. Good luck. You WILL get there. Try to keep smiling and keep those sunnies at the ready,
-
Ooh, that seems a long time. I was hopeful it would be this year, but then it’s another of those where we have absolutely no control so there’s really no point worrying about it. Good luck with yours which will hopefully be all sorted faster than you anticipate. Also many thanks Kath for your good wishes.
-
At last medical done, form 80 and police clearances all submitted to immi. All sent by email with standardised receipt. Thankfully the UK police clearance only took a week to arrive in the post, though they did take the longest time to process. The waiting game now starts again and heaven only knows how long it will take to get the final go ahead for AOS and 2nd VAC payment to be made. Any guesses? I know it could still be a few months from here but it really is starting to get exciting. It’s already taken nearly twice as long as initially anticipated .......
-
Sadge, I used Insure and Go as my one way travel insurance. I literally just had it for the couple of days needed for the journey. Safe travels to both you and Marilyn. You will be here SO soon.
-
Making progress. Medical done and I was told there and then that all was ok. It was done at BUPA in Brisbane which obviously has the contract and they have dedicated premises for immigration medicals. It was all very streamlined and took just an hour from walking in the door to leaving. It was actually more thorough than I had expected, though no touching toes as was a previous poster’s experience. At least I felt as though I got my money’s worth and it was a good all round check over. Police checks all underway, all done on line. I need 3 and the UK one was the longest to complete and takes the longest to process - 10 working days to process and then they have to post it to me so it will be at least a month’s delay. Surprisingly the French police check was the easiest to complete and I had the response back by secure electronic link in 24 hours. I take back every criticism I ever made about the French making even simple things complicated. And, surprisingly, it was free of charge! Bravo la France! Even the translation was easily handled. The immi site had a link to approved translators and it was done in less than 24 hours. So, the hurdles are being jumped one by one .... As always it’s so great to have this site and the support of fellow applicants. Well done to Sadge for finally being ready to make the move and to all the others who have finally got there. And, good luck to all the others like me who finally feel they are getting somewhere. Last but not least I wish patience and fortitude to all those others sitting in the waiting room and viewing the long, long wait in front of them.
-
Many thanks for your reply Sue, that is helpful to know. I will now have another go at the Australian police check. I found both the UK and the Australian forms quite onerous, particularly because of having to detail all the addresses in chronological order and with dates, which is messy when there have been a lot of temporary addresses. Also the information was lost and I had to start again when I had to leave the system to amend the documents I had to forward. The UK and Australian systems want them in different formats and with different size restrictions. The worst bit was having to send to the UK a passport size photo. I had to take it on my ipad and as I’m still not fully recovered from my recent eye infection I was not a pretty sight and seeing the photo made me feel quite depressed and old!!! I had thought the police checks would be very simple to complete and really can’t understand why they can’t access the info simply with name, address and passport details so I was very frustrated yesterday. Also the UK one takes 10 working days to process and then has to be sent by post so likely to be another few weeks in total. At least it gives me plenty time to actually fill in my form 80. I have all the info sorted for it, just need to now transfer to the form. And, in answer to your question Greece, yes, you do have to do the Australian police check if you have been here for a year or more in the last 10 years - with the time spent on visits added together. I’ve sorted out my Medical check for next week. Bupa is the agent in Australia and the appointment was very easily arranged on line. it’s great that so many of us on this forum have now been contacted to submit the extra info. Heaven only knows how long it will take once they have everything but hopefully it won’t be long. We are getting there....... good luck everyone!
-
hi everyone. Advice needed please. I am in the process of applying for police clearances and I’m particularly struggling with the Australian one. I’m currently staying with my daughter and I’m here on a visitor Visa so I’m not strictly resident. When I’m in the UK I stay with my stepdaughter. Do I give these addresses as my residential addresses as I really don’t have any others? I am required to have Australian police clearance if I have been in the country for more than 12 months (cumulative) but there doesn’t seem to be an option for simply giving visitor addresses when I have been here. I’m very confused as to what to do. Please can anyone help? Many thanks.
-
There are two types of longer stay 600 visa, one being a visitor one and one being sponsored family. I went for just the visitor one. It was totally straight forward and I didn’t have to have any medical.
-
Woo hoo, I’ve also just been contacted to submit the other info. At long last!! 70 days to submit, though assurer only has 28 days so I’ve forwarded that straight to my son so he can get on with it. Signature amended accordingly so everyone can see my time line.
-
I took out an extras insurance which is a multiple choice, choose the areas of cover you want. Ambulance is free in Queensland if you are resident, but as I’m only a visitor it seemed wise to have that as one of the options - and it also means I’m therefore covered when I am in a different state. I also opted for dental and optical and have already been able to claim back more or less what I have paid out, simply for dental check/clean and for some new prescription sunglasses. The company I used is HBF and costs me $33.10 per month. As for having/not having a Medicare card, I understand that, certainly when it comes to a GP visit, you have to pay if you don’t have one and then claim back from Medicare under the reciprocal agreement. If you have one then there is no outlay.
-
Ok, let’s get off the track of timelines for a change. I’ve often felt unsure about how the Australia/UK reciprocal agreement really works for healthcare and have also often been unsure about how the public hospital system works. I’m still here as a visitor at present but have been debating whether, once my parent visa comes through, I should pay out for private medical care. I understand that there is a twelve month period once the visa is granted, where we can opt into private medical care without penalties for joining the system so late in life. There seems to be such an expectation here that people will have private insurance for hospital care (and tax disincentives for those who don’t) that it has lead me to think that it must mean that the public hospital care isn’t really up to scratch. Well, my questions have now been answered because I recently had a health issue with inflammation around my eye which made me look as though I had come off very badly in a boxing match. I initially went to a bulk billing GP who prescribed me antibiotics. I presented my visitor Medicare card and all I had to pay out for was the prescription. I was advised to go straight to hospital if it got worse, which it did, so I ended up in the casualty section of a public hospital. There was literally only one other person waiting (I think I just fell lucky with the timing!) and I was seen in no time. What a very different experience this was from waiting in casualty in a UK hospital. I’m not knocking the NHS though as I believe they do fantastically well. Anyway, the upshot of my trip to casualty was that I ended up being admitted to hospital, put on Intravenous antibiotics and was given a CAT scan, all within hours of arriving. I was in an early assessment ward and even had my own room, with en-suite. The care and attention was fantastic and it didn’t cost me anything at all. It is probably the case that as so many people here do have private insurance and go to the private hospitals then it frees up the public hospitals to cater for everyone else. It’s probably also the case that other hospitals, particularly those in the inner city, are much busier than the one which I used. I should add that other folks tell me that one of the big attractions of private insurance is that it means you can see a specialist more quickly and have operations (such as replacement hips or cataracts) done both more quickly and at a time which suits you. This however seems little different from the UK system where each individual can choose the NHS or the private path. So, my questions have been answered and all for the positive. Hope my story helps others from the UK who may be considering taking out private medical insurance either for times when they are here visiting or ultimately for when their parent visas come through. I would certainly advocate anyone who is here for several months to go to Centrelink to apply for a Visitor Medicare card. It’s a very simple process and means that everything is totally straightforward if you do end up needing any medical care while you are here.
-
Hi Anks, no there was no requirement at all for time period I need to be out of the country. I haven’t tried it but I think even a couple of days would be enough. I went to Bali for a week in January and when I came back it was classed as another reentry with 12 months stay validity from that point. My recent return trip to the UK was just for two weeks. Others however have to be away longer, particularly if the terms on their 600 visa are for 12 months stay in every 18 months. It appears that all the current 600 visas have this condition - though maybe someone on the forum can tell us differently.
-
Hi everyone. Although I check in regularly, I haven't made any contribution to this forum for ages. It’s so frustrating to see that nothing at all seems to be happening for post Aug 2015 applicants and this seems to have been the case for months. In the meantime I continue to be happily here on a 600 visa with 5 year validity. I was one of the lucky ones who somehow was granted this visa with multiple entry and maximum 12 month stays on each re- entry. I have just had a brief return to the UK with return flights to Oz. I breezed back into Australia through the electronic passport-in-slot system whereupon my visa was automatically renewed for another 12 months. This just goes to show that there is apparently no need to have a return flight to the UK booked. The day after my return I went to Centerlink, applied for an updated Medicare card under the reciprocal agreement and have just received it, valid till next June which is when my current 12 month visa will expire. All so easy. Hoping and hoping that my own 143 visa will be sorted in the next 12 months, but it’s hard to be optimistic when it seems that no progress whatever is being made. Good luck to everyone else in the system and let’s all just try to keep smiling
-
Also I suggest you try U3A. Its an international organisation for over 50s and is big in Australia, as it is in the UK. They offer a massive range of activities, many of which are free or very low cost and you simply have to pay a small annual membership fee. It really is a great opportunity to get to know people, make friends and also to do interesting activities. Try checking them out on line where you will see where your nearest branch is and also what they have on offer. Good luck!
-
Hopefully there will be a sudden surge once the June backlog has been cleared. That said, I don’t think there will now be much progress until the Christmas holidays are all finished and we are well into the New Year! Australia does tend to close down for several weeks. In the meantime just try to relax and enjoy the Christmas break. I wish everyone a Happy Christmas and hope that 2019 will result in lots of us (including me!) finally getting our visas.
-
If you lodged the same time as me then I would suggest you apply for the 600 and see what you get. Hopefully it will still be the same as me with no conditions other than no work and Only 3 months study. Anyway, what do you have to lose, the 600visa application costs hardly anything. Also surely our 143 applications will be processed some time within the next 12 months. From my perspective I am SO glad that I made the move. I have been able to’ spend time with my granddaughter before she starts school and that precious 3 and 4 year old time can never be recovered. I have been amazed by how welcoming and accommodating everyone is. I absolutely love it here. I still have some qualms, the « what ifs ». Ultimately I reason though that if, heaven forebid, something happens so that I can’t stay then at least I have had the intervening time to enjoy . My advice is « go for it »!
-
Well, sometimes the no brainers help us to make decisions, and hindsight is of no value whatsoever! At least in the meantime you will be able to enjoy precious time with your new grandson and in this lovely country which you will hopefully soon be able to call your home. No point dwelling on wondering whether you should have done things differently, just enjoy what you have now. All is fine with me, thanks Kath. Hope it is with you also and hope also that delays in processing our 143s don’t extend any further.
-
Yes, I just put the acknowledgement date and it went through OK.
-
Totally frustrating for you Kath and I do feel for you. There really seems to be no logic to the way the 600 visa is allocated and when conditions are applied. It all just seems to be luck of the draw. Like Geoff and Gill I left the country and when I came back in my 600 visa was automatically renewed for another 12 months. I then had to apply for a new Medicare card, which is valid until the “must leave” date of this particular visa. At least this forum is a particularly good one for members to be able to express their frustrations and anger in safety, with listeners who totally understand what they are going through.
-
Special one for overseas visitors
-
Hi Wishfull! I’m in Brisbane on a 600 visa, with the same conditions as yours. I had no problem at all in taking out a private extras insurance policy. I went with Hbf which is a not for profit organisation and it was multiple choice on the options I went for. Note that some categories of cover only allow claims after you have had the policy for 12 months. Queensland generally doesn’t charge for emergency ambulance if you can show you have a residential address here, but if you intend to travel into other states then it’s definitely worth having a policy. Also, when I came out I just took out travel insurance to cover me for the journey to come here. I didn’t see any benefits of paying for longer travel insurance. Not many companies cover for a one way trip so be wary! I can’t remember now which company I used but can look it up if you are interested. Do feel free to contact me by private message if you have any specific queries re being in Brisbane on a 600 visa!
-
A bit of info re health issues and payments. Most of you from the UK probably already know that if you are in Australia on a visitor visa then you can apply to Centre link for a Medicare card under the reciprocal arrangements. You actually have to go into the Centre link office but it’s a very straightforward procedure and the card they grant you is valid for the term of your visa (which is linked to your passport details and which they can view on line). To tide you over until your card comes through they give you a paper document with your Medicare number until your card comes through. I had occasion to have to go to the doctor this week with a minor injury to a finger. (A big thorn splinter to be precise). I made my appointment on Sunday evening, on line, for the following morning. I went to a bulk billing doctor so there was no charge whatsoever. I was referred round the corner for an ultrasound on my finger and they squeezed me in the same day. Again no charge. Then I had to go back for a minor surgery on the same finger which was done the following day (they did offer to do it the same day). Again no charge. The only thing I did have to pay for was $18 for antibiotics. This is my first experience of using the reciprocal arrangements and I was definitely impressed.
-
Great news, so very pleased for you!
-
Thanks for taking the trouble to reply to my post. The problem is though that one of the conditions of the on line application is that you need to have a long stay visa, which I don’t have. Presumably by the time you applied yours you already had your 143 or similar through? Thanks for the other useful info though.
