Gordon Watterson

Thanks to Marisa, Westly and Linda - in summary it looks like you are not entitled having applied for an 804 - but the situation is less clear with the 864, as you point out.The guidance note is badly drafted which presumably explains the ambiguity. If the blue/temporary Medicare card had clearly been available on the 864 route that might have swayed me that way - but without clarity I have to assume that the entitlement is for the reciprocal card only on a BVA, with both the 804 and 864 applications - at least I now know the lack of clarity wasn't down to me - maybe I will get used to the frustrations as things progress Thanks Douglas

Thanks Scani - it worked

Thanks Marisa for going to all this trouble - much appreciated - I will contact Alan - yours was the only response I got - probably because it originally got posted to the wrong thread and was overly long.I may decide to repost it or redraft it ,to target specifics.Maybe someone who has been through the 864 process will assist ? Thanks again Gordon

Thanks Marisa for going to all this trouble - much appreciated - I will contact Alan - yours was the only response I got - probably because it originally got posted to the wrong thread and was overly long.I may decide to repost it or redraft it ,to target specifics.Maybe someone who has been through the 864 process will assist ? Thanks again

Thanks Allan and Marisa - the post appears in Family/Partner Visas - obviously a mistake by me - can you advise how i can transfer the post to the Parent Visa thread ?

Hello My wife and I are considering an application for an 864 Aged Contributory Parent Visa ,for which we qualify. We are both 67 years old, UK residents/ homeowners. We currently spend 5 months a year in Australia, staying in a granny annex at our daughters house in Casuarina ,northern NSW - 2 x 2.5 month visits on 651 Visitor Visas. I have undertaken a lot of research - then found Poms in Oz - what a great website and hopefully I'll get some good feedback. In a nutshell my understanding is that you apply for the 864 Visa 'onshore' ie in Australia. You are then immediately granted a bridging Visa - BVA - entitling you to remain permanently in Australia until the 864 Visa is determined/ granted - maybe 3 or 4 years. During this waiting period you require a BVB Visa to leave Australia.Is this basic summary correct ? If so my specific questions relate to possible deal breaking issues for us. 1. We would want to buy a property as soon as possible following our 864 application and the grant of a BVA. I believe we would then sorrybe classed as 'Temporary Residents' - defined as holding a Visa allowing a stay for more than 12 months. As a Temporary Resident you are entitled to purchase an 'established dwelling' for your main residence ie. it does not have to be a new build. However you must apply for an Established Dwelling Certificate costing $5,500 for a house >$1M and $11,000 for >$1M. - is this all correct ? - we would not be interested in applying for an 864 if we cannot purchase a house at the commencement of the BVA period or are restricted to buying only a new property. 2 The 864 requires an onshore/in Australia application. What does this mean ? Can we enter on a 651 Visitor Visa and apply while here - if a BVA is then immediately granted would we then be locked in, requiring a BVP to return to the UK ? - if that is the case we would presumably need to buy single, rather than return air tickets, for the visit during which we intend to make the 864 application ? 3. I have a 100 year-old mother residing in the UK - while she is still with us, we would expect to make frequent visits back to the UK - perhaps two visits a year for 2 to 3 months. This would be subject to BVB provisions. I believe there is a restriction of 3 months for any one trip but no limit to the number of trips in a year - is this correct and is there perhaps flexibility with the rules on compassionate grounds ? What happens if you need to leave immediately in response to an emergency - there would be no time to go through the BVB application process ? 4. I believe we would be entitled to full Medicare cover during the BVA waiting period.Is this the case ?. In any event we would probably purchase private health insurance. 5. What is the current wait time for an 864 Visa ? Sorry for the length of this - I hope the answers are simple but something tells me they won't be !! Thanks Gordon