verynewuser

Update: I called Medicare helpline and, strangely and interestingly, the representative after asking for my data and posting address told me that my new Medicare card has been mailed to my new provided address and it will reach me in 1-2 week time.

I am a permanent resident. I applied for Medicare card in March and then had to leave the country due to some reason. The card never arrived at the provided mailing address or if it arrived it could not reach me. Now a week ago I returned to Australia and asked the Medicare persons to re-issue me. The representative told me that I have to apply for a new one through the complete process again as I was out of the country for last 6 months, that old card never got activated (something like this was told). is it normal?

Any hints?

@iRuleU, Thank you for the answer. Now I see the difference is in providing bank statements/finance proofs. Do you know how much minimum money the applicant has to show to get a tourist stream visit visa?

Only if I don't find it on internet.

Even if they get a bridging visa it is doubtful that they would be able to avail Medicare and Centrelink because as far as I know only permanent residents and nationals are eligible for that.

I am curious how did/could he apply without paying the fee

Until the difference is clear, how can we apply. I have no hesitation in applying under the 'sponsorship' stream and be the person's sponsor but the I will still be curious what different documents will be provided in this case, than the 'tourist' stream. It is just my hunch that in case of 'sponsorship' stream I, as a sponsor, will provide my bank statements and in case of 'tourist' stream the person will provide his/her bank statements. I need to confirm this somehow.

That is a fact and reality. There are around 40,000 non-contributory parent visa applications in the queue still and the Australian immigration department has allocated 1500 per year quota for them so you do the math. If you lodge today, when will your turn come? Think from a government's perspective. Non-contributory parents will be a burden on the system (Medicare, Centrelink etc.) keeping the fact in mind that they have not paid a single penny tax to the government.

But this is nowhere mentioned on their official website, under visa number 600 pages.

I am in Australia and a blood relative wants to visit me from abroad. I have checked, on their official website, sections for both streams and they appear to be identical except the sponsorship point. What exactly is it and how does/can it affect the visa processing? What is the functional difference for a visa applicant whether he/she has a sponsor or not?

@supercow I have always been on the lookout for such a person till now, who got 9 bands in speaking, and today I found that. :-)

I was going through Australian visa official website and came to know that there are five streams within Visitor visa (subclass 600).1- Tourist2- Business Visitor3- Frequent Traveller4- Sponsored Family5- Approved Destination StatusMy confusion is about tourist stream and sponsored family stream because the information page about tourist stream also mentioned that if you want to visit a family member you can apply for this steam under visa 600 category. Quote: The Tourist stream is for people traveling to Australia for a holiday, recreation or to visit family and friends and for other purposes not related to business or medical treatment. So what exactly is the difference between these two streams?