KazzE Posted May 28, 2006 Share Posted May 28, 2006 Hello I wonder if any of you have come across this My Dad wants to visit my sister in Melbourne for more than 3 months, in fact he would like to be in Australia from Nov 06- Sept 07 be in UK for 6-8wks and then go back again. first problem which visa to go out on? second problem is travel/medical insurance, where to get travel insurance for trips of longer than 45 days to cover medical expences etc or can he buy medical insurace in Australia once there? he will be 70 in Oct before he flys (a very fit 70yr old!) thanks for any help Kazz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gollywobbler Posted May 28, 2006 Share Posted May 28, 2006 Hello I wonder if any of you have come across this My Dad wants to visit my sister in Melbourne for more than 3 months, in fact he would like to be in Australia from Nov 06- Sept 07 be in UK for 6-8wks and then go back again. first problem which visa to go out on? second problem is travel/medical insurance, where to get travel insurance for trips of longer than 45 days to cover medical expences etc or can he buy medical insurace in Australia once there? he will be 70 in Oct before he flys (a very fit 70yr old!) thanks for any help Kazz Hi Kazz I suggest you have a look at http://www.australia.org.uk (the Australian High Commission in London.) Click on visas and citizenship and then follow the links. One possibility would be to get your father a sub-class 676 visa which is valid for a year from the date of issue. Your father would be able to go out for 6 unbroken months at a time without any difficulty. As he is now 70, he would also have to get his GP to complete a Medical Certificate. The visa application form is Form 48R. You can download that and the Medical Certificate from the AHC website. Last November, the fee for the paper 676 visa was GBP35 and Mum's GP's fee for completing the medical certificate was GBP60. (I'm borrowing a friend's machine and the symbol for sterling doesn't work on it.) Applicants aged 70 or over are not eligible for the e-676 visa which is new - I think it was only introduced in January 2006. However the paper visa is no hassle. Mum's passport was returned with her new 676 visa in it exactly a fortnight after I posted it off. There is also a sub-class 686 (long stay) visitor visa, which is valid for four years, is valid for multiple entry and allows the visitor to stay in Oz for up to a year on each visit. Mum used to have one of these but I don't think you can still get them once you turn 70. I'm not sure, though. Via the AHC website you can e-mail a Helpdesk called First Enquiries. If you want to check out the 686 visa, I'm sure First Enquiries would be able to answer any queries about it. The usual drill with the one-year 676 visa is that it allows the holder to stay in Oz for 6 months at a time, but it is valid for multiple entry. So your Dad could go out to Oz for 6 months, go somewhere close by for a fortnight (eg Fiji or Bali depending on which is nearest for him) and then go back to Oz for another 6 months. Or he could come back to the UK for a couple of months if he prefers and return to Oz for another 6 months after that. Help the Aged does good travel insurance for people of retirement age and so do Saga Holidays. There is also an Australian Government website called something like http://www.seniors.org.au and you might find some good health-insurance deals via that too. God luck and let me know if I can help any further Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KazzE Posted June 4, 2006 Author Share Posted June 4, 2006 Hey Gill, thanks for info, we have tried SAGA for travel insurance, they will not do a year multi trip for anyone over 64 (I think, well under 70 anyway) unbelievable. RIAS have been good they insured him last year for 5 months and have been most helpful. £500 ish to cover him from Nov 06 - Aug 07 but have warned him that it goes up to £1000 once he is 70. But a very nice person has told him that if he accepts this offer and asks for a quote (and accepts it) for his next trip before he is 70 they will charge him £500 for the second trip too. thanks again Kazz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gollywobbler Posted June 5, 2006 Share Posted June 5, 2006 Hey Gill, thanks for info, we have tried SAGA for travel insurance, they will not do a year multi trip for anyone over 64 (I think, well under 70 anyway) unbelievable. RIAS have been good they insured him last year for 5 months and have been most helpful. £500 ish to cover him from Nov 06 - Aug 07 but have warned him that it goes up to £1000 once he is 70. But a very nice person has told him that if he accepts this offer and asks for a quote (and accepts it) for his next trip before he is 70 they will charge him £500 for the second trip too. thanks again Kazz Hi Kazz The RIAS deal sounds good to me. If you can make out a good enough case (in a covering letter) you may be able to get your Dad up to 12 unbroken months in Australia on a sub-class 676 (Form 48R.) I went on bended knee about my Mum since I needed to get her 8 months in Oz this time. I got it for her, so I reckon it is worth asking on your Dad's behalf too. Go for gold. I suggest. Tell them that you want 12 unbroken months and that he has fully comp travel insurance. The worst they can do it cut him down to six months at a time with the fortnight's holday elsewhere in between, so you might as well ask for more, I suggest. Good luck Gill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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