foo Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 For those who are yet to arrive in Australia, we found when registering for Medicare today that you now need your UK passport AND your NHS card or your E111 card. This is a new measure introduced earlier this week and not even the Medicare staff seem to know too much about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blossom Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 Wow, that would make it mega hard. I didn't have either before I came over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ali Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 What visa are you on Foo? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blossom Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 To be fair, the Medicare staff have never known what's going on with very well established visas when I've been there. They couldn't understand there was no end date on the bridging visa. They tried to tell me my visa wasn't a permanent one so I couldn't get a full card, even though it said permanent on it.... I've only ever had one good experience, and that had nothing to do with visas. Lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seraphim Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 For those who are yet to arrive in Australia, we found when registering for Medicare today that you now need your UK passport AND your NHS card or your E111 card. This is a new measure introduced earlier this week and not even the Medicare staff seem to know too much about it. Blimey thanks Foo! I'm flying out in 3 weeks and wouldn't have known this. Is it for PR visa holders? Wouldn't even know where my NHS card is! Eeeek! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
movingtoaussieland Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 Blimey thanks Foo! I'm flying out in 3 weeks and wouldn't have known this. Is it for PR visa holders? Wouldn't even know where my NHS card is! Eeeek! E111 card is probably easier to sort out - it's the EHIC card you should have for travelling around Europe. It's free - check out http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/Healthcareabroad/EHIC/Pages/about-the-ehic.aspx for more info and to apply (if you don't already have one). Will be digging mine out later to make sure it's not expired so thanks for the tip Foo!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anoh Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 My 25 year old son joined us in August(he had a 1 year RRV). At that time we had been in Australia nearly a year. We had PR and bought a house. He took his passport,E mail from immigration, letter from bank in Aus confirming his address at our house and was not able to get a Medicare card.They questioned us about the last time we were in Aus almost 20 years ago( PR stayed 1 year). Anyway he was asked to go back with Seven Seas invoice to confirm he had moved his stuff over and also had to write a short statement about why he was coming to Aus and what his plans were( he is a doctor). We were quite puzzled as he was legally able to be here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calNgary Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 You have to love Australia and their love of a paper trail,lol They don't like making things easy.lol Cal x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fish.01 Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 If it is for reciprocal Medicare (eg 457) then this has always been based on residency, not nationality. You needed to prove your were a resident of the UK. Whether you were British or not was irrelevant. Showing your NHS card should be enough as having British citizenship is not necessary. Not all Medicare staff understood/enforced this by the sound of it. Maybe they have now been reminded that proof of residency through a NHS card is required. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toodolou Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 good to know Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathy99 Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 I registered on monday, we're here on a 457 and the only requirements were all people registering had to attend, we haf our passports (which obviously show we'te from the uk) and a copy of our visa. Filled a form out thet took copie:tongue:s of docs and job done in 10 mins! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjgibbs Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 The Medicare staff when we applied for ours when on the 457 wouldn't except the email from DIAC themself!! I told them that the visa being electronically attached to the passport can be looked up via the ref number I can provide . Its all linked for easy look up. It took a manager an argument and a decloration to allow them to look up the visa via the ref to even process the paper work with the parting comment you won't get one sir. Funny enough 5 days later guess what I have a medicare card. Funny that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
movingtoaussieland Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 Seems like a lot depends on where you go and who you speak to! I went into one of the central Melbourne Medicare centres on Tuesday to register - they gave me the forms to fill in, took a copy of my passport, jotted down the details of my 457 visa from a copy of the grant letter I had downloaded on my phone (didn't think to print it out!) and that was it - whole process done in less than 10 minutes. Told me it could take up to 4 weeks for the card to turn up but if I needed the number I just had to phone up and they should be able to give me it by the end of the week - will give them a call tomorrow to find out if that's true! :-) I had my EHIC card and NHS number with me but they didn't ask for anything like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Que Sera Sera Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 Its a Government department just like in the UK one often doesn't know what the other is doing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jowill Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 Think if one branch refuses then just rock up at another branch. Often that solves the problem! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Movetoaus Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 Downloaded the form the other day. Filled it out got all the things they required, took it in, no waiting. All very pleasant and was done and given a receipt with the number on it in less than 30mins. Since Im on a bridging visa, mine is only good for a year and it was back dated to when I was approved on the bridging visa. But she said if I'm still on a bridging visa when the card runs out, I just have to re apply. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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