jrobertson17 Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 Hi All. I'm currently putting my application together which will be work sponsored. I'm struggling to get my head around the exact requirements for medical cover, from what I can find the UK has a reciprocal health agreement with Australia allowing uk citizens access to medicare, but is this only for people on a PR visa as the agency processing my application has asked for proof of medical cover. If I do need private medical covercan anyone comment on their experiences with the different providers. We are a family of 4 with children aged 10 and 7. Many thanks Jamie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bungo Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 You need to take out private cover in order to get the visa granted. Once you are in Australia, you could stop the cover if you so wished, as reciprocal cover would be available to you. Just bear in mind that Australian medicare is not the same as the NHS and also depending on your earnings there is extra tax to pay if you do not hold private medical insurance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaggieMay24 Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 You only need private health cover for visa purposes until you apply for Medicare. Once you have Medicare you can cancel the private health coverage, but as Bungo said, you may wish to consider keeping it if it covers gaps that Medicare doesn't or if it means you can get the Medicare levy surcharge refunded. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrobertson17 Posted June 19, 2015 Author Share Posted June 19, 2015 Hi Thanks for the reply, this makes sense now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaska Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 Exactly that. We cancelled and just used Medicare after getting here without any dramas. However I have a friend who was turned down for vital surgery as she was told the code wasn't covered on reciprocal Medicare on her 457, fortunately she had private too so was covered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
as2003 Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 Here's a follow-on question: I registered for reciprocal medicare when I got here a few years ago. I then got a 457, which required that I got private health cover and I ultimately got some basic package from Bupa. Much later, I noticed that my temporary medicare card was only valid for 6 or 12 months and had long since expired. Should I re-apply for reciprocal medicare cover or will the cover I get from Bupa be enough? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bungo Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 Here's a follow-on question: I registered for reciprocal medicare when I got here a few years ago. I then got a 457, which required that I got private health cover and I ultimately got some basic package from Bupa. Much later, I noticed that my temporary medicare card was only valid for 6 or 12 months and had long since expired. Should I re-apply for reciprocal medicare cover or will the cover I get from Bupa be enough? Look at it this way, there is no downside to registering for medicare. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lightunderscore Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 Bungo's on the money! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaggieMay24 Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 I'd make sure your basic cover from Bupa is at least the minimum level required for a 457 visa (their Overseas Visitor cover). Otherwise, I'd re-apply for the reciprocal Medicare and see if you think additional private coverage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
as2003 Posted June 23, 2015 Share Posted June 23, 2015 Thanks, that makes sense. Regarding the cover I get from Bupa; I assume it meets the minimum level required because it was the one recommended to me by my recruitment company when they told me it was a requirement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JULIE RYCROFT Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 Im just looking into NIB coz I need to get cover for my 457 for next month, how do you go about paying for it via direct debit with a UK bank account ???...or is this a really stupid question ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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