medicare

[andy surridge]

Have been on a temporary work visa in New Zealand for six and a half years . Have now moved to Australia on an aged parent visa. I have a bridging visa type (a). Have been informed that even though i,m a UK citizen I cannot get medicare . Is this correct?

Thanks Andy

[Quoll]

What country are you resident of? If you are a visitor  normally resident in UK then you are entitled to necessary medical care only - not full coverage under Medicare and you should get health insurance.  You were only temporarily in NZ who also have reciprocity - but I dunno, did you stop being a resident of UK when you moved temporarily to NZ? And then, were you resident in NZ or just a visitor there? You're not on an aged parent visa if you are on bridging visa a - which you are likely to be on for many many years - you are only temporarily in Australia if and until you acquire a permanent visa, success isnt automatic.

[Marisawright]

5 hours ago, andy surridge said:

Have been on a temporary work visa in New Zealand for six and a half years . Have now moved to Australia on an aged parent visa. I have a bridging visa type (a). Have been informed that even though i,m a UK citizen I cannot get medicare . Is this correct?

Thanks Andy

Eligibility for Medicare has nothing to do with citizenship and everything to do with residency.  

The rule is that if you are a legal resident of the UK immediately before arriving in Australia, you are eligible under the reciprocal agreement with the UK.  

If you haven't lived in the UK for six and a half years, you haven't been legally resident in the UK for about 6 years, so you are not eligible.  

There is a reciprocal agreement between NZ and Australia, so I suggest checking what your legal status in NZ was, and whether that might give you some entitlement.  Otherwise, you'll need to buy Overseas Visitors Health Insurance and rely on that.

 

[MaggieMay24]

From what I understand of the DHS website, you may not be eligible for Medicare because a) you weren't living in the UK before coming to Australia so the reciprocal agreement doesn't apply to you and b) even though some PR applicants are eligible for Medicare, parent visa applicants are not.  However depending on your residency status in NZ, you may be able to apply if you were entitled to remain in NZ for life.