star1976 Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 Hi We moved to Sydney in October last year on 457 visa. The private health insurance we had when we came here is due to run out. Do we need to get private health insurance again. We are from the UK and have Medicare cards. I have looked at some previous posts but I'm completely confused :confused: If we need insurance do we need to apply for oversees visitor health care or just the normal basic hospital policies on offer. Kind Regards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomdickanarry Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 Hi We moved to Sydney in October last year on 457 visa. The private health insurance we had when we came here is due to run out. Do we need to get private health insurance again. We are from the UK and have Medicare cards. I have looked at some previous posts but I'm completely confused :confused: If we need insurance do we need to apply for oversees visitor health care or just the normal basic hospital policies on offer. Kind Regards You are now ok to simply run with Medicare. The need for private insurance is simply to cover you when you first arrive in the country....effectively until you can register and be accepted for Medicare. That you have already done that bit, means that you don't need to renew the private cover (although, that is of course, a matter of personal choice depending on your circumstances) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
star1976 Posted July 28, 2011 Author Share Posted July 28, 2011 Thanks for the confirmation. I wonder if you would know if we were to get private health insurance do we go for the oversees visitor policy or just the normal one? Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomdickanarry Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 Thanks for the confirmation. I wonder if you would know if we were to get private health insurance do we go for the oversees visitor policy or just the normal one? Cheers Sorry, can't help you with that one....i decided to forego it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
star1976 Posted August 1, 2011 Author Share Posted August 1, 2011 Thanks anyway. There were a lot of adverts on the TV regarding buying private health insurance for some kind of tax reason but I wasnt sure if this was only for PRs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robfromdublin Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 Above a certain salary ($80k maybe?) you have to pay an extra 1.5% income tax called the Medicare Levy Surcharge. You can avoid paying this if you take out private health insurance so it is there to encourage high earners to take out insurance. I'm in the same boat as you and wondering whether or not to take out insurance. On the one hand I want it but I want it at the price that permanent residents and citizens have it. I think it's a lot more expensive for 457 holders Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abzlovell Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 Hi All, Me and my family are immigrating to Australia in the coming months and are currently going through the visa process (457 nominated visa). Our case officer has asked us to provide evidence of insurance cover in the interim period before we register for medicare through the reciprocal agreement. Has anyone else come across this? we dont know if we have to sign up for one of the medical insurance companies (IMAN or the BUPA equivalent for eg), or whether we can just get travel insurance for the UK to cover us until we get the medicare card? Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SteNRach Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 Hi All, Me and my family are immigrating to Australia in the coming months and are currently going through the visa process (457 nominated visa). Our case officer has asked us to provide evidence of insurance cover in the interim period before we register for medicare through the reciprocal agreement. Has anyone else come across this? we dont know if we have to sign up for one of the medical insurance companies (IMAN or the BUPA equivalent for eg), or whether we can just get travel insurance for the UK to cover us until we get the medicare card? Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Hi, we're also going through 457 process and have arranged private health insurance. I had wondered myself if I could just get the usual travel insurance you would get if going on holiday from the UK. From doing a bit of research and reading other posts on PIO I decided to arrange insurance with HBA as it meets the DIAC requirements for the visa application. HBA were very helpfull and because we don't have an exact date they told me that's not a problem, we just need to tell them when we plan to arrive and they will adjust the start date of health insurance accordingly. Once in Australia we will then apply for the Medicare cards. Hope this is helpfull Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abzlovell Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 thanks, we will look into the HBA. one question i have tho, can we just sign up for the HBA for a few weeks to cover us or does it need to be for a year? health insurance is sooooo expensive! i used the think the NHS was rubbish, but i totally take that back now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SteNRach Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 thanks, we will look into the HBA. one question i have tho, can we just sign up for the HBA for a few weeks to cover us or does it need to be for a year? health insurance is sooooo expensive! i used the think the NHS was rubbish, but i totally take that back now! Totall agree we Brits take the NHS for granted and slate it but when it comes to buying private then it makes you realise how lucky we are. No you don't have to buy a policy for a year we've just taken out a month as expect to apply for and get Medicare within that time so no need to continue with private (just our personal choice). Just remember if you do the same you really should take out ambulance cover as Medicare does'nt cover that (our private has ambulance cover) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abzlovell Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 thanks i really appreciate your reply, there is so much to sort out and get your head round moving to a different country! and were not even there yet!! i think i would prob carry on the basic 'extras' health insurance after we have our medicare sorted because being a young family we really need piece of mind for ambulance and dental cover etc. considering my 2 year old daughter has already lost a tooth due to an accident i think its pretty important!!!! ha! when are you hoping to be out in oz by? we are going in oct hopefully and it feels like a never ending organising mission!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SteNRach Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 We have a 5 year old boy, so definitely expecting some accidents lol!! We'll probably also look at Dental once out there. We were hoping to be out by September but probably more likely October like yourselves. Where are you heading? We're going to Bunbury. I know what you mean about everything going round in your head. The hours I have spent on the net researching various things I'm suprised I hav'nt had a brain meltdown lol!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abzlovell Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 my husband has a job in the inner west of sydney so we will prob be living in/around a place called wollongong (south of Sydney but a lot cheaper but on the beach!). so the other side of the country to you guys!! well best of luck with all the sorting, i'm sure it will be majorly stressful but hopefully well worth it!! :wink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SteNRach Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 Good luck to you too :biggrin: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Surfy Brit Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 Umm would anybody be able to tell me if I need to make the application for Medical cover when I apply for my VISA? Or do I just have to have proof of it when I arrive? Im feeling a tad confused!:confused: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abzlovell Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 Umm would anybody be able to tell me if I need to make the application for Medical cover when I apply for my VISA? Or do I just have to have proof of it when I arrive? Im feeling a tad confused!:confused: hi, we were advised not to put medical cover in when we applied for our visa as the uni we are relocating to have been through the process numerous times and people havent had to provide proof of cover. however it totally depends on the case worker apparently, and unfortunately we heard back last week after waiting just over 4 weeks since we put the visa in, and our case worker has asked us to provide proof of health cover!! boo! we are going to take out HBA cover for 2-4 weeks and then cancel it once we have our medicare card. we just need the HBA cover for our application to be processed! hope that helps?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest deb2 Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 Hi We moved to Sydney in October last year on 457 visa. The private health insurance we had when we came here is due to run out. Do we need to get private health insurance again. We are from the UK and have Medicare cards. I have looked at some previous posts but I'm completely confused :confused: If we need insurance do we need to apply for oversees visitor health care or just the normal basic hospital policies on offer. Kind Regards Hi We are trying to sort out Health Insurance here in the UK and we are really struggling to find a company that will insure us for more than 17 days and also wont do so until they have our departure date. We cannot get the visas until we prove we have sufficient health care cover. Could you please tell me who you used|? Thank you deb2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bll2109 Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 Hi everyone, I have recently arrived in Sydney on a 457 visa and I can tell you the following: - DIAC would not grant my visa until I showed proof of medical insurance starting on the date of arrival on my application - As I am a UK citizen, I can register for the Medicare reciprocal health care agreement on arrival, but I needed private insurance that satisfied the visa requirements until I arrived and got given a medicare number - I used a company called medibank private and got working visa cover which is quite expensive, but its what you need with no reciprocal agreement. it was about $120 a month for a single guy. It basically only gives you hospital/ambulance cover really, nothing more than that, but its the minimum for DIAC. - I then got granted the visa and amended the start date of the cover with medibank private once I knew my arrival date in AU. - once I arrived, I applied for medicare straight away, and within a few days had a medicare number - called medibank private and modified my policy to be a standard resident cover which has basic hospital , extras like dental, optical, ambulance etc. ($80 per month), they ended up giving me a rebate as I was only a few days into my other plan which I paid $120 for. - thats it, done. I am now complying with my visa, and have dental/ambulance sorted (the things we get in the UK), as well as some other bits. there is some notes on this link about how when you're from the UK medicare is ok - but its not clear about just getting a bridging policy and then cancelling etc. I know people here who have thought they needed it all the time and have paid loads for not a good policy for a few years. http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/457-health-insurance-faq-visa-holder.htm read the bit "I am from a country with a reciprocal health care agreement with Australia. Do I also need insurance?" Good luck!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bll2109 Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 I forgot to say - i made an elective choice to continue paying for private health care as I wanted to have dental/ambulance, but also thought I would go for private cover and a couple other bits because of a 1% tax relief if you have private cover and earn more than $80k. If you don't want to pay anything - you don't have to, it is 100% your choice, as long as you are registered with Medicare, legally your visa is compliant. But I wouldn't advise not having ambo cover in australia.. and if you earn over $80k, you're likely to end up paying about the same in extra tax and get nothing, compared to paying it towards cover for all this stuff and more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marta Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 -We are here on a 457 too. -We also had to give proof of private health cover beforehand to be able to lodge the eVisa. We went with Medibank and paid by UK credit card for three months. -We did some partner health cover deal, chosing the highest cover with Medibank as what was included in that price was good value for money (in my eyes). -We pay $450 per month (two people are covered by that). -As I am a German citizen, and being sponsered by my partner (even though he is British) we needed extra cover anyway and all the time. We cannot opt out unless I (finally/hopefully/maybe) find a job and decide to take care of my health cover on my own. So he could be with Medicare if he wanted. -However, he earns 80k plus super so has to pay 1.5% extra. -And here is something else. Yes, it's quite easy in the UK to be covered health insurance-wise whereas in Germany (regardless of the many myths) when you live there you are forced to pay for health insurance even though these insurance options are national and not private (at least in 80% of the cases as you can only choose private health cover if you come over a certain income). So when you are working you pay around 500 EUR (=£490) a month per person (!) for health insurance, and if you don't work (fall under a certain income limit) you pay 160 EUR per month per person, but you also pay extra for each and every prescription, glasses, medication etc. You also have to wait for hours to talk to the doctor even if you have an appointment, and you often have to wait for an appointment for more than six months. Well, I just wanted to say the UK' health system is not as bad as it might seem sometimes, at least you don't need to pay that much every month to be insured. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robfromdublin Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 Wow, glad I don't live in Germany! Sometimes of course, even having insurance doesn't help. Just found out today I need to have my wisdom teeth removed, but I have to wait 12 months from policy start before the major dental cover kicks in. So I'll end up having to pay for it myself. Probably around $2k. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marta Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 Wow! Yes that really sucks. As if you would choose to have your teeth removed. Also, it's not a very pleasant intervention. Hm. So sorry for your trouble. This is due to the fact that you are on a 457, right? Because that would apply to us as well. It's kind of unfair, isn't it?! I have been suffering from hair loss recently (lost 1 cm in circumference) and don't dare to check that out with a doctor because of the same reason.:nah: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robfromdublin Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 Actually I didn't have any dental cover when I came on a 457 in February. I wouldn't really have minded then as I knew I wasn't covered so I was at risk. However, I've now been able to register for full medicare rather than the reciprocal agreement, so I decided to get health insurance as it was more affordable. So I'm more annoyed now. I mean, I'm paying the premiums, why can't I be covered?! I understand the reasons though, if they didn't do it then people would sign up for a month, claim the dental and then cancel again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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