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457 Health Insurance Advice Please


pamdav

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This is very interesting information thanks. I had a look at their website and it's just travel insurance isn't it? It seems that some case officers will accept it and some won't. We have been sent information from the company's relocation agent with a massive list of criteria that needs to be filled, and travel insurance just doesn't meet it.

I have a dilemma now!

We had a smilar problem with our contact at my husbands work, she was sorting everything out for us , flights, accommodation etc and she never mentioned to us that sufficient travel insurance would be fine.....it was only when i was on here that i came across " Go Walkabout" that someone else had used them ( as we were in the same dilemma as you), and i called them and they explained everything to me-The policy is a "1st class emigration travel insurance " policy and it cover us for 21 days from the day we leave the UK.

see below link-

 

Please find attached template letter(downloaded from http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/457-health-insurance-faq-visa-holder.htm) partially completed with our names / address etc. I would be very grateful if you could complete the Insurer sections of the form and return it to me asap so that I may proceed with my visa application.

 

If you click on it and it will take you to the " health insurance template letter" and you just fill that in when you have your emigration travel ins policy and bobs your uncle.....believe me that is more than sufficient for your 457 visa.

Hope this helps.

x

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  • 2 weeks later...
Guest lookingforachange

Can someone please help we are only looking into movinng to OZ on a 457 visa.I will need medical insurance for my 3yr old daughter as she has a medial condition.Who is the best to company to go with ? what is the cost to see a doctor ? I am trying to work out all expenses that we may have.

can u claim back expences through tax ?

 

thanks

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Guest dannywh

Hi There,

 

You don't need health insurance. Because we are British we receive healthcare under the reciprocol health agreement. (google it). Therefore you only need a travel insurance policy that will cover your initial stay in oz until you register with medicare. I took mine out with Debenhams, it's a worldwide family travel insurance and covers £10,000,000,00 in medical claims. It cost £47.00.

 

Dan :biggrin:

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So glad I found this thread. My partner & I are applying for a 457 visa & found today that we will be needing medical insurance for when we apply. We hadn't a clue how to do it or anything. Then I logged on here & found my answer straight away. I will be getting travel insurance for our family before we go & register with medicare once we are there. Cheer guys.

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So glad I found this thread. My partner & I are applying for a 457 visa & found today that we will be needing medical insurance for when we apply. We hadn't a clue how to do it or anything. Then I logged on here & found my answer straight away. I will be getting travel insurance for our family before we go & register with medicare once we are there. Cheer guys.

 

Go walkabout is a great company....see my previous threads on here......we got our 457 visa in 5 days and we go the policy with "go walkabout"- good luck with your visa

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Guest Buckyrocks

What I did was to get travel insurance over the period of travel, then registered with Medicare as soon as I got here. That was in Oct. I'm only now looking at private health care. Don't know if I've done it wrong, but I haven't been kicked out yet and the migration solicitor for my company is happy enough. Medicare is great by the way - my wife spent 5 hours in emergancy the other week. Didn't pay for a thing and the treatment was great!

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...
Can i lodge my 457 application before applying for my travel insurance? When i click the 'lodge and pay' button on my application is that when i'll be allocated a case officer? Im clueless ha

No you wont be able to apply for your 457 without insurance.....use Go walkabout based in london ( i think) have a look online. great company and very helpful people...get a 21 day policy and tell them roughly when you may want the policy to start from and then when you defo know phone them and they will adjust your policy for you......would highly recommend them, very efficient staff. we used them and got our 457 visa through in 5 days!!!!! so the policy we got was sufficient. we resigterd with Medicare a few days after we got here and really dont feel the need for private insurance.

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  • 4 weeks later...
BUPA are most definitely not a thumbs up. They happily sold me a policy that covered me for absolutely nothing and are still trying to convince me I need their policy for my visa, mainly because their staff don't understand how it works. I managed to cancel the policy today but I'm still fighting with BUPA to get the premiums paid refunded and have referred them to the Private Health Insurance Ombudsman.

 

The little detail health insurers in Australia tend to forget to mention to UK nationals is that there is a reciprocal health agreement between Australia and the UK. In a medical emergency, you are covered by Medicare. In fact, my wife and I even get Medicare benefits for GP visits. However, a myth persists that you need private health insurance in Australia even if you come from a country with such an agreement, a myth that the health insurers play no part in dispelling. The myth largely stems from a statement on the visa itself. It looks black and white, so read this DIAC link:

 

http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/457-health-insurance-faq-visa-holder.htm

 

Yes, you must have adequate health cover as it says. But of this requirement it also says:

 

Visa holders who are enrolled with Medicare under reciprocal health care arrangements will be considered as having met this requirement.

 

Remember health insurers sell their visitors cover to people from all over the world and the sales staff don't generally know or care whether you are from a country with a reciprocal agreement so they sell you the product anyway.

 

What you will find is if you have the basic cover from one of these insurers is that they will pay you back the same for each medical treatment as Medicare would and no more (in Australia, every service has a basic fee - providers may charge more, the difference is known as 'the gap' - basic insurance won't cover this). If you are from a reciprocal country, they can then go and claim from Medicare the portion they must pay.

 

Let me give you an example of how my policy worked:

 

1) I paid BUPA $170 a month, after they said I needed the policy for my visa.

 

2) I went to the doctor and paid $90.

 

3) BUPA refunds the Medicare amount, about $60.

 

4) BUPA goes to Medicare and takes the portion they must cover. That's $60.

 

Alternatively, I could omit step one and do step 3 myself and save $170 a month.

 

By the way, being ripped off in Australia is not uncommon if you are not used to how things work. I love Australia and I know I'm a whinging pom but certain industries in this country are a disgrace. Insurers are near the top of the league of shame (it costs more to insure your holiday for two weeks from Australia than a year from the UK) along with telecommunications companies ($100 a month for limited broadband and a landline) whilst a lot of shops expect you to negotiate when buying something. Feel free to ask me how to avoid the pitfalls!

 

This is truely an excellent piece of information. THANK YOU!!!

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Guest First time Down Under

I alaready had an annual travel insurance policy, which covered me fine for the 457 visa application. I submitted this and said I'd be applying for Medicare when I arrive. This was accepted no probs. Think my travel policy cost something like £35. Happy days!

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Hi,

I provided the CO with proof of my Travel Insurance through my bank and a scanned copy of my NHS Card and 2 days later my Visa was approved with the understanding I would register with Medicare and get Health Insurance once I get out there.

Hope this helps.

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Hi,

 

Just lodged my 457 application last week and after much research we went we IMAN. $163 dollars per mth for a family of 4,basic cover. They emailed me back within 2 days with the relevant info for the DIAC,also we are due to arrive on the 6th June (hopefully) and our next payment is not till 6 July,they also told me if our arrival date changes let them know and they will adjust accordingly..

 

Good luck x

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