pj_ree

Hi Sorry if this is not the right forum. wasn't sure.

I am British, and moved to Australia 11 years ago. I am a permanent Australian resident. My husband is Dutch, also an Australian permanent resident. My 2 year old Daughter born here is Australian.

We are moving to the UK for 10-12 months. We will be at a fixed address for this time. As soon as I arrive I will pursue getting my Daughter a UK passport and dual citizenship.

I am trying to figure out our entitlements, regarding GP and NHS in general. I think my questions to anyone who can help are:

1. As I am British, even though I have been away a long time, if I arrive and go to the Local GP and give our address would I be able to have general GP cover as if I had never left? How about other things like needing to see a specialist or going to the hospital. I have a very old NHS number if this makes a difference.

2. Will my husband, who is Dutch, be able to do the same thing?

3. And what about my Australian Daughter (the one likely to get most sick!) - would she be covered (until she gets British passport) or can she only get treatment on the reciprocal health care agreement (which can be fine but I believe doctors can say no to treatment too without full payment).

Thanks to anyone who has had this experience and can assist!

paddyo

OK, caveat here...my answers are ASSUMPTIONS only.
The UK and Australia have reciprocal health care agreement so by showing your passport and maybe your medicare card should suffice for all of you. As you have a NI number then you can still claim full UK NHS care but just check with the relevant department in case your contributions were not enough for normal cover. But, YOU are a UK citizen so entitled to all normal cover.
Hubby covered by Reciprocal Cover.
In my experience, UK doctors never say NO to kids who need treatment. The whole Medical Insurance mindset in UK is still reserved for the wealthy and company schemes, plus, if a Pakistani girl can go there and get treatment on the NHS then why can't anyone else!! (That's a social comment by the way not a race/creed one). As much as we all grumble about the UK the NHS is still a guiding light of social needs and yes it has been reduced somewhat by various governments but its essential mantra still exists...free health care for all who need it.
I would suggest visiting both the Australian and UK health websites and looking for the reciprocal agreement and what it covers. I would also suggest that as soon as you get there then sign up for a local doctors and their admin team will guide you through the relevanmt paperwork IF you need to do any.

DadAgain

The following is anecdotal only and does not constitute formal advice:

Whenever I've been back in the UK, with Australian born kids and Australian wife we've been absolutely fine visiting hospital. Not once have we been asked to provide any paperwork or even sign anything - we've just rocked up, joined a queue and been seen and treated.

We've been quite prepared with passports and all sorts of ID ready to discuss the finer points of the reciprocal agreement between NHS and medicare - but its been totally unnecessary.

Bloody marvellous! Love the NHS!!!

quoll

I think it may depend on he nature of the treatment. The reciprocal agreement covers essential medical intervention I believe. I remember standing behind a UK born Canadian resident couple (same arrangement though I believe) in A&E one day with one of my parents and they were having a ding dong because he needed something for the maintenance of some ongoing complaint and they told him he would have to go elsewhere and pay for it. And once, many years ago, when I was on a visit I had to pay the GP for a visit (much to my parents' disgust). However we had no trouble signing up for a doctors practice now we are here in a caring role. I see students signing up in our practice too and their stay is only going to be temporary so one would assume that a longer residence (eg a year) is OK.

roaringmouse

We know from this thread that your daughter already is a British citizen (by descent), and as mentioned on that thread you can apply for a British passport for her using Form C2 from Australia. No need to wait until you're in the UK.

Also, since that thread a couple of years ago, have you considered any more about applying for Australian citizenship?

pj_ree

Thanks everyone. It seems experiences of the reciprocal health care agreement can differ. This matches what Medicare have told me - the agreement is officially there for emergency treatment only but often you get more than this. It can depend on the doctor and how busy the surgery is etc. I guess I will find out when I rock up.

We have had a very challenging 2 years with family health problems, it has involved a lot of travel and now the 'big trip'. As such I never got a long enough slot to sort out my Aussie citizenship (then highly prefer you in the country when applying and waiting to get it) and now I will not be able to get it for 4 more years as this trip will mean I am out of the country for a total of more than 12 months of the last 5 years...I suspect this may be a situation I am always in now..

I could of got my Daughter's British Passport here. I didn't as life took over...I think it will be quite fast when I am in London.

Thanks again everyone. x

michael_w

If you live in the area, a GP is required to treat all your immediate health needs for 14 days, regardless of your nationality. They can refuse to take you on as a permanent patient but only if their list is full or have other 'reasonable grounds' - residency status is not one of them. (These generous rules are being reviewed and likely to be changed soon). UK and EU citizens are also eligible for free NHS hospital treatment, but you will have to show your passport if asked. A recent legal ruling also clarified that former UK residents are eligible for free NHS treatment if they return to reside permanently in the UK. You may have trouble if they suspect you of being a 'health tourist' - someone who lives in another country and comes to the UK for the sole purpose of receiving medical treatment.
http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/AboutNH...-services.aspx