Sunny spells

I think I know the naswer, but can one have medicare while on temporary visa or is it necessary to have PR?

cheers

jasper pentop

I'd like to know too! I am thinking that on a temp visa u might be able to - ie provisional spouse etc....
And also, how do you apply for it? Ie get your medicare card?

Pollyana

I can only answer from my own experience - a Prospective Spouse Visa gets you a medicare card, valid for the time the visa is valid. Now I have a temp residence spouse visa, I can go back and register again, and get a new card with a new expiry date.
All I took with me was my passport, copy of the visa grant letter and my UK NHS card, and I did it about a week after arriving - takes that long for the DIMIA visa details to reach the medicare computer apparently!

davidw

Yes my spouse (on spouse visa) got it with no problem. The only difference is I got it for five years, she for the two years of her temp visa. There was NO difficulty, took minutes, all computerized.

Cheers

David

Grayling

Some temporary visa holders are certainly entitled to Medicare.
I am not sure if all are.
Retirement (410) visas are not.
Best bet is to check the conditions of your visa on the DIMIA site:
www.immi.gov.au
For those who don't know.

G

Sunny spells

answer from immi.gov.au

You are eligible to enrol for Medicare if you are living in Australia and:
 have been granted permanent resident status; or

 have applied for certain permanent resident visas, and you:
 hold a valid visa with permission to work in Australia; or
 hold a valid visa and your parent, spouse or child is an
Australian citizen; or
 hold a valid visa and your parent, spouse or child is the holder of permanent
resident status.

You might not be eligible for Medicare if you:
 have a current parent visa application being considered; or
 have a current application for a protection visa and have previously applied for a parent
visa.
If you have a temporary prospective marriage visa (fiance�subclass 300), you are not
eligible for Medicare until you have had an application for a permanent resident visa
accepted by the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs.


... so, unless you have applied for PR, if it is two non australian citizen you are not elegible while on the temporary visa ...
right?

cheers

Mandyisere

I am on a temporary visa and have a medicare card that says on it for "necessary treatment" only but i have had routine Drs visits and check ups and been reimbursed through medicare
Mandy

Sunny spells

Mandy

the question is
have you applyed for PR or is your spouse Australian or PR holder?

thanks

Mandyisere

No i haven't applied for my PR and i haven't got a spouse. I just went to medicare office with my passport and visa and they sent me the medicare card.
last week went Drs and had a routine mammogram for $120 and got $95 back off medicare
Mandy

Sunny spells

thanks Mandy

appreciated.

see you in melbourne... hopefully..!

mlbonner

I did a 12 month working holiday in Australia and got medicare, it didnt cover me for 'extra things' though, such as my Dive Medical and some lab tests I had done.

Ceri

try medicare's Reciprocal Health Care Agreements

( if you are non PR - yes you can claim off Medicare) A few years back I was on a business visa - I actually had an accident - was hosptilised and visted various doctors ( hospital was free - doctors I just went into a local Medicare branch with my doctors receipts and passport and claimed most of the money back - can't remember the %)

The Australian Government has signed Reciprocal Health Care Agreements (RHCA) with the governments of the United Kingdom, Sweden, the Netherlands, Finland, Norway, Malta and Italy which entitles you to limited subsidised health services for immediately necessary treatment while visiting Australia.

If you applied for or received Subclass Visa 410 (Retiree Visa) prior to 1 December 1998 you may apply to participate in the Medicare program under the RHCA of your home country. If you applied for Subclass Visa 410 on or after 1 December 1998 you are not eligible for enrolment in the Medicare program and are not eligible under the RHCA.

Period of cover
If you are a resident of the United Kingdom, Sweden, Finland, Norway or the Netherlands you are covered for the duration of your approved visit to Australia.

As a resident of Malta or Italy you are covered for a period of six months from the date you arrive in Australia.

TOP

Access to cover
Reciprocal health care agreements cover treatment that is immediately necessary. Immediately necessary treatment means any ill-health or injury which occurs while you are in Australia and requires treatment before you return home. There may be some instances where, before you can gain access to Medicare benefits in Australia, you will need to show written proof from the treating doctor that a particular treatment was immediately necessary.



Your entitlements
As a resident of one of these countries you are entitled to the following for any ill-health or injury requiring immediate treatment while in Australia:

free treatment as a public in-patient or outpatient in a public hospital
subsidised medicines under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme
Medicare benefits for out-of-hospital medical treatment provided by doctors through private surgeries and community health centres.
TOP


Enrolling in Medicare
If you will be receiving treatment you can enrol at Medicare offices throughout Australia. If you receive treatment before you enrol, Medicare benefits will be back paid for eligible visitors.

To enrol in Medicare you will need:

your passport with a valid visa
to provide, in some cases, identification showing you are enrolled in your country’s national health scheme (for example, a national health service card or similar certificate).
If your application to enrol in Medicare is approved, you will receive an Australian reciprocal health care card in the mail.

TOP


Treatment outside a hospital
You can receive medical treatment through private doctors’ surgeries and community health centres. Doctors at these practices charge for their services in one of the following ways:

The doctor bills Medicare directly
You will be asked to show your reciprocal health care card and sign a completed Medicare bulk bill form after seeing the doctor. You will not need to pay anything and will not need to make a claim from Medicare. Please note that not all Australian doctors in private practice bulk bill.

The doctor gives you a bill
Doctors who do not bulk bill will require you to pay the amount at the time of consultation. In this case you can pay the full bill on the spot or lodge the unpaid bill with Medicare.

To pay the full bill on the spot you can:

http://www.hic.gov.au/yourhealth/ser...alta_italy.htm

bondipom

Sub class 309ers (provisional spouse) are entitled to Medicare because they are applying for PR.

jayr

I am on a 457 temporay 4 year visa and have "immediatley necessary" although this has covered my wife's eye examination when she decided she wanted a new pair of glasses.

I forgot to bring my NHS card to Oz but this didn't matter (though suggest you do bring it) and all that was needed was passports at the Medicare office.

Ceri

Didn't show mine either, and they never asked for it in the medicare office - my Brit passport was enough. But I suppose if it says that in the reciprocal act -it is wise to bring the card with you.. just in case you get someone behind the counter who is a "stickler" for the rules.