braz kiwi

Hi all,

Am a dual NZ and UK citizen who is looking to migrate to Australia (from Brazil) at the end of 2013.

From what I've been able to find out so far my, two children and I will have no problem with access to Medicare as we will enter OZ on the NZ passports, however my wife (who is a Brazilian and Spanish dual national) will not have this right when she enters with a 'New Zealand Citizen Family Relationship (Temporary) Visa (Subclass 461)'.

With all that in mind I'm interested in finding out if there is any special Health Plan she should be looking for, due to: the type of Visa she will enter on; the fact that her husband and children will have right to Medicare.

If anybody has gone through something similar, or can help point us in the right direction to find out more, that would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers!

Buzzy--Bee

Hi, I entered on the 461, but straight from the UK, so I had full medicare. However my friend who is also from the UK on a 461 lived in NZ for 18 months in between leaving the UK and arriving in Australia, and as a result has no recourse to medicare except in emergency situations. So he has bought some insurance specifically designed for people in this situation, to bridge the medicare gap. If you like I can try and find out some details.

BB

lc77

Hi there
Your wife will need to take out some kind of visitors' health cover policy. The big health insurance companies such as Bupa and Medibank offer these. There are various levels of cover but I think at the very least they will cover GP visits and treatment in a public hospital. Have a look on their websites and shop around for prices - I pay around $90 a month with Bupa for a fairly basic level of cover.

Hope that helps a little. Good luck with your move.

fish.01

As an aside, just in case you don't know moving to Australia using your NZ citizenship, rather than going through the full immigration process, permanently limits your access to some services in Australia.

I think it might affect things like:
- govt funding of higher education
- disability services
- unemployment benefit
- social housing
- medical aids
- public transport concession cards/student cards
- etc

You essentially will hold a temporary visa that allows you to reside in Australia indefinitely...rather than being a permanent resident with a pathway to citizenship. NZ citizens report all sorts of issues with various govt depts.

I tell you this not as an expert (so some of the above may be wrong) but just as a heads up.

Buzzy--Bee

Hi, I asked my friend and he sent me these details -

Bupa do a Visitors cover and I have been quoted the following so far:

For Classic Visitors cover with Silver extras the premium would be $143.58 per month for a single membership.

For Gold Visitors cover (this level gives you cover in a private hospital) with Silver extras the premium would be $233.23 per month for a single membership.

These levels of cover without Silver extras would reduce the premiums by $58.60 per month.

For further reading go to: http://www.bupa.com.au/health-insura...isitors/about/

HTH

BB

braz kiwi

Thanks very much for that. Up to now I hadn't considered Bupa.

braz kiwi

Thanks BB. I got a reponse back from the Private Health Australia site saying that the Overseas Visitor plan would be best for my wife, so I will definitely look into that.

braz kiwi

Thanks for the advice.

I've had a quick look at the Immigration site, and the following section:
http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/trav...ew-zealand.htm

and under the heading "Arriving in Australia after 26 February 2001" it states the following:

Most New Zealand citizens, particularly those arriving after 26 February 2001, are required to apply for and be granted permanent residence in Australia if they wish to access certain social security payments, obtain Australian citizenship or sponsor their family members for permanent residence.

So from my understanding, I can live and work in OZ on the NZ passport, but only will have the other rights (besides Medicare) after I apply for a Permanent Resident Visa (which I understand I can only do after 2 years living in Australia.

However, I'll continue searching to make sure as I've heard that there have been several recent changes for NZers rights in Australia.

Thanks!

Buzzy--Bee

Not sure where you got the 2 year thing from.

You can apply for a permanent visa at any time, but only if you qualify for it. You can apply for it right now if you want.

But just bear in mind that under current legislation, being a New Zealander living in Australia gives you no advantage with getting Permanent Residency over, say, an Eskimo who has never been to Australia.


There have no changes regarding NZ citizens eligibility for PR since Feb 2001, except for one minor one which affected TR461 holders and would now not make any difference.

BB

braz kiwi

OK, thanks for all that.

I'm still finding my way around the government sites and think I may have confused some right about certain social services with the Permanent Visa.

It's good to know that I don't have to wait to apply. I'm not sure what major considerations are made (other than the personal character points) when evaluating a PV request.
But I would have thought that once a person is working (i.e. contributing to society and paying taxes) that this would be considered more favourable?

Cheers!

Pollyana

Doesn't make any difference, you still have to meet the requirements for permanent residency
Have a look at http://www.immi.gov.au/skills/skillselect/

Kiwipaul

I agree with the other posters since 2001 a kiwi passport grants you rights to stay and work in Oz BUT don't give you citizenship no matter how long you reside in Oz.
The only way you can obtain citizenship now is to pass the points test just like everyone who emigrartes from the UK has to.
Having a kiwi passport means you can work here and maybe get your employer to sponsor you. Also having a job in Oz so long as it's relevant to your qualification increases your points when you apply for citizenship.
Make sure you apply before you are 50 as that is a requirement.

Buzzy--Bee

The biggest consideration is your skills and experience. Character and Health come after your skills and experience have been evaluated and accepted. There is a shortlist of skills required and if you are not on this list you are unlikely to get permanent residency (excepting family sponsorship etc)

No, working and paying taxes doesn't gain you any points when applying for permanent residency any more to my knowledge. When I applied I was able to get an extra 10 points for working in Australia for more than a year, but the work I was doing had to be related directly to my skills and experience under which I was applying. The points system has changed now though and I don't think these extra points are available any more.

BB

braz kiwi

Thanks Paul.
Always considered that going to OZ would be like heading back to NZ (been away since 1994!). So am learning that quite a lot has changed, and am glad that there are several people who are able to share their experiences.

braz kiwi

Thanks once again BB.