Visa Categories – Getting into Australia and Melbourne ..

So you did your research, probably even stopped by for a visit as tourist and finally decided to make the big move and make Melbourne your new home city!

So what’s next? You’ll need a Visa that will allow you to stay and work in Australia! (Assuming you are outside Australia of course)

Well, there is a myriad of categories of Visas that will allow you into the country but I’ll touch on the most popular categories:

• Subclass 457 – Business (Long Stay) 
• Better known as the Temporary 457 Working Visa.
• This is by far the most commonly used Visa category used by employers to bring in skilled workers from overseas
• As such it is Employer sponsored – that means you’ll need a job before you come here which is not easy. Internet job sites are your best places to start. 
• Also, the Visa is tied to your job – so No job = Go home! Don’t laugh as it almost happened to me! 
• The term can be anywhere between one day to 4 years. But it’s quite ridiculous for an employer to go through all the effort for 1 day! More likely than not, it will be for 3 or 4 years. 
• This is a popular immigration stepping stone to the coveted Australian Permanent Residency status (and onto full citizenship later)

• Skilled – Independent 

• This is will give you a Permanent Residency visa that is not tied to any employer or job 
• This is the most common immigration path if you are applying for Australian Permanent Residency before you come to Australia 
• Also, most people convert to a Permanent Resident visa from the Temporary 457 Working Visa using this category 
• You basically compile points based on your age, education, skills, etc. Most importantly, your occupation must fall within the Skilled Occupation List (SOL). You will need at least 65 points or higher to be eligible to apply. 
• A very popular path to Permanent Residency is for overseas youths to come to Melbourne using a student visa (see next category) for a course in the SOL and then apply for a PR visa using this category 

• Higher Education Sector: Temporary Visa 
• Melbourne is the most popular destination for overseas students in Australia and unsurprisingly, most of them are in this visa category 
• It certainly helps that all the top Universities – Melbourne University, RMIT and Monash – have campuses in and around the Melbourne CBD area! 
• This will also allow you to work for up to 20 hours a week during school terms and unlimited hours during school holidays

The above categories is only the tip of the immigration iceberg and there are heaps more categories that you can consider as alternate immigration paths into Melbourne Australia.

Last but not least, don't forget to check out my brand NEW website - www.melbourneahoy.com.au - dedicated to all things about moving to Melbourne and life in general in the world's most liveable city ! 

Medicare and Private Health Insurance ..

I’ve been quite sick past few days with a really bad cough & cold so it’s been a while since my last post. Only just starting to recover now and what better way to stimulate the brain cells than by – writing a new blog post!

And suitably, today’s topic is about medical bills and what financial coverage is available to you – other than cold hard cash of course! Medical bills can be exorbitantly high in Australia ranging from $50 for a GP consultation to many tens of thousands for major cases like premature births. 

So to prevent yourself from being bankrupted by medical bills, these are the 2 core components of the Australian Health System – Medicare and Private Health Insurance …

• Medicare

• This is the government run, publicly funded (i.e. FREE) medical social welfare system. 
• This is available to all citizens and permanent residents (PR). Sorry, but temporary student and working visas need not apply! 
• When you get to Australia, you can step into any Medicare office and apply for a card. 
• Once enrolled, medical bills (exclusions apply like medicines) are theoretically free! 
• There is a catch of course and that is it is only totally free at public hospitals and certain (bulk billing) GPs. 
• You can still go with your own GP but you will need to top-up any excess from the Medicare limit with your own money.
•  Admittedly, the service and quality of free care is nowhere near what is offered with private services which are a lot of pricier. Which brings us to the next option ...

• Private Health Insurance

• Firstly, Private Health Insurance is meant to complement and not replace Medicare
• You basically pay for additional coverage on top of what Medicare provides which is very limited 
• If you are on a temporary student or working visa, this is the only option available 
•  If you can afford the additional, I would definitely recommend taking up this option as well even if you are eligible for Medicare 
• You don’t need to pay the 1% Medicare Surcharge Tax if you have a private health insurance plan 
• There is a multitude of various combinations of private health insurance packages that can range from $15 to $55 per week 
• But most people choose a Hospital + Extras cover that 
• Allow them a higher level of care at public hospitals (e.g. private rooms) 
• Cover for stays at private (i.e. posh!) hospitals 
• Items not covered by Medicare like dental, glasses/contact lenses, ambulance services, acupuncture, hearing aids, etc. 
• Some higher end packages even include rebates for gym memberships and exercise equipment! 

Obviously this is a HUGE topic and I am only giving a tip-of-the-iceberg summary here. Feel free to post any questions and I would love to help answer them. :)