Silver Traveller Peter Beardsley wrote to us as he had heard about new rules for those over 75 years who wanted a visitor’s visa for Australia and understood that the rules for visas had recently changed.
He had been told that he would have to pay £110 each for a visa, and to travel to Manchester for a medical at a cost of around £150 each. He was concerned that if he or his wife failed the medical they would still have to pay the full amount even though we wouldn’t be able to travel. Also he were told the whole process could take several weeks, meaning that he couldn’t book flights till the visas were issued, by which time the air fares would have gone up.
We asked our partners at Australian Sky to check this for us and to find out the facts:
Here’s their advice. If you are 75 or over, you are recommended to apply for an e600 Visitor Visa, as this allows you to declare any health conditions you may have. This e600 visa is not exclusive to the over 75’s, it also for younger visitors with health conditions, or for visitors wishing to stay longer than 3 months.
The base application charge for an e600 Visitor Visa costs ranges between $AUD140 – $AUD1020 per person, depending on health conditions (whereas the standard evisitor visa is free of charge) but check on the visa application website for up-to-date information. If and when declaring any health issues through the e600 Visitor Visa process, you are required to provide further medical information, this must be through one of the approved Australian Government Panel Physicians (details below):
www.immi.gov.au/contacts/panel-doctors/
www.immi.gov.au/contacts/overseas/u/united-kingdom/panel-doctors.htm
However the above only applies if the visitor believes they have a pre-existing medical condition that may be of concern when they are overseas. Details of health conditions that may be of concern can be found on the website above.
The rule certainly isn’t ‘all 75’s must apply for a e600 Visitor Visa’ regardless of their level of health! If a visitor believes they are in good health (and character!), regardless of age, they are able to apply for the standard e-visitor visa.
For more information, please visit www.immi.gov.au/
Silver Travel Advisor recommends Australian Sky.
