We've been here a year now on a SIR visa (arrived 12/01/05) so we are halfway through our two year wait for PR, so I thought I’d write about our first year and hopefully it will help those of you deciding whether to go for the SIR visa or for those waiting back in the UK to come out. I won’t go into details about how wonderful Adelaide is!! Plenty of people have already! I’ll just say it’s a great place to raise a family.

Adelaide wasn't our first choice but like many the SIR visa was our last hope, we where going for family sponsorship but my uncle was retired and didn't have the income to assure us, we tried really hard to find someone else to assure us but couldn't; we would have had enough points for a 136 visa but with all the delay we missed out when they put the points up in April 2004. So we hung on knowing that the new visa would be coming out in July. Victoria was our first choice but our agent advised us to go for Adelaide as we had more chance of being excepted, after all the knock backs we'd had we didn't want to take any more risks.

Our visa came through in the middle of December, we'd taken a huge gamble and sold the house and also resigned from our jobs before the visa had come through(mad I know!!) but the gamble paid off and within a month of receiving our visa we where here!!

Like everyone’s first year it's been a rollercoaster of emotions, with regards to how we've found it being here on the SIR visa - not too bad.

WORK:

Took hubby a couple of months to get a job, which is quicker than we though it would take, Although he's an engineer by trade he'd been working in the film and TV industry back in the UK for 18 years doing a very specialized job (the TRA put him in a special category as he didn't fit in any of the normal groups!!) and there wasn't much call for his skills in Adelaide (Sydney or Melbourne yes!) so we knew he'd be starting at the bottom again and have to retrain. The fact that he didn't have permanent residency never came up at job interviews , I think if you've got a TAX file number they presume you're entitled to work here.

MEDICARE:

We took out private medical insurance for 6 months when we got here; you have to have oversea visitors cover which isn’t cheap, of the top of my head I think it works out about $6,000 for a year’s family cover. It wasn’t until we’d been here 5 months that we realized that we could register with Medicare!! After a few trips to the doctors with our Medicare card and getting the money back through Medicare we realized that we’re entitled to most things through Medicare, so after six months decided that it wasn’t worth paying out a fortune for private insurance, and with the money we’d saved we could use it to pay for anything that wasn’t covered by Medicare like DENTISTS!!

Hubby and I haven’t dared go yet!! But both my kids have had to have work done and I think in the last year we’ve spent over a $1,000 in dentists fees!! Primary school kids are entitled to free dentistry but the local school practice was closed for refurbishment when we urgently needed a dentist so we had to go privately, the dentist we saw was excellent. My daughter has had a lot of problems with her teeth since she was four and was petrified of going, but the lady we saw was excellent and my daughter actually sat in the chair and let work be done!! So we’ve stayed with her and feel it’s worth the money. So I don’t know whether we’d get free dentistry for the kids on the SIR visa.

Because we classed as an overseas visitor with the insurance companies we can’t get any top up cover that would cover us for the extras like dentists, physo, glasses etc… that’s a pain.

HOUSE BUYING

We bought a house about 6 month after arriving; we had to get permission from FIRB which took all of a week!! We just had a clause written into the house contract subject to approval from the FIRB board and everything was fine.

We weren’t entitled to the $7,000 first time buys tax rebate, it would have been nice but not worth hanging on until we got PR before we bought.

SCHOOL

As everyone knows you are classed as PR with regards to the kids schooling so we haven’t had to pay anything more than the usual fees.

The only thing that is a pain is that if like me you would like to do a TAFFE course you are classed an International student and have to pay international fees, which are just too expensive, so I’ve got to wait two years before I can study. I looked into the Australian Open University but you also classed as an overseas student and have to pay extra there too.

MONEY

Opening bank accounts and running them is just the same as if you had PR. It would be very nice to be able to claim Child benefit but you can’t, we’ll just have to wait. We knew the first two years where going to be more expensive that they would have been had we had PR, but we’ve excepted that and saved some of the money we bought over from the UK to cover us.

SETTLING

On the whole we have settled, we came with the attitude that we’re here for good, and that getting PR will be just a formality at the end of the two years. (Which it will be!!) We’ve settled and make plans with the view that we’re here forever, however it is there in the back of your mind that you’ve still got to get that sticker in your passport to say you can stay permanently, and it makes it a little harder to but down roots. I think because we are the guinea pigs and no one has done this before us, you don’t know what the final outcome is going to be. You just hope at the end of the two years immigration don’t move the goal posts.
I think that fact that my Mum, step dad and sister are currently living in Victoria has helped us too; we haven’t left all our family behind. They might not be on our doorstep, but it’s certainly helped having them in the same country and roughly same time zone!!
(Neither of them have PR either, they are on a retirement and student visa, we we’re planning to all settle in the same state but it didn’t workout!!) We are hoping that one day all our futures will be certain!!
As to whether we stay in South Australia or join them in Victoria when we can, we don’t know yet. (Or they join us here!!)


I think that covers most things, I’m sure I’ve probably forgotten something!

We’re happy we’re here and don’t have any intentions of returning to the UK even when the temperature reaches over 40C!!

Jenni

Thanks for that Jenni,

I am here on a SIR visa and ready your post has made me feel really good.

Thanks again

kay

Thanks for the info. We arrive tomorrow morning so it is a bit late to change or mind. :D :D :D Hope to meet you soon.

Carrie

Fantastic post and really interesting to read your experiences especially with medicare as this was one of our major concerns with the SIR.

F.

great post, with some really practical viewpoints, thanks

What a great post, to the point and very informative, particularly the medicare bit.

We will be arriving to validate in Feb and then back for good in July. How are you getting on with the 30hrs per week work criteria. Have you been monitored by DIMIA/SA Govt, regarding this yet.

I guess all of us on SIR, are looking forward to reading the first SIR accepted P Residents experiences, how do you feel yours will pan out, or do you know of any others wh have acheived PR?.

Thanks

V

Jenni


Thanks for taking the time to write such an informative thread. Its good to hear from someone living with a SIR visa and their experiences. There are obviously a lot of us on SIRs - we could start a club! :D

Interesting to hear about Medicare. I think its the one thing that it uppermost in everyones mind, but it obviously isn't all bad.

Good luck with your 2nd year - we'll all be waiting with baited breath to hear how the application for PR goes.

Heather

Cheers Jenni,

I now live for posts like yours!

I hope you continue to enjoy Adelaide and look forward to your 'I've got my PR' post

Sara

Jenni

Thanks so much for your post, it has reassured me no end. We are in the very first stages of skills assessment. As I am 3 months pregnant with my second child I have been feeling very wobbly about the whole thing, I was so certain before, must be the darn hormones! But your post has dispelled some of my fears particularly the medicare ones.
It sounds very much to me that life is what you make it here or over there.
Thanks for sharing your experiences.

Odette

Brilliant post!!!!! Thanks for all that great info.
We arrive 17th Feb on SIR, so really good to hear positive reports.

Can't believe we can get Medicare. I thought we SIR people weren't entitled to it!!! I haven't even looked in to that as presumed we had to get private medical insurance.
Can we get Medicare as soon as we arrive then?

Hope the next year flies by so you can get your PR.

Julie

Hi Julie
Just to let you know about Medicare. You will get a card with you and your names of all in your family on it. At the top it will say emergency treatment only. Thats okay as it is recipricol. I have not registered with doctor yet but if you go to one that does bulk billing and show your card you will have no problems. Or you could go to doctor and pay whatever it is and get it back from Medicare. We have a recipricol agreement with the UK so you are entitled to treatment at local hospitals. Its just the same as home really. The only difference is if you go to the doctors often maybe with kids etc you best do bulk billing and you are also entitled to pay the normal rate for prescriptions. We have not used it as yet touch wood everybody in family healthy so far. But do not forsee any probs. Been to Medicare office and they explained it all. Just like if Ozzies came to UK they would be seen by Doctor, hospital etc and at no cost.
Things like adults for dentists, opticians etc you pay for but hey you did that at home.
The only thing is you should get ambulance cover $100 per year to cover family. Just in the event of calling one out you would be charged $$$$$$ lots and if in car crash and an ambulance was called you would be charged lots so get that when you get here. I would personally not get private medical care as so many other are the same (waste of money) you still get good treatment ie like NHS here.
But if you want to be extra extra care then that is up to you and also if you have lots of dosh he he..
Anymore ?? regarding this or anything else I can help you with please do not hesitate to PM me.


Tracy

Thanks Trace,

That really is a great help and has put our minds at rest.
We were all geared up to take out private medical cover once out there.

Is it worth getting private dental cover then?
I know dentistry is pretty expensive out there and I have a few crowns already. Not the luckiest when it comes to my teeth.
Hubby never needs a thing doing!!!!!!!! So unfair, but at least he's cheap to look after!!!! :D

What do you think and any recommendations?

Julie

hi jen99
Are all SIR Visa holders in Adelaide entitled to medicare? we are here since sept2005 we had visited Medicare office but they said we arent eligible! maybe ur from UK with some extra covers taht made u entitled to medicare?how did u exactly go about it when u visited medicare. plas advise.

Great post!


I, too, look forward to reading "I got PR post".

Mandy :sigh:

Not 100% sure on this - but I think its because the UK NHS and Oz have a reciprical (sp?) healthcare arrangement.

There'll be someone out in AdB land who can confirm / correct this :D

Heather

Great post! We have applied for an SIR visa too and have been worried that we would be in some sort of 'limbo' until PR granted, not being able to buy a house etc. We feel slightly easier about taking the plunge now.

Hi again Julie and other re medicare
As you are British Citizens you are 100% entitled to Medicare although it is not the full Medicare but it covers the necessary ie if you had to go to A&E or Docs. Hopefully it is not a regular occurance but do not worry. When you arrive or if you are already here just phone up Medicare and tell them you are on a 495 visa and would like a form to fill regarding your recipricol agreement. All that means is that you fill it out like anybody else send it in or hand it in to your local office. They will then send you a card with all your names on it and that is what you will present at hospitals or docs. Even if you had to pay at the docs but try to go to one that does bulk billing you will get more or less everything back from Medicare so dont worry about that. Just depends on how you are about these things. Like you cover yourself for everything or not. Dentists you can probably cover yourself private as well as optical. My friend does this and she pays something like $30 dollars pm.

The most important thing is if you are really sick where would you go? If I were really sick at home I would go to A&E anyway so it is just the same. I worked in the NHS for years so personally I would rather go to hospital than go through GP if I were really sick.

Anyway I dont half ramble on. So hope this makes it clear that you are entitled to be seen by a doctor ie, hospital or GP practice and you would not be billed $$$$$$

See ya later Trace

Trace,

What are children covered for?

Do they get free dental treatment, some schools have their own dentists haven't they?

Also what about opticians. My eldest wears glasses, she only has a mild prescription but gets checked out regularly.

Is it best to get some extra cover if those in your family wear glasses, or is it just as cost effective to pay as you go.

Sorry if this has been asked before.

Deb :huh:

Hi Jennie,
I think my query has been answered.Its not ALL SIR visa holders who are entitled to the Medicare cover in Australia but just the UK residents..........SAD!!!!

What a great post.

Primary school kids get free dental cover. High school kids pay a flat rate of $30 per year if they wish to take advantage of dental care, but this doesnt cover orthodontics, just the usual check ups, clean, fillings etc. It is a good service, both mine got fissure sealing as a matter of routine.

Regarding opticians, i think you have to pay.

One word about private health care, it is expensive, but once you have PR the premiums should decrease by 30%. It also may be worth while getting private cover as you actually pay more tax if you dont have it - an extra 1.5%. And if you dont take it out before you are 30, or on arrival to the country, you risk having to pay even more tax.
Cathy
xx

Everybody pays the tax for Medicare. Spoke to Tax people and they said SIR visas do not pay any extra ie 1.5% they pay the same flat rate as everybody else. So they say anyway. I certainly and my husband does not pay any extra tax for Medicare because we are on a SIR visa. We just pay the same tax as everybody else as we are Australian residents for tax purposes and will be staying here after the 2yrs are up.

Julie regards the dental thing I would probably go and see someone about that and get some sort of cover including optical too.

Trace

Regarding private medical insurance and coverage for extras, dental optical etc. Just a word of warning, after a visit to the denist recently for some root canal treatment and crown work I found that I had quite a large excess to pay which was NOT covered as the policy had limitations to how much is covered in one calendar year. Not to mention there are also waiting periods for major dental work of 12 months. Here is some information from the company we use, Medibank Private......

Blue Ribbon Extras and Blue Ribbon Extras Plus
Services Annual Limits and Sub-limits

General Dental No annual limit
( You can claim up to your Sub-limit of $300 during the first six months of Membership, subject to the two month Waiting Period.)
Endodontic Services (eg root canal treatment) $400* - $800
Optical appliances
(frames, prescription lenses and contact lenses) $250
( A Sub-limit of $92 under Blue Ribbon Extras and $115 under Blue Ribbon Extras Plus for spectacle frames and $200 for contact lenses.)
Orthodontic (Lifetime limit of $2,400 applies)


So I guess what I'm saying is do your homework and check the fine print of every medical insurance companies policy thoroughly.

Jet :)

Whoops sorry .... I meant that if you are a permanent resident (not just for tax purposes) and dont have private health insurance you may be liable to additional tax - its called a Medicare Surcharge Levy - it only applies to higher income earners. This is in addition to the 1.5% medicare levy that everyone pays.

http://www.ato.gov.au/print.asp?doc=/content/mls_booklet.htm

Secondary school dental service 83503731

Cathy
xxx