Hello everyone

It's hard to believe we have been here 6 months already. We meant to add a note about our experiences with DIAC since our last post in April 2008 and we still intend to do so when we finally get settled in a home of our own which won't be until October. In the meantime all our belongings and records are in storage!

We thought we would do a bit of exploring by house-sitting for a while and one house-sit has led to another....

So now it's tax year end and we are wondering whether anyone can confirm whether we will be able to claim exemption from the Medicare Levy.

The letter we received stating that the visa had been granted says "you may be able to apply for an exemption from this levy in certain circumstances"

The application for Medicare exemption certification form says "you may not be eligible for an exemption certificate if .... you were a resident of the United Kingdom .... prior to entering Australia"

Have any 405 visa holders got exemption?

Thanks very much.

Viv and David

Viv & David,

You can claim the Medicare Levy exemption only in very specific cases...

1- medical
2- foreign resident for full year
3- not entitled to medicare benefits

You can find the specifics to determine if you meet any of these criteria here... Medicare Levy exemption page

You can find the meaning of "resident" here...
Resident page

Your accountant will be able to explain all of this in detail when you meet to complete your tax return.

Hope this helps.

Marilyn

Thanks for the reply Marilyn

..but it was after reading the Medicare Levy exemption page and the application for Medicare exemption certification that we were still unsure and wondered if anyone on our visa had actually tried applying for exemption.

We are not entitled to Medicare benefits and as we said DIAC's letter says we MAY be able to claim exemption but then the application form says we MAY NOT if we were resident in the UK prior to entering Australia.

So it's MAYBE or MAYBE NOT!!

Perhaps we'll just apply and see what happens.
Maybe!!

Thanks
Viv & David

Many exemptions are decided on a case by case basis when international laws are concerned. There is an especially sticky situation between Australia and the UK because of the whole Commonwealth relationship. It is much clearer with persons from non-Commonwealth countries.

Best of luck,
Marilyn

I can assure you that a 405 visa holder from the UK can claim the Medicare Levy Exemption.

I have today mailed our applications for this year's certificates - this will be the third year for which I have done this, and there has been no problem in getting them.

Just fill in the details on the form.

The reference to 'resident of the United Kingdom' on the form relates to those people who are able to get the Reciprocal Health Card, and as 405 visa holders we are not eligible for that.

Thank you so much Howard.

We'll get our applications off right away then!!

Viv & David

Viv & David,

Here is the link to the application for the Medicare Levy Exemption.

Exemption Application

Best of luck!!
Marilyn

At last, we have made some notes about our experiences with DIAC - we have posted them on the end the thread started by Maidonian on 11th June 2007