457 visa advice

tin0737 · #1 (**permalink**) 8th January 2008, 03:33 PM

Hello,

I am looking to move to melbourne on a 457 visa and have a few questions.

How long does it take for the paperwork and what documents do you need for the visa?

Do you need a compulsory medical examination even for a temporary 457 visa?

I understand that you cannot avail medicare levy benefits under 457 visa. Is anyone aware of the insurance costs for a young couple per year for private insurance?

Thanks,
Kaus

kaz101 · #2 (**permalink**) 8th January 2008, 07:35 PM

Hi Kaus,

Welcome to the forum.

Not sure how long the paperwork takes but you can check out timeline and that may give you some idea.

Take a look at the the "Helpful website..." post at the top of the forum.
That has links to the visas and should be able to answer that question. I would have thought yes you'd need a medical since it's the fact that you are coming into the country not whether you are permanent or not.

If you google medical insurance you should come up with a link to iselect.com.au. It's one that's advertised a lot here for medical insurance but I've not used it. It gives free quotes and that should give you an idea about insurance costs.

Hope that helps,
Karen

magdabis · #3 (**permalink**) 10th January 2008, 02:54 AM

Hi.
I went through the process of getting 457 visa twice. Each time immigration agent was involved. First time it took about 8 weeks, second time it was only 2 weeks.
From memory I had to do chest X-ray each time. I think there was more thorough medical examination the first time I applied for that visa.

As you are not entitled to Medicare you can claim medicare levy when you do your tax return. you just need to get a special certificate from Medicare, which is very easy to get.

Private insurance is probably about $150/month. Check medibank's webiste to get quote

Andy Laing · #4 (**permalink**) 16th January 2008, 10:05 AM

Hi Kaus
We are also heading to Aussie on 457 visas from South Africa, my wife and I only needed chest xrays and the kids a medical examination. Not blood tests etc where required, I think they will require those tests once we apply for permanent residence. Our visas have been lodged in Aussie by the company who is employing me and should take 6 to 8 weeks.
Regards
Andy Laing

Helen-17 · #5 (**permalink**) 17th January 2008, 10:30 AM

Hello there. My husband and I are just in the process of doing the same thing. We have just had to have chest x-rays. Good luck!

lkrichard · #6 (**permalink**) 17th January 2008, 03:47 PM

My husband and I are also in the process of getting our 457. As others have posted we only needed chest xrays and our toddler needed just a medical exam. We were hoping to be there already, but the processing of the visa is taking quite a while. To give you an idea how long it is taking, at least for us, we applied at the end of October. I think the times vary depending on which location is processing the visa application.

Good luck with your move!

cmallon · #7 (**permalink**) 23rd January 2008, 10:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lkrichard

My husband and I are also in the process of getting our 457. As others have posted we only needed chest xrays and our toddler needed just a medical exam. We were hoping to be there already, but the processing of the visa is taking quite a while. To give you an idea how long it is taking, at least for us, we applied at the end of October. I think the times vary depending on which location is processing the visa application.

Good luck with your move!

Hi,
Which location is processing your application? My partner and me had our x-rays and wee boy had medical a couple of weeks ago and we were hoping that we would only have another couple of weeks to wait. We move out of our house in 4 weeks and did want to be staying with family for too long!

lkrichard · #8 (**permalink**) 24th January 2008, 03:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmallon

Hi,
Which location is processing your application? My partner and me had our x-rays and wee boy had medical a couple of weeks ago and we were hoping that we would only have another couple of weeks to wait. We move out of our house in 4 weeks and did want to be staying with family for too long!

Our visas are being processed out of the Brisbane Business Centre.

lkrichard · #9 (**permalink**) 24th January 2008, 03:44 AM

Just checked status and we got our approval today. It took 13 weeks...but that is better than the 16 weeks we were told it could take.

cmallon · #10 (**permalink**) 24th January 2008, 06:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lkrichard

Just checked status and we got our approval today. It took 13 weeks...but that is better than the 16 weeks we were told it could take.

Thanks for that. Ours is being processed in Melbourne and we were told it should be 8-10 weeks but that obviously could vary. I was on another site and a few people had theirs through in 6 weeks so I am hoping that we might be like them! I hasn't helped that the agent used by the compnay my partner will be working for took about 5 weeks longer than we thought to even lodge the application, I suppose we just need to sit back and see what happens.