[pixelperfect]

Hello!

My husband and I are considering moving to Australia. I would be applying for a visa based on my occupation as a radiology technologist.

However, we have reservations about the health assessment. My husband has Crohn's disease, a condition that requires injections of a very expensive medicine every 8 weeks. The medicine is approved for the same use in Australia and is available. However, it is not covered under Australia's Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme so we would be paying out-of-pocket or finding an alternative.

Has anyone dealt with immigrating to Australia when yourself or a family member has a chronic (but not infectious or debilitating) condition? Any advice would be appreciated!

Cheers,
Anna

 

[Dolly]

Hi there Anna,

Welcome to the forum.

In itself I don't think that your husband would fail his medical due Crohn's disease. I remembered a migration agent who specialises in the medical side of things. His name is Peter Bollard and he is in Sydney (google for the website) - might be an idea to contact him to put your mind at rest. He may also be able to give you some advice with the medicine issue.

Dolly

 

[pixelperfect]

Thanks for the quick reply and reassurance, Dolly!

We will have a look at the agent you mentioned. Your recommendation is much appreciated.

Cheers!

 

[pcdi]

Medical

Hi Anna,
My American husband also has Crohn's and uses Remicade every 8 weeks. We are also looking at moving back to Australia and are concerned about the health requirement. Did you find out anything useful? I would also really appreciate the information! Thanks so much.

Regina

Hello!

My husband and I are considering moving to Australia. I would be applying for a visa based on my occupation as a radiology technologist.

However, we have reservations about the health assessment. My husband has Crohn's disease, a condition that requires injections of a very expensive medicine every 8 weeks. The medicine is approved for the same use in Australia and is available. However, it is not covered under Australia's Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme so we would be paying out-of-pocket or finding an alternative.

Has anyone dealt with immigrating to Australia when yourself or a family member has a chronic (but not infectious or debilitating) condition? Any advice would be appreciated!

Cheers,
Anna

 

[sattystevens]

Hi Anna,

I've had breast cancer and am still on medication fr the next 5 yrs as well as having to have regular scans and my daughter is diabetic - type 1 insulin dependant and will need regular checkups, but we still passed our medicals as we have shown that we are keeping up to date with regular check-ups etc. I think they will request the medical reports etc and a medical officer will review it. Hopefully they will be ok, best of luck.

XX Satty

Hello!

My husband and I are considering moving to Australia. I would be applying for a visa based on my occupation as a radiology technologist.

However, we have reservations about the health assessment. My husband has Crohn's disease, a condition that requires injections of a very expensive medicine every 8 weeks. The medicine is approved for the same use in Australia and is available. However, it is not covered under Australia's Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme so we would be paying out-of-pocket or finding an alternative.

Has anyone dealt with immigrating to Australia when yourself or a family member has a chronic (but not infectious or debilitating) condition? Any advice would be appreciated!

Cheers,
Anna

 

[Halo]

The rules in Australian are inhumane when it comes it disability/illness.

 

[sattystevens]

Hi Halo, what did you mean when you wrote this as I'm confused. Inhumane means lacking in compassion but I did not find this during mine or my daughters medical reviews.

xx Satty

The rules in Australian are inhumane when it comes it disability/illness.

 

[Halo]

Hi Halo, what did you mean when you wrote this as I'm confused. Inhumane means lacking in compassion but I did not find this during mine or my daughters medical reviews.

xx Satty

Good for you... Try bringing in a child with a long term illness or a family member with a medical history. (complying to the rules and all). They seem only to want the fittest and the strongest...... Sometimes its very short sighted.

 

[sattystevens]

Good for you... Try bringing in a child with a long term illness or a family member with a medical history. (complying to the rules and all). They seem only to want the fittest and the strongest...... Sometimes its very short sighted.

My Daughter is 14 yrs old with long term diabetes(for life) she has been in and out of hospital for the last 1 1/2 yrs and nearly died when she was initially diagnosed. She need to take insulin 4 times a day for the rest of her life otherwise she can go into a diabetic coma, I'm sure that would come under long term illness. I'm not working her illness up as i'm not that low nor do i want to undermine anyone elses illness as each person who has gone thru any kind of traumatic illness knows exactly the hard journey they've taken. I was trying to say that although her reports showed the seriousness and what she's gone through the medical officer passed it. If they wanted to they could have failed our medicals as in our family there are two people who have been seriously ill and are still undergoing treatment, but they didn't. I wouldn't call it inhumane.
I offered some positive feedback from our own personal experience but I'm not too sure whether your reply was justified and in a way it seems as if you're happy to shrug off other peoples problems so long as you can vent your bitterness. I'm sorry but your comments above hurt and I don't normally respond back like this but you've just shrugged my daughters illness off without knowing anything about her, very uncool

Satty

 

[Halo]

My Daughter is 14 yrs old with long term diabetes(for life) she has been in and out of hospital for the last 1 1/2 yrs and nearly died when she was initially diagnosed. She need to take insulin 4 times a day for the rest of her life otherwise she can go into a diabetic coma, I'm sure that would come under long term illness. I'm not working her illness up as i'm not that low nor do i want to undermine anyone elses illness as each person who has gone thru any kind of traumatic illness knows exactly the hard journey they've taken. I was trying to say that although her reports showed the seriousness and what she's gone through the medical officer passed it. If they wanted to they could have failed our medicals as in our family there are two people who have been seriously ill and are still undergoing treatment, but they didn't. I wouldn't call it inhumane.
I offered some positive feedback from our own personal experience but I'm not too sure whether your reply was justified and in a way it seems as if you're happy to shrug off other peoples problems so long as you can vent your bitterness. I'm sorry but your comments above hurt and I don't normally respond back like this but you've just shrugged my daughters illness off without knowing anything about her, very uncool

Satty

Apologies, I think you got the wrong end of the stick... All I am saying is that the Australian immigration is pretty draconian WRT illness and granting immigration to the infirm. This even spills over onto their odd medical aid scam they run here.

Apologies if you though my comments were aimed at you in anyway.

 

[sattystevens]

Hi Halo,
It seems a big misunderstanding. I'm very protective over my 2 kids esp my daughter so i did take it to heart, hence the comeback. there's no need to apologise as i reacted in the heat of the moment but I too need apologise for the harsh comeback as that is normally not me. so pls also accept my apologies and lets put this to one side.

As for the australian immi and illnesses, I'm still not sure as when I asked around during the time I had Cancer, I was sure they would have said "thanks but no thanks" to us. but all their reply was provided you have medical records that show your teatment is up to date and that you will be keeping up with the regular check-ups etc they shouldn't have any concerns. I'm sure the cost of the medications etc would probably pay an important factor in this even though you're paying for this yourself. Was this what you meant as Amaslam mentioned something about this once. something about whether you end up being a burden on the public Medicare etc which ends up being costly to Australia, this would then have an adverse decision.

Satty xx

Apologies, I think you got the wrong end of the stick... All I am saying is that the Australian immigration is pretty draconian WRT illness and granting immigration to the infirm. This even spills over onto their odd medical aid scam they run here.

Apologies if you though my comments were aimed at you in anyway.

 

[Bradybunch042]

Hi there, We attended an information night some time ago when we were starting the process and spoke to the medical representative there about medical conditions. His advise was that if the condition would prevent the applicant from carrying out his/her work or was potentially contegious in any way then it would affect the application. However if it was the secondary applicant the view would not be so rigid. My advise would be to contact one of the visa lawyers in US and ask their advise. I don't think they would take you through the process if they know of any un-written rules.

 

[jw001]

I'm new to this forum, but stumbled across this searching for anything related to Crohn's and migrating to Australia. I have to say I agree with Halo, that Australia's treatment of immigrants with a medical condition or disability is unfair and discriminatory. I am Australian and my husband is from the USA and we have just been refused a visa because my husband has Crohn's - the "Medical Officer for the Commonwealth" said he'd cost too much and they wouldn't exercise the waiver. If you didn't know he was a Crohn's sufferer you'd see he's just a healthy, hardworking person who holds down a full time job. So this effectively puts me in the position of never being able to return permanently to my country of citizenship unless I separate from my husband. I can't tell you how angry and upset I am - I just want to go home! We do have a right to go before the Migration Review Tribunal but it's going to cost us a lot in lawyer's fees. It's just an unfair system and I believe it blatantly flaunts the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights (of which Australia was one of the original signatories) which states "Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country" and "Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution". Unfortunately Australia doesn't have a Bill of Rights so, despite being a signatory, these rights aren't enforceable by law in Australia. Currently Australia puts money before human rights, that's all I can say.

 

[Bradybunch042]

Hi there, So sorry this has happened to you. My husband and I are Irish and are moving to Oz in August with our 2 girls. Can't imagine how you feel, although I know how devastated we would have been if we hadn't got our visa. Maybe you should talk to a lawyer who deals with immigration, someone who may be interested in taking on your case (free) in order to get the law changed. Surely as an Australian citizen this is breaking some law???? Good luck. I really hope you can sort something.

 

[jw001]

Hi there, So sorry this has happened to you. My husband and I are Irish and are moving to Oz in August with our 2 girls. Can't imagine how you feel, although I know how devastated we would have been if we hadn't got our visa. Maybe you should talk to a lawyer who deals with immigration, someone who may be interested in taking on your case (free) in order to get the law changed. Surely as an Australian citizen this is breaking some law???? Good luck. I really hope you can sort something.

Thank you - and apologies for the rant. I'm still in shock, believe me. It just doesn't seem right. I had no idea Australian immigration was so unfair until we had to go through this. Canada, USA, UK, none of them have this kind of law when it comes to spousal relationships, it really is archaic. I'm in the process of contacting immigration lawyers at present. I'm so upset I can't eat and sleep at the moment. It seems like many of the Australian visa decisions made by DIAC are completely arbitrary, especially when it comes to people with health conditions. My husband's Crohn's isn't even that bad, the assessment by the M.O.C. even stated "moderate". I can only think that the cost was so high because he is on Remicade which is an expensive drug. He might have to go off it just so we can get the visa - ridiculous.

 

[Baby Bone]

Did you have to go through a health waiver?

My husband has chronic Hep B by birth, but his liver doc's recommendation's letter was very well written, and saying that the prognosis is excellent.

This morning, however, we received an email saying that he does not meet the health requirement and the case manage has decided to go for a health waiver submission. Our case manage is very nice. I'm just worried how long this will take, and what's the chance of success. My husband has already got a job offer, now it looks like it may not come in time. I'm quite devastated.

 

[Baby Bone]

jw001

Hi jw001, has your husband got his visa now? Hope things are all good for you.

 

[jw001]

Hi jw001, has your husband got his visa now? Hope things are all good for you.

Hi Baby Bone,

No, unfortunately he still doesn't have his visa.

We did apply for a health waiver but it was refused, despite the Principal Migration Officer and her superior in Canberra agreeing that it was a borderline case.

We have lodged an appeal with the Migration Review Tribunal and now have a lawyer but we've been waiting over a year now to hear anything from the MRT case officer. Our lawyer said it is ALL about the cost so the most important thing is to prove that the benefit to Australia (or compassionate/compelling circumstances in our case) will outweigh the hypothetical cost.

I hope everything works out for you - I'd really recommend getting a lawyer as we did the waiver ourselves and, in hindsight, it probably would've been better for us to get a lawyer's advice at that point which might have saved us from having to go to the MRT. A well-written medical report will certainly help but my impression is that DIAC don't particularly care what the prognosis is as long as it's not going to cost much, crazy as that seems.

best wishes to you,
Jen

 

[Weebie]

It all comes down to Value. Immigration is all about money in Australia and if you have a disease or illness which is going to cost a lot of money well then it only makes sense from Australia's point of view not to grant them entry. America and Britain are exactly the same.


Good luck in your case!

 

[Baby Bone]

Hi Baby Bone,

No, unfortunately he still doesn't have his visa.

We did apply for a health waiver but it was refused, despite the Principal Migration Officer and her superior in Canberra agreeing that it was a borderline case.

We have lodged an appeal with the Migration Review Tribunal and now have a lawyer but we've been waiting over a year now to hear anything from the MRT case officer. Our lawyer said it is ALL about the cost so the most important thing is to prove that the benefit to Australia (or compassionate/compelling circumstances in our case) will outweigh the hypothetical cost.

I hope everything works out for you - I'd really recommend getting a lawyer as we did the waiver ourselves and, in hindsight, it probably would've been better for us to get a lawyer's advice at that point which might have saved us from having to go to the MRT. A well-written medical report will certainly help but my impression is that DIAC don't particularly care what the prognosis is as long as it's not going to cost much, crazy as that seems.

best wishes to you,
Jen

Dear Jen,

I'm so sorry to hear your case. I'm worried about our case too. It will really break my heart if my husband and I have to live apart for the rest of our lives. I have children from a previous marriage here in Australia so if I go to the US instead, if will break my heart to not be able to see my children as often as I hope. So if they deny the visa, my heart will be either way. :-(

One more question, did the the immigration suggest to your regarding the waiver but then later on did not exercise it, or did you find out about it yourself and applied for it?

Cheers, Baby Bone.