# Subclass 600 visa while waiting for partner visa...?



## Lezza (Oct 30, 2013)

First of all, I want to thank all the people that have contributed to this website as I have obtained a lot of information which has helped immensely in the submission of the subclass 100 partner visa for my Japanese wife. We applied in Nov last year, but plan to move to Aus at the end of March. When we were told the application would take as long 9-12 months, naturally it was a WTF?! moment, followed by other moments of ill feeling toward to my country For your information, I am currently on a spouse visa in Japan which cost me $0 to apply for and less than $100 after approval (which took less than 1 month).

Anyway, obviously being granted the partner visa before April would be ideal, but we don't want to be apart if that doesn't happen. Also my wife is pregnant with our second child, so shortly after April she will be unable to fly, anyway. As it may take another 6 months or more for the visa, a standard tourist visa doesn't seem like the best option. After some searching I found the subclass 600 (sponsored family visitor) which is also thankfully much cheaper to apply for overseas. My questions are 1) is this the most appropriate visa for our situation, and 2) is it possible to be covered by medicare with this visa? 

Cheers


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## Mish (Jan 13, 2013)

I believe that your wife would not qualify for a subclass 600 (sponsored family stream) being because you are not residing in Australia.

The only other option you have is the subclass 600 (tourist stream) but I believe you can only stay for a max of 3 months at a time like the ETA.


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## CCMS (Oct 10, 2013)

Hi,

Am I correct in assuming that your wife is still waiting for the approval of the sc. 309 (spouse provisional) visa and you are hoping for a waiver of the 2 year wait period normally required for the grant of the sc. 100(spouse permanent) visa ?

If that's the case ,note that the sc. 309 cannot be granted in Australia and that the sc. 100 cannot be granted unless the sc. 309 has been granted first. 

There is no need or point really to apply for a sponsored family visitor visa, which requires a bond and all sort of additional paperwork. Your wife could simply apply for a sc. 600 standard visitor visa.It shouldn't be too much of an issue for a Japanese national.But she would have to leave Australia again for the grant of the sc. 309.

A visitor visa does not give access to Medicare, unless there is some sort of reciprocal arrangement. Even if that was the case, there would be limitations and some sort of private insurance will be essential. There are various insurance companies that provide medical cover for temporary visitors.


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## Lezza (Oct 30, 2013)

Thanks for the replies



CCMS said:


> Hi,
> Am I correct in assuming that your wife is still waiting for the approval of the sc. 309 (spouse provisional) visa and you are hoping for a waiver of the 2 year wait period normally required for the grant of the sc. 100(spouse permanent) visa ?


Since we have been married for over 3 years, I assumed it would be fine to apply for and be granted sc 100 straight up, so yes, I suppose that means we are still waiting for sc 309. We are aware that she will have to leave Australia once the visa is granted. That is fine (though obviously not ideal).



CCMS said:


> A visitor visa does not give access to Medicare, unless there is some sort of reciprocal arrangement. Even if that was the case, there would be limitations and some sort of private insurance will be essential. There are various insurance companies that provide medical cover for temporary visitors.


From reading the immigration dept. website and this forum, my understanding was that applying for any of the permanent/temp on/offshore partner visas gave automatic qualification for medicare. Because my wife is pregnant, this is our biggest concern. Private health insurance won't cover us because they all seem to have a 1 year waiting period for pregnancies. Travel insurance is the same here, so if we can't get medicare cover it looks like we will have to pay all the medical costs up front, and that is just not possible.

Ideally we want a visa that will last longer than 3 months (realistically until the partner visa is granted), and also allows coverage by medicare. As far as medicare coverage is concerned, I had assumed that simply being an applicant for the partner visa gave coverage, but as this is very important I really want to be sure of this in advance.


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## Mish (Jan 13, 2013)

Lezza said:


> Thanks for the replies
> 
> Ideally we want a visa that will last longer than 3 months (realistically until the partner visa is granted), and also allows coverage by medicare. As far as medicare coverage is concerned, I had assumed that simply being an applicant for the partner visa gave coverage, but as this is very important I really want to be sure of this in advance.


We have seen people come over here on a tourist visa while waiting for a 309 approval and they have been able to register for Medicare. So should not be a problem. You just need to show them your acknowledgement letter.

Also I don't think it is going to be possible for get a tourist visa for longer than 3 months. Most of them seem to have multiple entries with a maximum of 3 months stay.


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## CCMS (Oct 10, 2013)

You can get Medicare when you have applied for a permanent visa, not on the basis of a tourist visa.

Eligibility for Medicare Card

The best thing might be to contact Medicare directly.

You can apply for tourist visas for up to 12 months stay, but they won't necessarily grant you a longer stay.As Mish pointed out, 3 month multiple entry seems to be the norm for partner visa applicants. I have previously tried to get longer stays for clients, but was advised that they would only get 3 month multiple entry.


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## Lezza (Oct 30, 2013)

Thanks again Mish and Nick.

The dept. website shows that they no longer accept 12 month tourist visa applications (sc676), and since my wife is pregnant and won't be able to fly anymore after April, I don't think a 3 month multiple entry tourist visa will work for us. I'll try and contact medicare directly about coverage on some kind of sc 600 visitor visa, but if anyone has any other ideas, please let me know!


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## Mish (Jan 13, 2013)

As Nick said Medicare will not give you coverage it is only for a tourist visa unless you are from the UK and they have an agreement with Australia. However, because your wife has lodged a 309/100 she will be able to get Medicare but has to be in Australia first.

Honestly, Medicare is the least of your worries, your first concern is getting her a tourist visa for longer than 3 months because she can't fly. The sc676 has been replaced by the sc600. But it is very rare for them give a visa with not having to leave after 3 months these days. But you can always try and see what happens.


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## Lezza (Oct 30, 2013)

Thanks Mish. Even though I'm not in Australia at the moment, my parents are. Do you think they would be able to sponsor my wife for a family visit visa?


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## Mish (Jan 13, 2013)

Nope can't be in-law's


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## Lezza (Oct 30, 2013)

Thanks.

I guess that means the only option is to apply for the visitor visa tourist stream and ask for longer than 3 months. Being pregnant must be a pretty valid reason, but then who knows with the immigration bureau...


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## CCMS (Oct 10, 2013)

Lezza said:


> Thanks again Mish and Nick.
> 
> The dept. website shows that they no longer accept 12 month tourist visa applications (sc676), and since my wife is pregnant and won't be able to fly anymore after April, I don't think a 3 month multiple entry tourist visa will work for us. I'll try and contact medicare directly about coverage on some kind of sc 600 visitor visa, but if anyone has any other ideas, please let me know!


There is no Medicare option if you are on a tourist visa, unless there is a reciprocal arrangement in place.

Any medicare coverage would be related to the 309/100 application.

The sc. 600 visa allows for a temporary stay for up to three, six or 12 months.

Being pregnant is no reason at all for getting a tourist visa unfortunately. Tourist visas are basically for holidays and visiting family and friends. Since your wife has already applied for a partner visa, it shouldn't be to difficult to get a tourist visa.


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## Maggie-May24 (Jul 24, 2011)

What's your wife's due date? It seems quite a gamble to hope you can time her arrival to Australia and birth of your child within a 3-month window while she can travel, but if successful she'd simply need to leave Australia again and apply for a new tourist visa (or re-renter if her tourist visa is multi-entry 6 or 12 months). With a husband and newborn baby in Australia, hopefully that'd be enough support for a new tourist visa while the partner visa is finalised.


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## Lezza (Oct 30, 2013)

CCMS said:


> There is no Medicare option if you are on a tourist visa, unless there is a reciprocal arrangement in place.
> 
> Any medicare coverage would be related to the 309/100 application.


There is no reciprocal agreement with Japan for tourists, but that is irrelevant because as you say the 309/100 application should provide the right to medicare coverage.



CCMS said:


> Tourist visas are basically for holidays and visiting family and friends. Since your wife has already applied for a partner visa, it shouldn't be to difficult to get a tourist visa.


Yep, she'll be visiting family. Hopefully immigration will co-operate and offer either the 6 or 12 month visa.



maggie-may24 said:


> What's your wife's due date? It seems quite a gamble to hope you can time her arrival to Australia and birth of your child within a 3-month window while she can travel, but if successful she'd simply need to leave Australia again and apply for a new tourist visa (or re-renter if her tourist visa is multi-entry 6 or 12 months). With a husband and newborn baby in Australia, hopefully that'd be enough support for a new tourist visa while the partner visa is finalised.


The due date is early August. As far as I know most airlines don't allow you to fly past week 29 without specific approval by a doctor, but either way, it probably isn't worth the risk. If we were not granted a 6 or 12 month tourist visa then I'd rather leave my wife here with her parents (I can't change my departure date) until the child is born and the partner visa has been granted.


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## Lezza (Oct 30, 2013)

UPDATE

My wife was granted her subclass 600 visitor visa with a 12 month stay. Hopefully the info in this thread can help other couples that find themselves in a similar situation.


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## Lezza (Oct 30, 2013)

UPDATE

My wife was granted her subclass 600 visitor visa with a 12 month stay. Hopefully the info in this thread can help other couples that find themselves in a similar situation.


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## Astro (Jan 3, 2014)

Lezza said:


> UPDATE
> 
> My wife was granted her subclass 600 visitor visa with a 12 month stay. Hopefully the info in this thread can help other couples that find themselves in a similar situation.


That's excellent news Lezza! It appears special consideration regarding your circumstances has probably played a part?

My wife (Vietnamese) recently got a 600 visa while we wait for the 309 to be processed but she has the usual requirement of a maximum of 3 months like a lot of previous comments suggest. No mitigating circumstances like a bun in the oven though!

I do wonder how your situation may affect the requirement to be out of the country when the visa is granted...it sounds like it would pay to keep in very close contact with your CO. Shipping a newborn baby out of the country until the visa is granted could be a challenge...I wonder if special consideration could also be applied there?...after all, the department already know of the situation...


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## a.k.z (Jun 29, 2014)

*sponsored family stream query*

Hello everyone,

I am from Karachi,Pakistan. And i wanted to get some general information regarding Sponsored Tourist Visa.

Background:

My husband is a permanent resident for 2 years in September'14, currently residing in Sydney. We got married December 2013 and applied for partner/spouse visa on Feb 2nd 2014 by the online system. Case officer granted 20th May. Sent further documents as requested. As yet no news.

Sponsored Tourist Visa Query:

We have a religious festive season coming by the end of July and my Birthday too. So we were hoping to apply for visit visa sponsored by him whereby he will give the bond ranging form 5000ADU$ - 15,000 AUD$ as per the website which will be refundable once i go back. But i read on a few forums where there is also standard living expense to be shown by the sponsor, which would suggest how my husband would pay for my living expense. There is no issue of accommodation as he and all my in-laws are living in a house together and i'm supposed to move in with them so the accommodation is figured out. So is there still some amount or savings that he has to show in his account ? if yes, then approx how much? say 1000/ month of my 3 month visit? Also he has a permanent job for 1.5 years in an electronics security firm if that is of any relevance.

My second query is, are there any chances of my sponsored visa getting rejected too? say i don't have a job here in Pakistan just my own family but husband is there in Australia so there could be a valid point by the visa office that i don't want to go back and stay with my husband only. But since i have already applied for partner visa so i will have to exit anyway whenever it is granted. 
I only want to go to him to spend some time with him and his family and celebrate the festivities together which will help us both in nurturing our relationship and getting to know the surroundings better so that i am not alienated by the newness of it. Also the distance is now taking a toll on both us and affecting us emotionally and our need to perform better in daily life.

any suggestions as to how to go about the application of the visa is most welcome .

thank you.

Regards


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## Mish (Jan 13, 2013)

Ramadan Mubarak.

I do not know alot about the sponsored visitor visas but I would think that some of the reasons you get rejected for on a normal visitor visa you won't on a sponsored because of the bond. Post a question in Ask Mark thread and he will be able to answer your question for you.

I will say that time is not on your side to get it approved prior in Eid. There was someone the other week still waiting for a decision after 3 weeks, it basically takes as long as it does and a month for a decision on a tourist visa is quite normal.


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## a.k.z (Jun 29, 2014)

Thankyou mish. Ramzan mubarak to you too. Yeah I heard the timeline for tourist visa is 6 weeks as well. But I was hoping we could make our case stronger by presenting an itinerary and show some bookings. But frankly, it won't matter, I can celebrate eid here n do some late celebrations with my husband there  .stY blessed


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## Mish (Jan 13, 2013)

They say not to book flights until you have received the visa mainly because they don't want to be responsible for you not getting your money back if the visa isn't approved.

I would make sure you do the application atleast 2 months before you plan on going. That allows time for processing and then being able to book flights.


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