Moving to Australia on a 457 visa? You’re going to be here pretty long term then, and being here opens up a whole host of travel options and adventures. It would be a shame to miss out on the opportunity to explore our neighbours in New Zealand, Asia and the Pacific just because you can’t find travel insurance to cover you while you’re away from your Australian home. It can be challenging to find travel insurance as a non-resident living in Australia, but we’re here to help! We tell you what you need to look for, and who might be able to help.
What is non-resident travel insurance?
When comparing policy options, you’ll be looking for non-resident travel insurance policies, but what does that mean? These are policies which are tailored specifically for those living in Australia without permanent residency, who are heading away on a short trip or holiday outside of Australia, including trips to their home country. Any holidays within Australia will not be covered by these policies, as you’ll need domestic policies for these trips.
What requirements are there?
The eligibility requirements for policies will vary across insurers but generally speaking:
- your trip will have to begin and end in Australia,
- your return airfare must be booked,
- you have a permanent address in Australia
- have been in Australia for at least 3 months and
- hold a visa that allows you to leave and re-enter Australia, like the 457 visa. Other visa holders may be eligible such as:
- Working holiday visa 417
- Working holiday visa 462
- Student visa subclass 500
- There may be other requirements such as age limits and Medicare eligibility for some providers.
Medicare
Medicare provides certain nationalities with access to public healthcare within Australia. If you are a temporary resident eligible for medicare in Australia, your Medicare coverage may be extended to your destination country, if the country is part of a reciprocal healthcare agreement with Australia, such as:
- Belgium
- Finland
- Italy -Malta
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Norway
- Ireland
- Slovenia
- Sweden
- United Kingdom Medicare won’t cover everything medically, and definitely won’t help you if things go wrong with your baggage, transport or rental vehicle, so even if you’re heading to one of these countries we still recommend taking out a travel insurance policy.
##What’s covered by non-resident travel insurance? The benefits you get will depend on the company you go with, and the level of cover you choose for your policy, but generally speaking your benefits will be similar to that on regular domestic or single trip travel insurance policies. These are some indication of what you can expect to be covered:
- Medical Expenses: travel insurance will usually cover you for unlimited medical expenses, many will also cover emergency dental care with sublimits varying upwards of a few hundred dollars.
- Personal Liability: this covers you if you’re found legally liable for accidental injury or damage you may have caused to another person or their property. The limits for this are often quite high so you should be pretty well covered.
- Lost and Stolen Luggage: many insurers will cover your losses if your luggage is lost or damaged on your travels. The benefit limit will vary by insurer, but you can usually add cover for individual high value items within your luggage if you’re travelling with expensive jewellery or electronics.
- Cancellation: If you have to cancel your trip due to death, illness or emergency of a family member, pregnancy complications, or your own illness before departure many insurers will cover at least a portion of your losses.
- Rental Vehicle Excess: Planning on renting a car to get around your destination? Many car hire companies charge huge excess fees, but travel insurance will often cover at least a portion of this. This comes as standard with many policies but there’s often an option to buy extra coverage for this.
