Health insurance for parents visiting Australia

If you're expecting a visit from your overseas parents, they will most likely need Overseas Visitors Health Cover (OVHC) while they're in Australia. The only exception is if your parents are from a country that has a reciprocal health care agreement with Australia. Those countries are listed below.

If your parents are from any other country, if they're coming from India for example, then it's a good idea to get them covered by an OVHC policy. Depending on the policy, OVHC can cover your parents for accidental injury, heart procedures, cancer treatments, joint reconstructions, pregnancy, gastric banding and much more.

Compare the best health insurance for visiting parents

There's no one best health insurance for visiting parents, as the available policies can vary depending on which visa they're on. Use the tabs and tables below to compare the appropriate policies from different Australian health funds.

• 870 Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa
• Visitor visa (subclass 600)

What is Overseas Visitors Health Cover?

Overseas Visitors Health Cover is a type of health insurance that is specifically designed for overseas visitors to Australia. Most Australian funds offer a range of policies depending on whether you are travelling for business or for pleasure, and most will let you choose options ranging from inexpensive basic cover to more valuable comprehensive protection. Most OVHC policies will pay for:

Are visiting parents eligible for Medicare in Australia?

The following countries have a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement (RHCA) with Australia. If your parents live in one of the countries listed below, they will be eligible for certain benefits. If your parents’ country is not on this list then they do not get any Medicare benefits in Australia.

Even if your parents are from one of these countries, they may not be sufficiently protected by Medicare. For example, if they are visiting from Italy, Medicare will only cover them for six months and with certain benefits. You may still need an OVHC policy even if they are eligible for Medicare.

Which funds offer Overseas Visitors Health Cover?

The following table shows the kinds of Overseas Visitors Health Cover offered by some of Australia's best health funds:

• Health funds available on finder
• Non-participating health funds

Fund	What’s covered?	More info
	Visitor Saver: covers the basics in a shared room in a public hospital. Services include: Ambulance Inpatient medical bills Theatre fees Pharmaceutical drugs Surgically implanted prostheses Visitor Value: covers you for a shared room in a private or public hospital, plus some out-of-hospital medical expenses such as x-rays and GP visits. Services include: Ambulance Inpatient medical bills Theatre fees Labour ward charges Pharmaceutical drugs Surgically implanted prostheses	More info
	Australian Unity offers three levels of cover: Basic, Mid and Top Overseas Visitors Cover. The benefits include: Hospital accommodation and theatre fees Assistance with medical fees Emergency room fees Emergency ambulance Day surgery Prostheses	More info
	HCF Overseas Visitors Health Cover provides cover for various situations including: Government-approved prostheses Hospital accommodation Intensive care costs and removal of adenoids Appendix Tonsils	More info
	nib offers four levels of overseas visitors cover including: Budget, Basic, Mid and Top Visitor Cover. Benefits include: Ambulance Hospital accommodation Repatriation Funeral benefit Extras cover	More info

Fund	What’s covered?	More info
Allianz Care Australia	Budget Visitors (Hospital Only) provides cover towards: The cost of in-hospital doctor’s fees Overnight and same-day accommodation Operating theatre Intensive care Ward fees Surgically implanted prostheses Accidents In-hospital pharmacy benefits Emergency ambulance Medical repatriation Standard Visitors Cover provides cover towards all the same in-hospital services plus: Out-of-hospital cover towards the cost of GP visits Pathology Radiology Specialist consultations	More info
Bupa	Standard Visitors Cover provides: Medium cover for hospital services and inpatient and outpatient medical services Plus 60% of outpatient pharmacy benefit You can also add extras for an additional cost Standard Visitors Cover with Top Extras provides high cover for: Hospital services and inpatient medical services Medium cover for outpatient medical services 60% of outpatient pharmacy benefits Extras Cover includes: Dental Optical Physio Chiropractic Natural therapies Speech therapy Occupational therapy	More info
hbf	Standard Overseas Visitors Cover includes: Core hospital services Psychiatric care Rehab Theatre fees Non PBS in-hospital pharmacy Out-of-hospital medical Urgent ambulance Palliative care	More info
Medibank	Medibank’s Overseas Visitor Health Insurance includes: Accommodation and doctors Specialists Surgeons and anaesthetists fees for in-hospital services including Ambulance Appendix Tonsils Adenoids and wisdom teeth removal Joint reconstruction surgery and investigations Colonoscopies Spinal fusion Weight loss surgery and bone marrow and organ transplants. It also pays 100% of the MBS fee for GP visits.	More info

Visas for parents visiting Australia

Your parents might be able to apply for a parent category visa to visit you in Australia. This could allow them to stay in the country for up to two years as a temporary resident or live here as a permanent resident.

Eligibility

To be eligible they must:

• Have a child who is an Australian citizen or permanent resident, or an eligible New Zealand citizen who has lived in Australia lawfully for at least two years prior
• Have a sponsor who meets the above criteria
• Meet the Balance of Family Test which requires that at least half of their children live permanently in Australia, or that more live in Australia than any other country
• Meet health and character requirements

Visa types

There are different types of parent category visas:

• Parent Visa (subclass 103). If your parents are applying from outside Australia, they have a child who lives in Australia and they wish to become permanent Australian residents.
• Contributory Parent (Temporary) Visa (subclass 173). If they are applying from outside Australia, they have a child who lives in Australia, they wish to live in Australia for up to two years as temporary residents and they are prepared to pay higher application fees for faster visa processing.
• Contributory Parent Visa (subclass 143). If they are applying from either inside or outside Australia, they have a child who lives in Australia, they wish to become permanent Australian residents and they are prepared to pay higher application fees for faster visa processing.
• Aged Parent Visa (subclass 804). If they are applying from inside Australia, they have a child who lives in Australia, they wish to become permanent Australian residents and they meet the age requirements.
• Contributory Aged Parent (Temporary) Visa (subclass 884). If they are applying from inside Australia, they have a child who lives in Australia, they wish to live in Australia for up to two years as temporary residents, they meet the age requirements and they are prepared to pay higher application fees for faster visa processing.
• Contributory Aged Parent Visa (subclass 864). If they are applying from inside Australia, they have a child who lives in Australia, they wish to become permanent Australian residents, they meet the age requirements and they are prepared to pay higher application fees.

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