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Health insurance for parents visiting Australia
If you have parents visiting Australia from overseas, they may need private health insurance coverage.
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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.
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:
- Hospital accommodation and theatre fees
- In-hospital doctor and specialist consultations
- In-hospital medical fees
- Intensive care fees
- Removal of adenoids, appendix and tonsils
- Emergency ambulance
- Day surgery
- Prostheses
- Repatriation
- Some ancillary services (usually for an additional fee)
- Services related to assisted reproduction (e.g. IVF)
- Treatment provided outside Australia
- Treatment arranged in advance of the visitor’s arrival
- Treatment for a pre-existing medical condition in the first 12 months of the policy
- Treatment covered by compensation or damages
- Elective cosmetic surgery
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.
| Country | Entitlements | Period of cover |
|---|---|---|
| Belgium |
|
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| Finland |
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| Italy |
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| Malta |
|
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| Netherlands |
|
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| New Zealand |
|
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| Norway |
|
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| Republic of Ireland |
|
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| Slovenia |
|
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| Sweden |
|
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| United Kingdom |
|
|
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:
| Fund | What’s covered? | More info |
|---|---|---|
 | Visitor Saver: covers the basics in a shared room in a public hospital. Services include:
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:
| More info |
 | Australian Unity offers three levels of cover: Basic, Mid and Top Overseas Visitors Cover. The benefits include:
| More info |
 | HCF Overseas Visitors Health Cover provides cover for various situations including:
| More info |
 | nib offers four levels of overseas visitors cover including: Budget, Basic, Mid and Top Visitor Cover. Benefits include:
| More info |
| Fund | What’s covered? | More info |
|---|---|---|
| Allianz Assistance OVHC | Budget Visitors (Hospital Only) provides cover towards:
Standard Visitors Cover provides cover towards all the same in-hospital services plus:
| More info |
| Bupa | Standard Visitors Cover provides:
Standard Visitors Cover with Top Extras provides high cover for:
Extras Cover includes:
| More info |
| hbf | Standard Overseas Visitors Cover includes:
| More info |
| Medibank | Medibank’s Overseas Visitor Health Insurance includes:
| 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.
Picture: GettyImages
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Ask an Expert
Hi! My wife and I will apply for an 804 visa soon. From within WA. The funds you referred to is not that well represented in WA. BHF look as it has the majority in Wa. Can you include them in your comparison? Thanks!
Hi Leon,
Thanks for your message. Our team will review BHF as requested. In the meantime, you can review other Overseas Visitors Health Cover providers on our page for your perusal. As a friendly reminder, carefully review the Product Disclosure Statement of the product before applying. You may also contact the insurance provider should you have any questions about their policy.
Hope this helps!
Best,
Nikki
Even though the title says visiting parents cover, none of it is saying its 1801 visa condition compliant. All it says is working visa compliant. 600 Visitor visa is not a working visa.
Also the leading one namely Allianz and Bupa is committed in the list (maybe you don’t have tie up with them?)
Hi Pat,
Thanks for getting in touch! I understand you want to specifically know what visa numbers are included. To further obtain information, we suggest to contact the provider directly. Just click the ENQUIRE NOW or GET QUOTE button to be brought to the provider’s page. As a friendly reminder, carefully review the Product Disclosure Statement of the product before applying. You may also contact the insurance provider should you have any questions about their policy.
Hope this was helpful. Don’t hesitate to message us back if you have more questions.
Best,
Nikki
Looking for best health insurance for my father who came to Sydney on visiting visa
Hi Jitendrababu,
Thank you for leaving a question.
Looks like you are on the correct page to make a comparison for Health insurance for parents visiting Australia. Kindly review and compare your options on the table displaying the available providers. Once you have chosen a particular provider, you may then click on the “Get quote” or “Enquire now” button and you will be redirected to the provider’s website where you can proceed with the application or get in touch with their representatives for further inquiries you may have.
Before applying, please ensure that you meet all the eligibility criteria and read through the details of the needed requirements as well as the relevant Product Disclosure Statements/Terms and Conditions when comparing your options before making a decision on whether it is right for you. Hope this helps!
Cheers,
Reggie