Australian visa rejected due to biologics :( HELP!!!

[JessieGattiker]

Hey, new to this page but have been advised here by NRAS

Currently on Biologics (etanercept) and was planning on doing a years working holiday in Australia. The health assessment officer has rejected my visa due to the cost of the healthcare. I'm wandering if anyone else has had any experience travelling with the injections? How do I go about this.. I'm not willing to shut the door on Aus and feeling so gutted right now. Surely there is a way I can take it with me or have it funded in some way?

TIA Jessie (23)

[AgedCrone]

Hi Jessie, I'm sorry to throw cold water on your plans, but Unfortunately not everywhere is as relaxed about health entry regulations as the UK is......and Australia is particularly strict.

I have worked & travelled all over the world & I can't think of anywhere you can just go to an ER & get treated for free like you can in the UK. You are asked for either your medical insurance details (which incidentally would not pay for your injections) or a credit card! Or often both.

Have you enquired how much it would cost you to self pay......& buy it in Oz? Of course you would need to find a doctor willing to prescribe for you over there, & that would be a private doctor who would be expensive.

Maybe you could delay the trip & go on a mega saving mission?

I'm afraid the NHS would not send drugs abroad for you. I think they might give you a three month supply if you were going to live abroad permanently, until you were registered with a local doctor.

Have you spoken to the health assessment officer & asked if there is any way around his ruling if you agree to pay for the drugs yourself? Ask him for contact numbers of RA doctors/clinics/hospitals, so that you can get an idea on costs.

I presume you were thinking of arranging a travel insurance policy to cover any medical attention you may need on your trip?

Why not try asking a travel insurance company if they have any useful information to help....they must have people who travel longterm needing drugs overseas.

I do hope you manage to go on your trip - Oz is an amazing country with great people.

AC

[helixhelix]

I know when I moved countries and was worried about continuity of drugs that I was firmly told that the NHS would not give me more than 3 months supply to take with me.

You can see the point from the Aussie's point of view - you've not paid into their tax/health system so to give you thousands and thousands of pounds of free health care is asking rather a lot. Especially when the visa is only a year so no chance of getting much back from you. So have you thought about changing your plans and looking for a job in advance and going for a sponsored work visa, or one of the skilled visas? It may be that you'll need to train here in a skill that's needed in Aus, but if you want to go then you may have to do something like that.

[Someonesmother]

I live in Aus and it is hard enough to get approved for biologics as a citizen, lots of hoops takes ages to get approval and then very strict on seeing benefits or they cut them out. The only way you would be able to have them is if you paid for it and that would be phenomenally expensive. Not sure if you can bring it with you, but perhaps look in to that option.