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Medicare under a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement (RHCA)
Document Checklist
Current passport from your RHCA partner country
Issued by: Your partner-country passport authority
Required: Yes — for every partner-country visitor
Cost: A$0 at the Services Australia counter
Irish and New Zealand visitors present this document directly at a public hospital or pharmacy in place of a Medicare card. Belgian, Dutch, and Slovenian visitors may use a non-partner-country passport provided the partner-country health-system proof is also presented.
Current Australian visa or visa-evidence document
Issued by: Department of Home Affairs
Required: Required by Services Australia for enrolment from Finland, Italy, the Netherlands, and Sweden; useful for all partner countries to confirm lawful stay
Cost: Variable — set by the Department of Home Affairs visa fee schedule
New Zealand citizens entering on the Special Category Visa do not need a separate visa label. Cover duration in several partner-country agreements is tied to the visa expiry date.
Partner-country health-system proof
Where to get: From your partner-country health authority before travelling
Required: Required for enrolment in every partner country except New Zealand and Ireland
Cost: Set by the partner-country health authority
Acceptable proof varies by country: Italian Tessera Sanitaria (Italy); valid Sickness Insurance Card from Kela or a European Health Insurance Card marked FI (Finland); a Swedish Försäkringskassan Health Insurance Certificate (Sweden); proof of Belgium-, Netherlands-, or Slovenia-system insurance plus a European Health Insurance Card with the matching country initials BE, NL, or an EHIC with expiry date for Slovenia (Belgium, the Netherlands, Slovenia); records of UK residency before arrival (United Kingdom); Norwegian health-system coverage proof (Norway); Maltese health-system entitlement evidence (Malta). Supporting documents need not be certified but must carry a date.
Medicare enrolment form (MS004)
Where to get: Services Australia — download from servicesaustralia.gov.au/ms004 or pick up at a service centre
Required: Required for Medicare enrolment from every partner country except New Zealand and Ireland
Cost: A$0
The MS004 enrolment form supports enrolment as an individual or as a family. Dependants travelling with the visitor are enrolled on the same card subject to the same eligibility rules.
Commonwealth statutory declaration of partner-country citizenship and health-system eligibility
Where to get: Template at the Attorney-General's Department website
Required: Optional fallback — accepted by Services Australia where the Italian Tessera Sanitaria or equivalent partner-country health-system proof is unavailable
Cost: A$0 for the template; witness-fee may apply locally
Specifically named on the Services Australia Italy page as the acceptable fallback for Tessera Sanitaria; the same pattern applies where partner-country health-system proof is otherwise unavailable on arrival.
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