# What to do on first entry for 189 Visa



## syedshah18 (Jan 31, 2018)

Hi,

I have received my 189 visa and the date of first entry is before November 2018. As I am currently employed abroad, I intend to go for the essentials during my first entry and keep it as short as possible (unless I get a job during that time by some stroke of luck). Would one week be enough for the purpose of first entry. What are the formalities required once you enter Australia for the first time. 

TYIA


----------



## mustafa01 (Jan 29, 2017)

syedshah18 said:


> Hi,
> 
> I have received my 189 visa and the date of first entry is before November 2018. As I am currently employed abroad, I intend to go for the essentials during my first entry and keep it as short as possible (unless I get a job during that time by some stroke of luck). Would one week be enough for the purpose of first entry. What are the formalities required once you enter Australia for the first time.
> 
> TYIA


30 mins are enough for first entry. Since your got a 189 visa, there are no obligations/conditions on your visa. There are no formalities once you enter Australia, but it is always recommended to apply for a TFN from Australian Taxation Office and enroll in Medicare and Centrelink to have your profile started here. All these enrollments can be done within a weeks time. You can have the cards/TFN number details posted to a trust worthy friends/family's home.


----------



## luvjd (Aug 10, 2017)

mustafa01 said:


> 30 mins are enough for first entry. Since your got a 189 visa, there are no obligations/conditions on your visa. There are no formalities once you enter Australia, but it is always recommended to apply for a TFN from Australian Taxation Office and enroll in Medicare and Centrelink to have your profile started here. All these enrollments can be done within a weeks time. You can have the cards/TFN number details posted to a trust worthy friends/family's home.


It is highly recommended NOT to apply for any of these during the validation trip. You can apply for them once you move there permanently. As per the time required, you can just pass the immigration desk and take the next flight back home.


----------



## mustafa01 (Jan 29, 2017)

luvjd said:


> It is highly recommended NOT to apply for any of these during the validation trip. You can apply for them once you move there permanently. As per the time required, you can just pass the immigration desk and take the next flight back home.


Well, if you are going to look for jobs, if successful for a position, have to provide passport, medicare, bank details and TFN as initial identity proof.


----------



## luvjd (Aug 10, 2017)

mustafa01 said:


> Well, if you are going to look for jobs, if successful for a position, have to provide passport, medicare, bank details and TFN as initial identity proof.


Well, looking for a job is different from getting a job. You can always do these things even after you get a job. 
Why not do it on validation trip? There are numerous posts on this forum with detailed explanation.

Anyway, are you aware of "Medicare LHC loading"?


----------



## PrettyIsotonic (Nov 30, 2016)

luvjd said:


> mustafa01 said:
> 
> 
> > 30 mins are enough for first entry. Since your got a 189 visa, there are no obligations/conditions on your visa. There are no formalities once you enter Australia, but it is always recommended to apply for a TFN from Australian Taxation Office and enroll in Medicare and Centrelink to have your profile started here. All these enrollments can be done within a weeks time. You can have the cards/TFN number details posted to a trust worthy friends/family's home.
> ...


Just curious why it is highly recommended not to

Edit: oh re: Medicare I see you shared due to being able to defer the LHC loading - thanks for sharing that I wasn't fully aware. 

Still curious bout TFN though


----------



## andreyx108b (Mar 15, 2015)

syedshah18 said:


> Hi,
> 
> I have received my 189 visa and the date of first entry is before November 2018. As I am currently employed abroad, I intend to go for the essentials during my first entry and keep it as short as possible (unless I get a job during that time by some stroke of luck). Would one week be enough for the purpose of first entry. What are the formalities required once you enter Australia for the first time.
> 
> TYIA


As mentioned above, most people do the following: 

Get registered for medicare, centerlink, get tax id, open bank account. 

You don't have to do any above as fat as i am aware - but better to do.


----------



## luvjd (Aug 10, 2017)

PrettyIsotonic said:


> Just curious why it is highly recommended not to
> 
> Edit: oh re: Medicare I see you shared due to being able to defer the LHC loading - thanks for sharing that I wasn't fully aware.
> 
> Still curious bout TFN though


TFN is your personal and confidential information. It is not advisable to mail it to anyone.
It takes 15 minutes to get TFN online. Once you register for TFN online, your physical card will be sent to an address you give during the registration time in 15 to 30 days.
You have TFN instantly (AFAIK) once you register online. It is the physical card that will be mailed.
This TFN number is not required unless you have income in Australia. So why bother when you are on validation trip and risk leaking your private info? 

Medicare - LHC loading...

Centerlink - Your eligibility for benefits is counted based on your actual duration of stay, but not based on when you registered. Again, why run behind the offices to do this when you are on a validation trip? Instead, you can spend that time on some other useful things. 

Bank Account - It can be opened online and you can collect the debit card from a branch closer to your stay. This can be useful in future if you want to transfer money ahead of your permanent move. But again, once you open the account online, you can transfer the money even if you don't collect the debit card. (AFAIK)


----------



## kevin21 (Apr 23, 2018)

luvjd said:


> TFN is your personal and confidential information. It is not advisable to mail it to anyone.
> It takes 15 minutes to get TFN online. Once you register for TFN online, your physical card will be sent to an address you give during the registration time in 15 to 30 days.
> You have TFN instantly (AFAIK) once you register online. It is the physical card that will be mailed.
> This TFN number is not required unless you have income in Australia. So why bother when you are on validation trip and risk leaking your private info?
> ...


So, looks like the only reason why it's not recommended is to risk private info or identity theft?

Well, if somebody has that taken care of, is it recommended then?

The only reason I am asking is because I am moving my company's branch to Sydney and during my first validation trip of 7-10 days, I am going to do all of this and more. So, just wanted to find out if there's any other risk which you might know. Thanks in advance!


----------



## luvjd (Aug 10, 2017)

None, to my knowledge, if you take care of that problem.


kevin21 said:


> So, looks like the only reason why it's not recommended is to risk private info or identity theft?
> 
> Well, if somebody has that taken care of, is it recommended then?
> 
> The only reason I am asking is because I am moving my company's branch to Sydney and during my first validation trip of 7-10 days, I am going to do all of this and more. So, just wanted to find out if there's any other risk which you might know. Thanks in advance!


Sent from my Redmi 4 using Tapatalk


----------



## Praveen1112 (Nov 7, 2017)

Hi,
We have our 189 PR and IED is in September 2018,so want to make an entry and come back..we are keeping our trip short to 3 days due to some constraints.
Can you please guide us whether we can do the initial Medicare and TFN during the.period.
And any cheap accommodation we can get and book in Melbourne.

Any other threads/ experiences who made an entry and came back

Thanks,
Praveen


----------



## Praveen1112 (Nov 7, 2017)

Syedshah12 can you please share your experience..in terms of things you did and the expenditure came to


----------



## syedshah18 (Jan 31, 2018)

luvjd said:


> None, to my knowledge, if you take care of that problem.
> 
> Sent from my Redmi 4 using Tapatalk


Thank you for the information. Much appreciated.

I intend to have a short trip to Melbourne in August (a week or a little less). What are the things you recommend we do apart from sight seeing?

TYIA


----------



## syedshah18 (Jan 31, 2018)

mustafa01 said:


> 30 mins are enough for first entry. Since your got a 189 visa, there are no obligations/conditions on your visa. There are no formalities once you enter Australia, but it is always recommended to apply for a TFN from Australian Taxation Office and enroll in Medicare and Centrelink to have your profile started here. All these enrollments can be done within a weeks time. You can have the cards/TFN number details posted to a trust worthy friends/family's home.


Thank you for the information. Much appreciated.

I intend to have a short trip to Melbourne in August (a week or a little less). What are the things you recommend we must do while there?

TYIA


----------



## syedshah18 (Jan 31, 2018)

Praveen1112 said:


> Syedshah12 can you please share your experience..in terms of things you did and the expenditure came to


I'll be going to Melbourne in August hopefully for a short trip. Will update you once I'm back so that you may get an idea of the expenditure.


----------



## Praveen1112 (Nov 7, 2017)

Planning for first visit to Melbourne in August. Short trip to meet IED... Can you suggest economic place for 3/4 days heard service apartments are good.. Any place in Melbourne for my purpose please?


----------



## JK684 (Apr 2, 2015)

Praveen1112 said:


> Planning for first visit to Melbourne in August. Short trip to meet IED... Can you suggest economic place for 3/4 days heard service apartments are good.. Any place in Melbourne for my purpose please?


Book via Airbnb, that is cheaper than hotels.


----------



## JK684 (Apr 2, 2015)

Praveen1112 said:


> Hi,
> We have our 189 PR and IED is in September 2018,so want to make an entry and come back..we are keeping our trip short to 3 days due to some constraints.
> Can you please guide us whether we can do the initial Medicare and TFN during the.period.
> And any cheap accommodation we can get and book in Melbourne.
> ...



I didnt apply for TFN or Medicare (as it requires a local address and also i wasnt sure about where i want to move - Melbourne or Sydney) when i made my first entry. my validation trip was very short, came on a Sunday morning, took the return flight on Monday (due to personal reasons). But i would not recommend taking such a trip, it was exhausting for me. 1 week should be fine if you are planning to visit some places.


----------



## FFacs (Jul 6, 2016)

Again, I would advise against TFN and Medicare registration on validation trips unless you will definitely be making the perm move in weeks. Here's why:

TFN is required for those who are tax resident. Regardless of dual taxation treaties it's always going to be more complicated to be perceived as tax resident in two places at once. For my money the cleanest way forward is to sign out of one country then sign in at another. This will avoid "so where WERE you resident at that time sir?" questions as both countries try to tax income.

Medicare: Australia private medical insurance adds a premium for those who start with policies later in life (fair enough). As they recognise that would be unfair to migrants you have 1 year from registering medicare to take out private insurance and have this waved. (LHC)

Bank is not so heavy a risk, but you might end up paying charges for an account you're not using.


----------



## Praveen1112 (Nov 7, 2017)

JK684 said:


> Praveen1112 said:
> 
> 
> > Planning for first visit to Melbourne in August. Short trip to meet IED... Can you suggest economic place for 3/4 days heard service apartments are good.. Any place in Melbourne for my purpose please?
> ...



Which area is better for such short trips,any idea?from public transport perspective and convince. Ofcourse economic too☺


----------



## NB (Mar 29, 2017)

Praveen1112 said:


> Which area is better for such short trips,any idea?from public transport perspective and convince. Ofcourse economic too☺


You can get a better response on trip adviser 
After all you will be a tourist

Cheers


----------



## srismiley (Feb 6, 2014)

One of my friend has been granted 189 visa and they are expected with first entry as 14th Sep 2018. As per Visa the first entry requirement is 14th Sep 2018. They are starting on 13th Sep and will be landing 14th Sep Morning. should that be ok ?

Can someone pls share your thoughts.

Thanks!


----------



## luvjd (Aug 10, 2017)

srismiley said:


> One of my friend has been granted 189 visa and they are expected with first entry as 14th Sep 2018. As per Visa the first entry requirement is 14th Sep 2018. They are starting on 13th Sep and will be landing 14th Sep Morning. should that be ok ?
> 
> Can someone pls share your thoughts.
> 
> Thanks!


Generally speaking, you have to enter before the date specified in the grant letter.
Grant letter says "arrive by", but if you log in and check "myVEVO", it says "Enter before date".
I am not sure how wise it is to walk such a tightrope considering external factors like flight cancellations etc. and risking the visa that they have worked so hard to get.


----------



## srismiley (Feb 6, 2014)

Firstly, thanks for pointing me that both are showing different as I was going thru just the grant letter until now.

Just spoke to immigration and they referred to go as mentioned in the grant letter. Also, been pointed to refer the wording for each field in the https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/Busi/visas-and-migration/visa-entitlement-verification-online-(vevo), which says as below, 

Must enter before date -->> If you applied for your visa while outside Australia and your visa allows multiple entries into Australia, this is the date your first entry must be made by.

They confirmed that the date is included as per the wording of the vevo as well. so landing on the first entry date is allowed. Hopefully, as you pointed there is no external factors like flight cancellations etc.

Thanks!


----------



## luvjd (Aug 10, 2017)

srismiley said:


> Firstly, thanks for pointing me that both are showing different as I was going thru just the grant letter until now.
> 
> Just spoke to immigration and they referred to go as mentioned in the grant letter. Also, been pointed to refer the wording for each field in the https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/Busi/visas-and-migration/visa-entitlement-verification-online-(vevo), which says as below,
> 
> ...


Great! Thanks for the update.


----------



## andyrent (Apr 17, 2010)

Hi Friends
I have got the Australia PR grant and I am visiting AU for the first entry, my question is :

1- I am planning to go to New Zealand via Sydney, is it ok if I just do immigration check at the Sydney airport and leave Sydney the same day for New Zealand flight ? 

2- Do I need to do anything special in Australia to get any kind of papers / stamping ? 

Thanks


----------



## batra38383 (Oct 26, 2017)

Just one thought on LHC loading. This made me real nervous as I was planning to have 3 weeks trip in February, and apply for medicare.

This is what I found on https://www.privatehealth.gov.au/healthinsurance/incentivessurcharges/lifetimehealthcover.htm

Overseas on the 1st of July following your 31st birthday 
If you are an Australian citizen or permanent resident who is overseas on the 1st of July following your 31st birthday, and your 31st birthday falls after 1 July 2000, you will not pay a Lifetime Health Cover loading if you purchase hospital cover by the first anniversary of the day you return to Australia. You are able to return to Australia for periods of up to 90 consecutive days, per visit, and are still considered to be overseas. So your 'return' is your first visit back of 90 days or more. If you do not purchase hospital insurance during this one year grace period and purchase insurance later, then loading will be applied based on your age at the date of joining.

----
So basically if your visits are less than 90 days, you will not be considered "returned" to Australia, and exception of not paying LHC loading will apply to you.


----------

