Medical Treatment Visa (subclass 602)

Medical Treatment Visa (subclass 602)

Medical Treatment Visa: This visa permits people (any age) to travel to or remain longer in Australia for medical treatment or to support someone needing medical treatment who holds or has applied for this visa. It is also applicable for people who are donating an organ to someone else. This visa has helped individuals who do not have access to treatment in their own country. It will allow the visa holder to say in Australia for the period of their treatment plan or until medical consultations are finished. Individual’s medical condition must not be a threat to public health.

With this visa you can:

Stay in Australian until the treatment plan or consultations are finished
Depending on your situation, be granted single entry or multiple entries to Australia
– Single Entry: if you were outside Ausralia when this visa was granted and you leave Australia, you cannot return. If you were inside Australia when this vsia was granted you can leave and return once.
– Multiple Entries: You can leave and re-enter Australia as many times as you want while the visa is valid.
Study for up to 3 months (or longer if you meet the *exemption criteria)

– To be exempted, you must be under 18 years old, have experienced a change of circumstances in Australia and obtained a written permission of a delegate to engage in studies or training due to compelling and compassionate circumstances

Length of Stay

Temporarily, you can stay in Australia until the treatment plan or consultations are completed. Generally, the visa is granted up to 12 months, but if you apply the visa while you are offshore, the visa is usually granted for up to 3 months. The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) will decide based on your situation and will try to give you enough time for the treatment.

You cannot stay in Australia longer by extending this visa.

Location

You can be outside or inside Australia when the application is lodged. If you apply outside Australia, you must be outside Australia when the visa is granted. If the application is made in Australia, you must be in Australia when the visa is granted.

Cost

$480 for the main applicant if you apply in Australia ($240 for each additional applicant aged 18 or over and $120 for each child under 18)
Free if you apply from outside Australia or represent a foreign government

Eligibility: Who Could Get This Visa

You must be in one of these situations:

Intend to have medical treatment or consultations in Australia
Intend to donate an organ to someone in Australia
Intend to support a patient or organ donor who holds or is applying for this visa
Intend to receive an organ from someone who travels to Australia with you
Intend to come to Australia under the arrangements between the Western Province of Papua New Guinea and the Queensland Department of Health
Be in Australia, aged 50 years or older, been refused an Australian permanent visa on health grounds only and are unfit to depart Australia

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Genuine Visitor

While holding this visa, you must only intend to stay in Australia temporarily and do the things you are permitted to do on this visa. If you meet the following criteria, an intention to stay in Australia temporarily will not be considered to apply:

In Australia
Aged 50 years or older
Have been refused a permanent visa due to not meeting the health requirement
Unfit to depart Australia

Cannot Have Held

the Temporary Work (International Relations) visa (subclass 403): Domestic Worker (Diplomatic or Consular stream)

If you are in Australia, you must not hold, or the last substantive visa you held must not have been, a Temporary Work (International Relations) visa (subclass 403) that was granted in the Domestic Worker (Diplomatic or Consular stream).

More than One Visitor Visa

Unless you are unit, suffering from financial hardship or other compelling reasons, your Medical Treatment visa will not be approved if this visa will result staying in Australia for over 12 consecutive months in conjunction with you holding or having held one or more Visitor visas.

Condition 8503: No Further Stay

If you are planning to apply for this visa while you are in Australia, you cannot have condition 8503 (No Further Stay) attached to your current visa unless you have the condition waived.

Be Able to Support Yourself

You must have adequate means or access to means to support yourself while you are in Australia. This includes paying for:

Your travel to Australia
Your medical treatment
Other expenses related to your stay in Australia
The expenses of anyone who comes with you to Australia (including an organ donor’s expenses)

In most circumstances, you must pre-arrange payment of your medical costs and demonstrate that it will not cost an Australian government money. You can show this with written proof from a public or private hospital, confirming that it has approved your treatment and arrangements to pay all the costs.

Including Family Members

For each member of your family, a separate application must be made unless they are included in your passport. You can request to have your applications processed together if other family members are applying for this visa.

Adequate Health Insurance

It is recommended by the DHA that you take out health insurance to cover any unforeseen medical treatment you might need in Australia. You are personally liable for all your healthcare costs while you are in Australia and insurance can help limit your financial liability.

Reciprocal Healthcare Agreements

Some countries have a reciprocal healthcare agreement with Australia. Find out more from Services Australia about reciprocal healthcare agreements.

Health

You must meet certain health requirements. The results are usually valid for 12 months.

Character

All applicants older than 16 years of age must meet certain character requirements. They must be prepared to provide a police certificate from each country they have lived in for 12 months or more during the past 10 years after they turned 16 years of age.

Debts to the Australian Government

You must have no outstanding debts to the Australian Government or have arranged to repay any outstanding debts to the Australian Government.

Permissible activities on Visitor visas Visitor visa assessment Invitation letter for tourist visa

Who Can Apply: The Main Situations Explained

The Medical Treatment visa is not only for patients. Each person travelling for a medical reason needs to fit one of the situations below, and the evidence you need depends on which one applies to you.

Patients

You are coming to Australia, or staying longer, to have medical treatment or a medical consultation. The treatment must already be arranged with an Australian doctor or hospital, and you need to show how it will be paid for. The visa is not available for surrogacy arrangements.

Organ donors and recipients

You are coming to Australia to donate an organ for a transplant, or you are the recipient and your donor is travelling with you. The transplant program must have accepted the arrangement, and the donor and recipient are each assessed against their own criteria. Because organs for transplant are in short supply, Home Affairs looks closely at whether the arrangement could take a transplant away from someone in Australia.

Support persons

You are travelling to give emotional and practical support to a patient or organ donor who holds, or is applying for, a Medical Treatment visa. This is usually a partner, parent, adult child or close relative. You need to show your relationship to the patient and why your support is needed, for example because the patient is a child, is elderly or will be unable to care for themselves after surgery.

People who are unfit to leave Australia

This is a narrow category for people already in Australia who are 50 or older, applied for a permanent visa in Australia, and were refused that visa only because they did not meet the health requirement. You must also be medically unfit to travel because of a permanent or worsening condition. This category does not apply to people who simply prefer to stay.

Treatment Must Be Arranged and Paid For

The most important part of a 602 application is evidence that your treatment is genuinely arranged and that the costs will not fall on Australian taxpayers. In practice, Home Affairs expects to see:

a letter from the Australian hospital, clinic or specialist confirming they have accepted you as a patient, what the treatment is, when it will happen and how long it is expected to take
an estimate of the total cost, including follow-up care, medicines and any rehabilitation
evidence of how the costs will be paid, such as a deposit receipt, a payment plan agreed with the hospital, bank statements or a letter from a government or employer that is funding the treatment
evidence that you can also cover flights, accommodation and living costs for yourself and anyone travelling with you

Treatment at a public hospital is generally only approved where the hospital has agreed in writing to treat you as a private, fee paying patient. Applications based on treatment that is in short supply in Australia, such as organ transplants, may be refused if granting the visa could disadvantage Australians who need the same care.

Medicare and Reciprocal Health Care

Medical Treatment visa holders are not covered by Medicare in the way Australian residents are. Even if you are from a country with a reciprocal health care agreement with Australia, those agreements generally cover only treatment that becomes necessary while you are visiting. They do not usually cover treatment that is the reason for your trip. You should plan on paying for your treatment privately, and holding travel or visitor health insurance for anything unexpected.

How to Apply for the 602 Visa: Step by Step

Confirm your situation. Work out whether you are the patient, a donor, a support person or applying because you are unfit to leave Australia.
Finalise your treatment. Get written acceptance from your Australian doctor or hospital, with dates and a cost estimate.
Arrange the funds. Make payment arrangements with the provider and gather evidence of your funds for travel and living costs.
Check where you are and what visa you hold. If you are in Australia, check whether your current visa has a “No Further Stay” condition. If it does, you must get a waiver before you can apply.
Gather your documents. See the checklist below. Each family member who is travelling, including support persons, usually needs their own evidence.
Lodge your application. Apply before you travel or, if you are in Australia, before your current visa ends.
Respond to any requests. Home Affairs may ask for health examinations, more medical reports or updated hospital letters. Reply by the deadline given.
Read your grant letter carefully. Check the length of stay, whether you have single or multiple entry, and your visa conditions before you travel.

Document Checklist

For the patient:

passport and national identity documents
a recent report from your treating doctor in your home country describing your condition and why you need treatment in Australia
the acceptance letter from the Australian doctor or hospital, with the treatment plan, dates and cost estimate
evidence of payment arrangements and of funds for your stay
evidence of your ties to your home country, such as employment, property or family commitments

For an organ donor:

passport and identity documents
confirmation from the Australian transplant program that you have been accepted as a donor
evidence of your relationship to the recipient, where relevant

For a support person:

passport and identity documents
evidence of your relationship to the patient, such as a birth or marriage certificate
a letter from the treating doctor or hospital explaining why the patient needs support
evidence of funds to cover your own stay

Documents that are not in English must be translated into English by an accredited translator.

Visa Conditions: Work, Study and Staying Longer

Work: The 602 visa generally does not allow you to work. In limited cases, a holder who is already in Australia and faces serious financial hardship because of a change in circumstances after arriving may be able to apply for a further 602 visa with permission to work.
Study: You can study for up to 3 months, as explained above.
No Further Stay: Some 602 visas are granted with a “No Further Stay” condition, which stops you from applying for most other visas while you are in Australia. Check your grant letter for this condition.
Staying longer: The visa cannot be extended. If your treatment takes longer than expected, you may be able to lodge a new 602 application while you are in Australia, supported by an updated letter from your doctor. Lodge it well before your current visa ends, as a further grant is not automatic.

If you apply for a new visa in Australia while your current visa is still in effect, you will usually be granted a Bridging visa that keeps you lawful while your application is processed.

602 vs Visitor Visa: Which Should You Apply For?

Situation	Usually the better choice
You are coming for planned surgery, a course of treatment or specialist consultations	Medical Treatment visa (subclass 602)
You are supporting a family member having treatment	Medical Treatment visa (subclass 602) as a support person
You are mainly visiting family or travelling as a tourist, and a short medical check up is a minor part of the trip	Visitor visa (subclass 600)
You are in Australia on a visitor visa and your treatment will take longer than your visa allows	A new 602 application, if your visa has no “No Further Stay” condition (or it has been waived)

A visitor visa allows only limited medical treatment. If treatment is the main reason for your trip, apply for the 602 so your visa matches your real purpose.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Applying before the treatment is confirmed in writing by the Australian provider.
Not showing how the full cost of treatment, including follow-up care, will be paid.
Assuming Medicare or a reciprocal health care agreement will cover the treatment.
Forgetting that each support person needs their own application and evidence.
Not checking for a “No Further Stay” condition on your current visa before applying in Australia.
Waiting until your visa is about to expire before applying for more time when treatment is delayed.

Medical Treatment Visa 602: Frequently Asked Questions

How much does the 602 visa cost?

There is no government charge if you apply outside Australia. From 1 July 2026, applying in Australia costs $480 for the main applicant, $240 for each additional applicant aged 18 or over and $120 for each child. Medical costs, health examinations, travel and insurance are extra. See our visa fee increases page.

Can my family come with me while I have treatment?

Yes. Family members who are coming to support you can apply as support persons. It is best to lodge your applications at the same time so they can be processed together.

Can I work on a Medical Treatment visa?

Generally no. Work is only allowed in limited circumstances, such as serious financial hardship that arises after you arrive in Australia.

What happens if my treatment is delayed?

Ask your doctor or hospital for an updated letter with the new treatment dates, and consider lodging a new 602 application before your current visa ends. Do not overstay, as this can affect your ability to get visas in the future.

Can I apply for a different visa while I am in Australia on a 602?

You may be able to, unless your 602 has a “No Further Stay” condition. If it does, you would need a No Further Stay waiver first, which is only granted in limited circumstances.

Is a 602 visa a pathway to permanent residence?

No. It is a temporary visa for a specific medical purpose, and you must show that you intend to stay only temporarily. We can review your circumstances and explain your options in a consultation.