Thanks for this info. Very handy to know. I checked how Australia compares... Same principle — residency-based, not citizenship-based. Key facts: Eligibility rule: Medicare eligibility hinges entirely on residency, not just your passport. Capital Insurance The 5-year rule: Non-resident Australians living abroad are eligible to use Medicare and claim Medicare services on trips back to Australia for a period of up to 5 years after departing Australia. Expattaxes After 5 years: Where an Australian citizen has been living overseas for greater than five years, the person's enrolment in Medicare drops off and ceases. To be eligible again, the person must re-enrol in Medicare and must be living in Australia, providing 2 separate pieces of evidence of that fact. Expattaxes Card expiry caveat: If your Medicare card has an expiry date of less than 5 years, practically speaking you won't be able to renew your Medicare card whilst living overseas, so you'll be limited to claiming Medicare benefits only until the card expires. Expattaxes No overseas coverage: Australian Medicare does not cover you for medical services while overseas Odin Tax, except in countries with a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement (RHCA) — and Thailand is not one of them. Key difference from NHS: The NHS threshold is 3–6 months; Australia's is 5 years. So you have considerably more runway before losing entitlement on visits home.
