Depression… mental health… Australia requires you to report if you ever saw a shrink. I think it was 10 years of medical records. What really sucks too, is that you tend to apply through your company, so you’re sending your company’s lawyer all these documents to submit on your behalf. And you know full well the company is probably getting a summary report. I found it so cruel that they make it harder to get a visa if you have a history of depression. Like plenty of people get depressed but don’t have a ton of visible symptoms… soldier on. But it’s fine if you just drink, but if you tried to get help they penalize you for speaking with a therapist.

My father in law applied for a visa to come to Australia about a decade ago. As part of this he had to do a medical checkup, and this caught some cancer that he didn’t know he had. Luckily this was early on, and after a few rounds of surgery he was in remission.

If he hadn’t applied for the visa at that time, it’s almost certain he wouldn’t have caught it and wouldn’t be alive today.

He had no trouble getting approved for the visa - we were sponsoring him so we had already signed an agreement saying that we would pay for any government benefits he might receive over the next 10 years. So I don’t think people in this particular visa situation can be a burden on the system.

But this might not be how every visa in Australia works, I’ve got no experience beyond that.