All persons applying for a visa under residence policy, regardless of age, are required to undergo health examinations before submitting an application. In order to be granted residence you must be assessed as having an acceptable standard of health under our health policy or be granted a medical waiver. Costs associated with these examinations and any subsequent tests or reports are the responsibility of the applicant. You can find our health policy online at our main website under section A4.
Please familiarise yourself with the process by reading the following paragraphs explaining the general stages of the medical process.
The first stage in the assessment of your medical is to undertake a full medical and x-ray examination. In many countries, INZ has Panel Doctors who are familiar with our processes and policy. If there are Panel Doctors in your country of residence, you must have your medical examination performed by one. You may search for Panel Doctors near you on our website.
Note: The purpose of the medical examination is to record your relevant medical history, any existing health issues and to undertake a series of routine tests. You must truthfully disclose your medical history. Any false information or deliberate omissions may result in your application being declined.
Your medical should be sent with all other documents relating to your application for residence. If your medical is more than three months old at the time your application is received it may not be accepted so you need to time your medical carefully.
Once we have your medical and your case has been assigned to a visa officer, an initial assessment will be made. If any of your blood test results are outside the normal range, you may be asked to have these re-taken. You may also be asked to provide further information from health professionals regarding any existing health issues.
INZ employs the services of independent Medical Assessors (MAs) who are both general and specialised health professionals. It is their job to assess whether any health condition or combination of factors, whether chronic or acute, is likely to mean that an applicant does not meet INZ’s residence health policy.
Not all medicals are referred to the MAs. A visa officer is likely to refer a medical to the MAs when there are abnormal test results or any existing conditions that require assessment.
Referrals are sent to the MAs in batches on a weekly basis. It usually takes a week for the batch to be returned by the MAs. Therefore a referral generally takes 1-2 weeks. However, at times the amount of referrals can exceed the batch limit for the week and the medical will have to wait a further week to be sent.
The result of a medical referral will be one of the following:
*Maximum deferral period of up to 6 months for pulmonary tuberculosis and 3 months for other treatable conditions at the discretion of the MA.
If the MA requests further information, the request will be passed to you by your visa officer. It is advisable to provide, wherever possible, the exact information requested. Please note that our visa officers are not able to contact the MAs directly, nor are the MAs able to discuss health conditions directly with applicants or their medical professionals.
Some cases require multiple referrals before a decision can be made. It can often depend on the quality and thoroughness of the information provided by applicants and/or their doctor/specialist in relation to their health.
If the Medical Assessors decide that you do not meet the health requirements, you are entitled to apply for a medical waiver. Medical waivers are occasionally granted where the balance of factors in favour of the applicant making a strong contribution to NZ outweighs the potential costs or burden their medical condition(s) or health risks are likely to place on the NZ health system or special education services.
If any applicant does not meet health policy and is not granted a medical waiver, their application must be declined.
The length of time a medical takes to go through this process can vary greatly from applicant to applicant depending on the circumstances of each case. It can take anywhere from a week to a few months.
Once provided to INZ, your medical and x-ray certificates become the property of the Department and will be filed away.
While the Panel Doctor may have an opinion on your standard of health, it is up to our Medical Assessors to determine whether you meet our health policy. Therefore if the Panel Doctor gives you a clean bill of health (or ticks ‘No abnormal or significant findings’), this does not necessarily mean your medical will not be referred to our Medical Assessors.
People with a high BMI (over 35) are not likely to meet health policy due to the long term health risks associated with obesity.
INZ is not able to limit any NZ resident’s access to the health system and therefore if you do not meet health policy, we are unable to accept offers to pay for private health insurance.
This information is designed to highlight some important areas of the medical policy and process. However, it is not exhaustive. For access to our full health policies, please visit our main Immigration website.
