2015-Feb 27: Medical Assessor Referrals – School aged applicants applying for visitor visas

Visa Pak 200: Best practise guidelines for Immigration Officers processing visitor visas for school-aged children whose medical needs to be referred to a Medical Assessor.

Visa Paks

27 February 2015

Medical Assessor Referrals – School aged applicants applying for visitor visas

Issues have recently been raised about applications received from school aged children who have applied for visitor visas, who appear to have medical conditions which would mean they would not have an acceptable standard of health (ASH) under student or residence instructions.

Generally, issues will only become apparent at the point the child has already been in New Zealand for a period, or if they are applying for a visitor visa of 12 months or more, as children entering as short term visitors are not required to provide medical certificates [A4.25(a)].

This article explains how Medical Assessors (MAs) will record their opinion in these cases, and what actions Immigration Officers need to take in response.

Applicants of school age applying for visitor rather than student visas

Instructions at A4.15(b)iii state that an applicant is not considered to meet ASH requirements if they are eligible for Ongoing Resourcing Scheme (ORS) funding, are under 21 years of age and are applying for a student visa. This means that a school aged child applying for a visitor visa is not assessed for ORS eligibility even though they may be intending to stay long term in New Zealand, as it is not relevant to the assessment of whether or not the applicant meets the ASH requirements for a visitor visa.

Because these applicants may not be ASH if they apply for a student or residence visa (and medical certificates are valid for 36 months for further applications), we have requested MAs assess them as ASH “with conditions” – the condition being that the ASH opinion is only relevant to the visitor visa application and that if the applicant were to reapply for a visa of a different type, a new medical may be requested and / or a further medical referral required.

Action

In these circumstances please follow these steps:

  • Record the applicant as ASH in AMS but note that this is for this particular visitor visa only.
  • Raise a medical information warning "ASH with conditions" quoting the MA comments, noting that A4.25(g) ii & iii applies and that a new referral will need to be made to an MA. This may require that a new medical or updated report is submitted.
  • If approving the visitor visa application, advise the client in writing that if they apply for a further visa, a new medical referral will be undertaken. This will allow applicants to make an informed decision about whether to take up the option of a visitor visa, understanding the limitations of this.
  • Instructions at A4.25 can be quoted if requesting a new full medical.

Bona fides assessment

If a child has applied for a long term visitor visa and it appears they may qualify for ORS funding, it may be relevant to consider whether they are a bona fide applicant for a visitor visa. As per instructions at E5 all temporary entry applicants must be bona fide applicants intending a temporary stay in New Zealand.

Should the bona fides assessment lead to a decline please explain why this is the case to clarify this is not because the client does not meet ASH requirements for the current visitor application.

Action

Please discuss this with your teams to ensure they understand the advice above.