2016-May 27: Character Issues arising from Medicals

27 May 2016

Character Issues arising from Medicals

There are times when a Medical Assessor (MA) will pick up on the fact that a client has made a false declaration in their medical form. For example, in one case a client failed to declare her history of breast cancer from 2010, for which she had surgery, radiation therapy and then took medication for 5 years. This creates a character issue for the client as they have provided false and misleading information in the course of applying for a New Zealand visa.

When the MA identifies these issues they will advise the Health Assessment Team (HAT) who will then advise the relevant office. The office should then assess the information and determine whether or not a character waiver is necessary. The HAT is only responsible for conveying the message from the MA to the visa processing office and cannot advise offices on the character assessment process. The character issue is separate to any health related issues that the MA may identify and it is up to the office how best to manage them.

Action

Please discuss with your team(s).