A4.10 Acceptable standard of health (applicants for residence)

1. Applicants for residence visas and permits must have an acceptable standard of health unless they have been granted a medical waiver. An application for residence must be declined if any person included in that application is assessed as not having an acceptable standard of health and a medical waiver is not granted (see A4.60).
2. Applicants for residence are considered to have an acceptable standard of health if they are:
   1. unlikely to be a danger to public health; and
   2. unlikely to impose significant costs or demands on New Zealand’s health services or special education services; and
   3. (unless the applicant is sponsored for residence by a person who holds refugee status in New Zealand) able to undertake the work on the basis of which they are applying for a visa or permit, or which is a requirement for the issue or grant of the visa or permit.
3. The conditions listed in Appendix 10 are considered to impose significant costs and/or demands on New Zealand’s health and/or special education services. Where a visa or immigration officer is satisfied (as a result of advice from an Immigration New Zealand medical assessor) that an applicant has one of the listed conditions, that applicant will be assessed as not having an acceptable standard of health.
4. If a visa or immigration officer is not initially satisfied that an applicant for residence has an acceptable standard of health, they must refer the matter for assessment to an Immigration New Zealand medical assessor (or the Ministry of Education as appropriate).

A4.10.1 Assessment of whether an applicant for residence is unlikely to impose significant costs on New Zealand’s health services

1. The requirement that an applicant for residence must be unlikely to impose significant costs on New Zealand’s health services is not met if, in the opinion of an Immigration New Zealand medical assessor, there is a relatively high probability that the applicant’s medical condition or group of conditions will require health services costing in excess of $25,000.

   Note: Assessment will be in terms of current costs with no inflation adjustment.

2. In the case of acute medical conditions, the medical assessor will provide an opinion on whether there is a relatively high probability that the condition or group of conditions will require health services costing in excess of NZ$25,000 within a period of four years from the date the assessment against health requirements policy is made.
3. In the case of chronic recurring medical conditions, the medical assessor will provide an opinion on whether, over the predicted course of the condition or group of conditions, there is a relatively high probability that the condition or group of conditions will require health services costing in excess of NZ$25,000.

A4.10.5 Assessment of whether an applicant for residence is unlikely to impose significant costs on New Zealand’s special education services

The requirement that an applicant for residence must be unlikely to impose significant costs on New Zealand’s special education services is not met if the Ministry of Education (MoE) has determined that there is a relatively high probability that the applicant’s physical, intellectual, sensory or behavioural condition or group of conditions would entitle them to Ongoing and Reviewable Resourcing Schemes (ORRS) funding.

A4.10.10 Assessment of whether an applicant for residence is unlikely to impose significant demands on New Zealand’s health services

The requirement that an applicant must be unlikely to impose significant demands on New Zealand’s health services is not met if, in the opinion of an Immigration New Zealand medical assessor, there is a relatively high probability that the applicant’s medical condition or group of conditions will require health services for which the current demand in New Zealand is not being met.

Effective 28/11/2005