There are some basic requirements that apply to every type of visa and one of them is health – you must meet an acceptable standard of health to be eligible for a visa.

Generally speaking, applicants must be healthy enough to perform the main function of their visa, not be a danger to public health, and not risk being a significant cost on New Zealand’s health and education system. For example, there’s no point applying for a work visa if you’re bed-ridden and you’d be unable to work anyway. For most applicants however, it’s the significant cost part that catches them out.

But what does “significant cost to New Zealand’s health and education system” mean anyway?

New Zealand has a universal healthcare system that even expands to migrants – meaning once you have a visa you will be entitled to at least some public healthcare systems. Because of this, our immigration policy is to decline anyone with a current medical condition that would be expensive for the public system to take care of.

Can’t I say that I can pay for it myself?

No, because there’s no way to enforce that. We cannot force people to not undergo healthcare, that is a human rights issue. Since universal healthcare is available to all, and no one can stop you from using it, the policy is to assume you will use public healthcare even if you can obviously afford to use private healthcare providers instead. This means that the immigration system doesn’t care if you already have health insurance, have access to the private health system or have family that can take care of you.

So what’s the trigger for this?

It depends on the type of visa but it’s mostly decided by seeing if any negative factors apply to you. For temporary visas (work, student and visitor visas usually) there is a list of things that are considered to incur a significant cost so if you meet one of them, or have a relatively high chance of meeting them while you are in New Zealand, you’ll end up declined due to health issues.

Generally speaking, these factors include:

• Hospitalisation
• Residential care
• High cost pharmaceuticals
• High cost disability services

For applicants under 21 specifically, because they can be classified as children and would be entitled to more, they have even more negative factors to consider. It’s generally based on whether they have severe developmental disorders or cognitive issues and require a lot of support, but the general list is:

• Physical disabilities
• Intellectual disabilities
• Autism spectrum disorders
• Brain injury
• Likely to qualify for Ongoing Resourcing Scheme (ORS) funding.

That last one might be new to people. ORS is public funding and services for children with issues that require specialist support, to allow them to still be able to study in school. This is why the health requirement is to not have significant costs on health AND education systems, because this specialist support is limited in supply.

For resident visas, it’s a little more complex. The basic rules as above applies, as do all of the negative factors. However, since residency can last a lifetime and isn’t temporary, there are a lot more conditions added to the list. The list is far too long to cover but it includes things such as organ transplants, chronic disorders, cardiac and respiratory diseases, and intellectual/developmental disorders. Having one of those conditions will cause you to immediately be considered to be a potential significant cost to New Zealand’s health/education systems.

Since residency is usually for life, there is also an explicit dollar cost involved. If INZ’s medical assessors believe that there is a relatively high chance that you will require health services costing $81,000 then you will also fail to meet the acceptable standard of health. Again, INZ does not care if you are able to pay for any of these costs yourself – the assumption will always be that you will use the public healthcare system.

 So what do I do if I have a medical condition?

The first step would be to establish whether or not you really would incur significant costs to New Zealand’s health/education systems or not, which would require expert medical advice. But let’s assume the worst and say that you have a condition that means you do not meet the acceptable standard of health. You would need to request a medical waiver – an exception to policy based on exceptional circumstances.

There are many things to consider here, and the restrictions on who can even request a medical waiver are strict. But if you do have a condition then this is usually your only option. This will require pleading your case, explaining your circumstances and providing enough information and documents to prove your claims, all in the hopes of being compelling enough to justify allowing you to enter and stay in New Zealand.

Medical waivers are hard to argue for and there’s no real template on how to approach it as so much of it is based on your personal circumstances. I would heavily recommend that you seek expert advice from a professional to assist you if this is a concern, as medical issues can be one of the hardest barriers to entry to overcome.

Queen City Law is an award winning law firm that specialises in litigation, commercial, property, and immigration law. Our team of experts would be more than happy to help you with your immigration needs. If you have any questions, queries or concerns you can contact us at immigrationteam@queencitylaw.co.nz

Disclaimer: This blog is general commentary only and is not legal advice. Always seek tailored legal advice before making investment or immigration decisions.