Changes to immigration health screening   27 Jul 2012

Friday, 27 July 2012

Changes are being made to streamline and improve immigration health screening. The following changes take effect from 30 July 2012 and will affect all visa applicants who require immigration health screening.

All temporary entry class and residence class visa applicants can re-use previously submitted medical and chest X-ray certificates provided they are less than 36 months old, unless there are identified risk factors.

Applicants who have spent six consecutive months since their last application in any country(ies) outside the list of countries with a low incidence of tuberculosis (TB), must be rescreened for TB, which will require them to provide a new chest X-ray certificate.

Foreign fee-paying students (excluding PhD and New Zealand Aid Programme-supported students) will not be required to provide a medical certificate and will only be screened for TB, which will require them to provide a chest X-ray certificate, unless there are identified risk factors.

Foreign fee-paying students (excluding PhD and New Zealand Aid Programme-supported students) must hold acceptable insurance as a condition of their student visa.

Partners and dependent children of New Zealand citizens and residents, and people who have been recognised as having refugee or protection status in New Zealand (and their partners and children), will only be screened for medical conditions for which a medical waiver cannot be granted.

Partners and dependent children of New Zealand citizens and residents who were:

• eligible for inclusion in a residence application made by their partner or parent, but were not included in, or
• were withdrawn from their partner or parent’s application
• will be required to undergo full medical screening rather than limited screening, if they apply for any type of visa in the future. They will also be ineligible for a medical waiver if they do not have an acceptable standard of health.

Where it has been determined that it is likely that an applicant will impose significant cost or demand on New Zealand’s health or special education services, the applicant’s (or other party’s) ability to pay for or provide health or special education services, has no bearing on whether they will impose significant cost or demand on these services.

These changes will not affect the outcome of applications lodged before 30 July 2012. Amendments have also been made to Immigration New Zealand (INZ) medical and chest X-ray certificates. Pre-30 July 2012 versions of medical and chest X-ray certificates will be accepted by INZ until 31 December 2012.

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