Visa Health Requirements: Standards, Lists and Process

Almost every NZ visa requires the applicant to meet the ASH: acceptable standard of health. Health is the quietest decline factor: many well-prepared applications stall at the medical assessment stage. This guide helps you self-check early.

1. The three ASH tests

INZ assesses three things:

1. Public health risk: could you threaten public health (active TB is the classic case)?
2. Cost and demand: are you likely to impose significant costs or demands on NZ’s health or special education services? The quantitative line is NZ$81,000 (since September 2022, previously $41,000). If a medical assessor thinks your condition will probably exceed that figure, you do not meet the ASH;
3. Functional ability: can you do what the visa is for (work or study)?

Factors INZ explicitly cannot weigh in your favour: your access to private healthcare, any insurance you hold, or family/organisational ability to pay. Only the public-system burden counts: self-funding is not an argument.

2. The decline-assessment condition list (residence & Parent Boost)

The following trigger close assessment and usually mean the ASH is not met (absent a medical waiver):

Category	Specific situations
Infections	Hepatitis B (surface antigen positive) or C (RNA positive) meeting NZ antiviral treatment criteria; MDR/XDR-TB history unless cleared by a NZ specialist
Cancer	Current malignancies or those under treatment; past cancers with ≥10% recurrence likelihood (treated minor skin cancers excepted)
Organs	Transplant need or post-transplant immune suppression (corneal grafts excepted); severe chronic/progressive kidney or liver disease
Cardiac	Severe ischaemic heart disease, cardiomyopathy, valve disease or aortic aneurysm likely to need surgery within 5 years
Respiratory	Severe or progressive restrictive/obstructive lung disease, cystic fibrosis
Neurological	Dementia (incl. Alzheimer’s), poorly controlled epilepsy, Parkinson’s, relapsing/progressive MS, motor neurone disease, cerebral palsy, paraplegia/quadriplegia
Musculoskeletal	Osteoarthritis and similar conditions likely to require surgery within 5 years
Hereditary	Hereditary anaemias and coagulation disorders, primary immunodeficiencies, Gaucher’s disease
Autoimmune	Severe autoimmune disease needing immune suppressants beyond Prednisone, Methotrexate, Azathioprine or Salazopyrin
Sensory	Severe hearing loss (71–90 dB) needing major support such as cochlear implants; corrected vision of 6/36 or worse
Developmental / psychiatric	Severe developmental or cognitive impairment needing significant support (physical or intellectual disability, autism spectrum, brain injury); major psychiatric illness or addiction requiring hospitalisation or significant support

Extra rules for temporary visas: applications may be declined for expected hospitalisation, residential care, high-cost pharmaceuticals, or high-cost disability services. Dependent children under 20 applying for student/visitor visas face an additional assessment for severe developmental or cognitive conditions (including autism spectrum). Students whose learning-support needs would qualify for ORS funding may also fail the ASH.

3. The medical process and validity

• Examinations must be done by an INZ-approved panel physician; most countries support eMedical electronic submission;
• Common forms: General Medical Certificate (INZ 1007) and Chest X-ray Certificate (INZ 1096); previously submitted certificates usually do not need repeating while valid;
• Applicants from China (incl. Hong Kong/Macao): for stays over 6 months, a new chest X-ray is required if you spent 6 continuous months in China since the last certificate; it must be under 3 months old at lodgement;
• You answer health questions at application; INZ then tells you which medical evidence is needed.

4. Medical waivers: the last resort, narrowly drawn

Failing the ASH does not always mean decline: but waiver eligibility is tight:

• Residence: considered only if you meet every other approval requirement;
• Temporary visas: only for partners or dependent children of NZ citizens/residents, seconded businesspeople, and refugee/protection-status holders;
• Waivers are discretionary, not entitlements, and student visa applicants cannot be waived on the ability-to-study ground.

5. Practical advice

1. Self-check before lodging: walk the interactive checklist above; if any item hits, consult a licensed immigration adviser before applying;
2. Chronic conditions: bring English medical records: diagnosis, treatment plan and prognosis let the assessor price the risk quickly;
3. Reuse valid old medicals: check whether previously submitted certificates are still within their validity;
4. Take extra care with children’s applications: the under-20 dependent rules are a frequent decline trigger in recent years.

This checklist is informational, not medical or legal advice; individual cases are decided by INZ medical assessors.