First of all, Hi everyone. Just stumbled onto this forum and it offers a wealth of useful information.
Our Story -
Me, my hubby, and kids have been in NZ 6 years to the day today after taking the plunge,selling up, and moving to Auckland.Back then the points required for a skilled migrant application meant that even with a good education and a degree, you just couldnt make the points needed without a solid job offer. And to get a job offer (hubby in IT) you really had to be in NZ. it was very much a catch 22.
So we just thought sod it, sold up and moved here anyway,landing with a 6month visitor stamp.Kind of scary given we had never even been to NZ before and family all back in the uk!
Luckily hubby manged to get a job offer the first week we were here, followed by a 2 year work visa issued the same day, and then later that evening we applied for PR which was granted about 4 months later...all good!!
So here we are 6 years down the line and now NZ citizens and loving it, although having my parents in the uk has always been the tough part, as i am sure is the same for lots of others.
My parents have visited a few times and also love it here, and with no other ties to the uk applied for residency under the family category with me as the sponsor back in Dec08.
During the medicals it was picked up that my dad (now 65) had CLL which is type of leukemia very common to men over 60. No treatment needed and the specialist was (and still is) of the opinion that he is far more likely to die of some other ilness in old age than be affected or ever need treatment by the CLL.
Anyway the application was sent in Jan 09, and nothing heard back from NZIS until Feb this year when we received an email from the allocatedcase officer stating the medical was being referred to the MA.
As expected the MA came back (about 6 weeks later) asking for additional information which was obtinaed from the specialist and sent back almost immediately. We were told this would take yet another 6-8 weeks for the MA to look at. Tee 6-8 weeks was obviously optimistic as we received an email today (3months later) from the case officer who has finally had a response from the MA :
Medical assessor’s comments
The medical assessor has advised that you do not meet the acceptable standard of health for entry to New Zealand on the basis that you are likely to impose significant costs or demands on New Zealand’s health services.
Specifically the medical assessor has noted:
Has appendix 10 condition. We accept that overall prognosis is good but applicant is only 64 and median survival is quoted as 150 months meaning that with next 12 years 50% will have died of their conditions and therefore by implications 50% will probably have required treatment for their condition in that time period
What can you do now?
It is therefore in your interest to write to us with your comments and/or send additional information to address the concerns above.
If you provide another medical opinion from a suitably qualified professional which disputes the original assessment above we will forward this to our medical assessor for their further consideration.
What will happen next?
If the medical assessor’s assessment does not change we will then refer your case to a second medical assessor for a final assessment.
If the final assessment is that you do not have an acceptable standard of health or if you do not provide a further medical opinion we will write to you again about considering you for a waiver of the requirement to have an acceptable standard of health.
We knew that under 'appendix 10' there is no way my father will meet the requirements, as the rules are very black and white. So this is where we are at today, with the next step to write a letter back outlining my dad's specialist comments about him likely never needing treatment in the rest of his lifetime, but know this is pretty futile.
If i understand the process correctly this will then go back to the first medical assessor (who will no doubt reject it) and then get referred to a 2nd assessor for final assessment and subsequent rejection. All of which i'm sure will take up the rest of this year given the MA delays we have experienced so far!
I assume only then at that stage can we potentially apply for a waiver?
Just looking for some re-assurance around the process and timeframes for waivers to be processed as im sure we are heading down this path. All very frustrating time-wise, and obviously the concern is that a medical waiver would be rejected given my parents are retired.
Not sure exactly whay they look at for the waiver, as having a postivie effect on NZ, so appreciate any advice. Obviously we are citizens and i am my fathers only child but not sure if this would be enough or not.
Thanks for any replies :-)