A United Kingdom (UK) citizen (passport holder) is eligible for treatment (medical, hospital and related) on the same basis as a New Zealand citizen if they:
- are ordinarily resident in the UK (including England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Island of Jersey and the Balliwick of Guernsey, comprising the islands of Guernsey, Alderney, Herm, Jethou and Sark) AND
- are on a temporary stay in New Zealand (a temporary stay would be any stay that was not permanent, and to become permanent they would need to have a residence permit or NZ citizenship) AND
- require medical treatment which, in the opinion of a medical practitioner (or dentist for people under 19 years), needs prompt attention for a condition that arose after arrival into New Zealand, OR became, or without treatment would have become, acutely exacerbated after arrival.
What is meant by “acutely exacerbated” in the UK agreement?
A good working definition would be a pre-existing condition that:
- was stable when the person commenced travel AND
-
was not expected to deteriorate during the time of the stay in New Zealand AND
- deteriorated and required treatment in New Zealand before the person was able to travel again.