Health requirements for temporary entry to New Zealand for students, workers, and visitors

To be able to enter New Zealand as a student, worker, or visitor INZ needs to be assured that you and any family members with you have an acceptable standard of health.

INZ defines a family as you, your partner, and your and/or partner’s dependent children.

INZ imposes this requirement to protect public health in New Zealand and to ensure that people entering New Zealand do not impose excessive costs and demands on our health and special education services.

INZ also wants to make sure that people who enter New Zealand are able to undertake the work or study for which they have been granted entry.

Generally, INZ will not approve the entry of people to New Zealand if they have:

• tuberculosis (TB)
• a relatively high probability of needing publicly funded health services during their stay in New Zealand, including, but not limited to:

       ◊ hospitalisation
       ◊ residential care †
       ◊ high-cost pharmaceuticals
       ◊ high-cost disability services

• applied for a student visa, and are under 21 years of age and likely to qualify for ongoing resourcing scheme (ORS) funding. ‡

† Residential care is long-term care provided in a live-in facility such as an aged-person’s facility or a facility for people with a physical, sensory, intellectual, or psychiatric disability.

‡ Ongoing Resourcing Scheme (ORS) funding is primarily for the provision of specialist assistance to meet students’ special education needs throughout their school years. ORS resources are additional to the teacher funding and operational grants that are paid to schools for every student in New Zealand. If a student applicant, under the age of 21, is eligible for ORS, they will not be issued a visa to enter or study in New Zealand.

Example

A person who requires dialysis treatment is likely to have their application to study, work, or visit in New Zealand declined.

Each applicant who intends to stay in New Zealand for more than six months and who has risk factors for TB †† is required to complete (and submit with their application) a Chest X-ray Certificate (INZ 1096) PDF.

Each applicant who intends to stay in New Zealand for more than 12 months is required to complete (and submit with their application) a General Medical Certificate (INZ 1007) PDF and a Chest X-ray Certificate (INZ 1096) PDF.

Partners and dependent children for New Zealand citizens and residents may be required to provide a Limited Medical Certificate (INZ1201) rather than a General Medical Certificate (INZ1007) if they meet the appropriate criteria.

If you have provided medical and chest X-ray certificates already in the last 36 months you may not need to provide new certificates.

Pregnant women and children under the age of 11 years are not required to submit the Chest X-ray certificate unless a special report is required.

†† You are considered to have risk factors for TB if you:

• are not from a low TB risk country; and/or
• you have spent (lived and/or visited) a combined total of 3 months or more in a country or countries not listed as a low TB risk country in the 5 years before you apply.

Countries, areas and territories with low incidence of tuberculosis (TB) are: American Samoa, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Austria, Barbados, Belgium, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominica, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Grenada, Iceland, Ireland, Israel (including the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and including East Jerusalem), Italy, Jamaica, Jordan, Libya, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Montserrat, Netherlands, Netherlands Antilles, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Puerto Rico, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicaos, United Kingdom, United States of America, United States Virgin Islands, Vatican City.