Who needs a medical or chest X-ray for a New Zealand visa, what the tests involve, how long an immigration medical stays valid, and how INZ assesses conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes and hepatitis B against the acceptable standard of health.
Written by Inder Singh, Principal Adviser & Founder and Licensed Immigration Adviser (IAA Licence 201301110).
For a temporary visa, you need a chest X-ray if you are staying more than 6 months and come from (or spent time in) a country that is not on INZ’s low-TB-incidence list, and a full medical examination if you are staying more than 12 months; residence applicants need both. The certificates must be less than 3 months old when you apply, and are generally valid for 36 months after that (immigration.govt.nz).
The examination itself is straightforward. What worries applicants is what happens afterwards: whether a managed condition fails the test, what “acceptable standard of health” actually measures, and how INZ treats a child’s diagnosis. This page answers the examination and condition questions; for what to do when INZ raises a formal health concern, see our medical issues and health waivers guide.
| Application | What INZ requires |
|---|---|
| Temporary visa, staying 6 to 12 months | Chest X-ray certificate, if you are from or spent more than 3 months in a country outside INZ’s low-TB-incidence list |
| Temporary visa, staying more than 12 months | Chest X-ray certificate (same country rule) plus a general medical certificate |
| Residence | General medical certificate and chest X-ray for each applicant, less than 3 months old at submission |
INZ can also request a medical at any point where the information in an application raises a health question, whatever the visa length. The country list and per-category detail live on INZ’s who needs an X-ray or medical examination page.
The general medical certificate covers a physical examination, medical history, blood pressure, and blood and urine tests; the chest X-ray certificate screens for tuberculosis. Bring your passport, glasses or contact lenses if you use them, a list of any medication, and reports for any known condition; a specialist letter that explains diagnosis, treatment and stability answers on day one the questions INZ would otherwise ask in month three.
The examination must be done by an approved panel physician: a doctor or radiologist authorised for New Zealand immigration medicals (find one on immigration.govt.nz). Panel physicians submit results electronically through eMedical, straight to INZ; you receive an eMedical reference code to include in your application rather than paper certificates. The fee is set by the clinic, not INZ, and varies by country and city, so compare panel clinics near you.
Less than 3 months old on the day you apply, and generally valid for 36 months after that, so a medical done for one application can often carry over to the next (immigration.govt.nz). Two caveats: INZ can ask for a fresh examination where your health has changed or the application type needs it, and application forms ask whether your health has changed since your last medical, a question to answer honestly rather than optimistically. Before booking a new examination, check whether the one INZ already holds still serves.
Most examinations clear without any further step. Where a result is outside the usual range, the panel physician may be asked for follow-up tests (a repeat blood pressure reading, an HbA1c, a specialist report), and the file may be referred to INZ’s medical assessors. A referral is part of the process, not a verdict, and the extra weeks it adds are assessment time, not a signal about the outcome.
The standard being applied is the acceptable standard of health (ASH): broadly, whether you are unlikely to impose significant costs or demands on New Zealand’s health or special education services. For residence, INZ works with a defined list of high-cost conditions and a significant cost threshold, currently NZD $81,000 (immigration.govt.nz). An assessor’s conclusion attaches to the application it was made for; a later application asks the health question again, on your health as it stands then.
Not by themselves, in most cases. The medical is not a fitness test; it is a cost-and-demand assessment, and common managed conditions sit well below the threshold when the evidence shows they are controlled. High blood pressure typically leads to repeat readings or a cardiovascular risk assessment; diabetes leads to an HbA1c and questions about complications. What moves a case toward difficulty is not the diagnosis but its consequences: organ damage, dialysis-level kidney disease, or treatment needs that reach the high-cost list.
If you know your numbers run high, the useful preparation is a current specialist or GP letter showing the condition, the treatment, and the stability. Arriving documented beats explaining after a referral.
The rules changed on 3 August 2026: INZ removed hepatitis B and hepatitis C from the resident-visa high-cost health conditions list, because treatment costs have fallen well below the NZD $81,000 significant cost threshold (immigration.govt.nz). Applicants with hepatitis B or C are no longer automatically assessed as not meeting the acceptable standard of health; medical assessors now consider each applicant’s individual circumstances. If a previous application was affected by the old rule, the change applies to resident visa applications submitted on or after 3 August 2026.
A diagnosis is not an automatic decline, and families do get residence with autistic children; equally, this is the area where the acceptable standard of health does the most work, because ASH for children weighs special education and support needs alongside health costs. The assessment is individual: the level of support the child actually needs, evidenced by current specialist and education reports, matters far more than the word on the diagnosis.
Where a child does not meet ASH, the application is not necessarily over; INZ can consider a medical waiver on the family’s whole circumstances. This is the single most important case type to get professional advice on before lodging, not after: how the child’s needs are evidenced shapes the assessment, and our medical issues and health waivers guide explains the waiver stage itself.
There is no pass or fail stamp on the day. If INZ’s assessors conclude you may not meet the acceptable standard of health, you receive a letter setting out the concern (a potentially prejudicial information letter) and a chance to respond, and INZ can consider a medical waiver, weighing your circumstances, ties and contribution against the assessed cost. Waivers, second opinions and how to respond are covered in the medical issues and health waivers guide; the short version is that the response window is where these cases are won, with evidence rather than hope.
For temporary visas: a chest X-ray if you are staying more than 6 months and come from or spent over 3 months in a country outside INZ’s low-TB-incidence list, plus a full medical examination if staying more than 12 months. Residence applicants need both. INZ can also request a medical wherever an application raises a health question.
The certificates must be less than 3 months old when you submit the application, and are then generally valid for 36 months, so a medical from a recent application can often be reused. INZ can require a fresh examination where your health has changed, and application forms ask that question directly, so check what INZ already holds before booking again.
A general medical certificate covering examination, history, blood pressure and blood and urine tests, plus a chest X-ray certificate screening for tuberculosis. Both are done by an approved panel physician who submits the results to INZ electronically through eMedical, giving you a reference code for your application. Clinic fees vary; INZ sets no fixed price.
Usually not by itself. The assessment measures likely cost and demand on New Zealand’s health services, not fitness, and a controlled condition typically leads at most to repeat readings or a risk assessment. What matters is evidence of stability, so bring a current GP or specialist letter showing the condition, treatment and control.
The position improved on 3 August 2026, when INZ removed hepatitis B and C from the resident-visa high-cost health conditions list; treatment now costs well below the NZD $81,000 significant cost threshold. Applicants are no longer automatically assessed as failing the acceptable standard of health, and medical assessors consider individual circumstances instead.
A diagnosis is not an automatic decline. Children are assessed individually against the acceptable standard of health, which weighs the support and special education the child actually needs, evidenced by current specialist and education reports. Where ASH is not met, INZ can consider a medical waiver on the family’s whole circumstances. Get advice before lodging; the evidence strategy shapes the assessment.
The medical sits alongside the character checks in INZ’s background assessment: see police certificates for NZ visas for the other half, and the medical issues and health waivers guide for what to do when INZ raises a formal health concern.
Current as at 28 August 2026, based on Immigration New Zealand policy. For advice on your own situation, talk to a ProVisas Licensed Immigration Adviser (IAA Licence 201301110).
Last reviewed . Information may have changed since this article was reviewed. For your specific case, talk to a licensed immigration adviser.
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