Short stays from low-TB countries need nothing; everyone staying past 12 months gets the full medical — and residence runs through the NZD 81,000 cost test.
Overview
New Zealand's screening is driven by two questions: how long you are staying, and your tuberculosis exposure history. Spend 12 months or less in New Zealand having lived only in countries with a low incidence of TB and you need no medical at all. Stays of 6–12 months trigger a chest X-ray certificate (INZ 1096) if you have spent more than 6 months in a row in a country off the low-incidence list since your last X-ray. Stays over 12 months — and all residence applications — require the full general medical certificate (INZ 1007) plus chest X-ray. Examinations must be done by an INZ panel physician where your country has one, transmitted electronically via eMedical, and be less than 3 months old when you apply; children under 11 and pregnant women skip the X-ray. For residence, results are assessed against the 'acceptable standard of health' (ASH) rules: a condition likely to cost the health system more than NZD 81,000 over 5 years (threshold raised from 41,000 on 4 September 2022) means ASH is not met, leaving the case-by-case medical waiver. Verified against immigration.govt.nz and tewhatuora.govt.nz as of June 2026.
Who Needs What
| Your situation | Medical exam (INZ 1007) | Chest X-ray (INZ 1096) |
|---|---|---|
| Staying up to 6 months | No | No |
| Staying 6–12 months, only ever in low-TB-incidence countries | No | No |
| Staying 6–12 months, 6+ consecutive months in a non-low-incidence TB country since last X-ray | No | Yes |
| Staying more than 12 months (work, student, long visit) | Yes | Yes (unless one provided to INZ in the last 12 months) |
| Applying for residence (any category) | Yes — assessed against ASH | Yes |
| Children under 11 / pregnant women | As applicable to stay length | No X-ray unless a special report is requested |
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See Paid Plans →Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a medical examination for a 9-month stay in New Zealand?
Only an X-ray, and only depending on your TB history. For stays of 6–12 months, INZ requires a chest X-ray certificate (INZ 1096) if, since your last immigration X-ray, you have spent more than 6 consecutive months in a country that is not on the low-TB-incidence list. If you have only ever lived in low-incidence countries (most of Western Europe, North America, Australia, Japan), you need nothing at all for a 9-month stay. The full general medical certificate (INZ 1007) only enters the picture for stays over 12 months and for residence applications. Children under 11 and pregnant women are exempt from the X-ray.
Can my own doctor do the immigration medical?
Only if your country has no INZ-approved panel physician. Where a panel list exists for your location — and it does for most significant source countries — you must use a listed panel physician for the medical and a listed radiologist for the X-ray; certificates from other doctors are not accepted. Panel clinics submit everything electronically through eMedical: you sign the consent form, the clinic transmits results securely to INZ, and you quote the eMedical reference in your application. Inside New Zealand, a network of approved clinics performs the same role. Fees are set by each clinic and are yours to pay, including any follow-up tests INZ's medical assessors request.
Will a chronic condition like diabetes or a past cancer ruin my residence application?
Not automatically — the test is cost, not diagnosis. INZ's medical assessors estimate whether your condition is likely to require publicly funded services costing more than NZD 81,000 over 5 years (or over the condition's predicted course). A well-controlled condition with cheap maintenance therapy often passes; conditions needing dialysis, organ transplant or very high-cost medicines typically do not. The threshold doubled from NZD 41,000 in September 2022, so older anecdotes overstate the strictness. If ASH is not met, ask about a medical waiver: INZ weighs support needs against your family links and the contribution you and your family bring, case by case.
How old can my medical certificates be, and can I reuse them?
They must be less than 3 months old when you lodge the visa application — so sequence the medical late in your preparation, after slow items like foreign police certificates and any NZQA assessment are secured. Reuse is limited but real: a chest X-ray certificate you have already provided to INZ counts again if it was issued within the last 12 months, and eMedical records mean a recent examination can sometimes be linked to a new application. The certificates also have processing-side validity: INZ treats medicals as current for a defined period during assessment, so a slow queue does not force a re-examination in most cases.
Does New Zealand test for HIV, and is a positive result a refusal?
Residence-level medicals include laboratory screening — the clinic will tell you exactly which blood tests your certificate requires, and HIV and hepatitis serology are part of the standard residence panel. A positive result is not an automatic refusal: it feeds the same acceptable-standard-of-health cost assessment as any other condition, measured against the NZD 81,000 / 5-year threshold and the predicted course of treatment. Modern antiretroviral management changes that arithmetic year by year, and the medical waiver remains available where ASH is not met — particularly for partners of New Zealand citizens and residents. Answer screening questions honestly; concealment is the surer route to refusal.
I passed the immigration medical — am I now covered by New Zealand's health system?
No — the medical and healthcare eligibility are unrelated tests. Your entitlement to publicly funded healthcare depends on the Health and Disability Services Eligibility Direction 2011: broadly, residents and people holding work visas allowing 2 or more years in New Zealand are eligible; shorter-stay workers, students (who must usually hold insurance as a visa condition) and visitors are not, and will be billed for non-accident care. ACC's no-fault scheme covers accident injuries for everyone in the country, including tourists. So a newly arrived AEWV holder on a 3-year visa is typically eligible; their visiting parents on a Parent Boost visa are not — hence that visa's compulsory insurance condition.