A significant increase to the health threshold for Residence visa applications has been put in place since 2 September 2022. That impacts applicants with existing health conditions.

The threshold for determining conditions that may impose significant health costs has increased from $41,000 to $81,000.

Most applicants for residence class visas must have an acceptable standard of health. One of the requirements to it is that they must be unlikely to impose significant costs of demands on New Zealand’s healthcare services.

How is it calculated?

The threshold for determining whether health conditions impose significant costs is calculated via estimating the cost over:

• 5 years, or
• the predicted course of the condition.

Residence applications lodged before 4 September 2022 will be assessed at the previous cost threshold of $41,000. Applicants may be considered for medical waivers on a case-by-case basis.