HIV removed from INZ list of high-cost health conditions

After years of campaigning by the NZ Aids Foundation and Body Positive, amongst others, Immigration New Zealand has now removed HIV form its list of high-cost health conditions. This means that people applying for visas who have HIV will not automatically be considered to pose a high cost to New Zealand., and require a medical waiver to be granted a visa. Now, a more individualised assessment of a person’s health will be required.

The INZ release provides: “The cost of HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) treatment is no longer considered significant by Immigration New Zealand (INZ) and the Ministry of Health.

INZ has therefore removed HIV infection from the list of high-cost health conditions used to assess resident visa applications.

INZ will still consider the medical circumstances of applicants with HIV but will not automatically determine that an applicant with HIV does not have an acceptable standard of health, which could lead to the decline of a visa application. 

PHARMAC, National HIV and AIDS Forum, UNAIDS and New Zealand AIDS Foundation supported the proposal to update the list.”

D&S Law salutes all those who have campaigned on this issue over the years.