[MotherBear]

Some words regarding medical waivers from the INZ Operations Manual:

A4.30 Factors considered when determining acceptable standard of health (26/07/1999)
See A4 Effective 28/11/2005

The three main areas to be considered by the consultant physician in evaluating the applicant's (and any accompanying dependants') standard of health, and whether or not they will be a burden on the health services of New Zealand, are:

the condition and prognosis of the applicant
the resources required for care
the availability of the required resources.
In each of these areas several factors are considered, as outlined below.

A4.30.1 Condition and Prognosis

Under this heading, the following factors may be considered:

the disease/disability and the stage of the disease/disability, including symptoms;
the treatment and likely duration of symptoms;
the probable quality of life, and/or functioning;
life expectancy;
the likely course of disease (eg, remission periods, increasing disability over time, etc).

A4.30.5 Resources required for care

The resources required for care are likely to include the following:

hospitalisation/treatment;
the likely frequency of hospital admissions;
the need for immediate treatment;
the need for ongoing secondary/tertiary/specialist care;
the availability and need for ongoing medication or high cost medication;
ongoing management and/or treatment required;
support services likely to be used and frequency of use; ie:
primary services (GP, home nursing, other health professionals, etc),
community health services (home help, meals on wheels, day care, forms of relief care, etc),
specific disability support services (appliances, residential care, etc).

A4.30.10 Availability of the required resources

Factors relating to the availability of resources needed by the applicant may include the following:

whether the type of condition is treated in New Zealand, or managed in New Zealand;
whether the hospital-based care services required are restricted to certain levels of clinical need (eg, elective surgery) or are unlikely to be supplied in New Zealand;
whether other treatment/investigation/management required is clinically restricted (eg, specialist-only pharmaceuticals);
whether any other health support services required have waiting times or are not available immediately or restricted according to clinical urgency, or there are other resource constraints.

A4.60 Medical waivers (applicants for residence)
See A4 (before 28/11/2005)

Applicants for residence in New Zealand who are assessed as not having an acceptable standard of health and whose applications meet all other requirements for approval under the relevant Government residence policy may be considered for the grant of a medical waiver unless:
they require dialysis treatment, or an Immigration New Zealand medical assessor has indicated that they will require such treatment within a period of four years from the date of the medical assessment; or
they have active pulmonary tuberculosis; or
they have severe haemophilia; or
they have a physical incapacity that requires full time care.

Medical waivers will also not be granted to people:
who are applying for residence under Family category policy; and
who were eligible to be included in an earlier application for residence as the spouse or partner of a principal applicant or the dependent child of a principal applicant or their spouse or partner; and
were not declared on that earlier application.

People who:
were eligible to be included in an earlier successful application for residence as the spouse or partner of a principal applicant or the dependent child of a principal applicant or their spouse or partner; and
who were declared in that application but were not included in that application as non-principal applicants; and
whose application for residence under Family category policy is sponsored by a person included in the application for residence referred to in (i) above
will be assessed for the grant of a medical waiver as if they had been included in the earlier application and as if the sponsor was not resident in New Zealand.

Applicants (and dependants included in their application) who have been recognised as refugees may be granted medical waivers.

A4.65 Applicants who will not normally be granted a waiver (26/07/1999)
See A4 Effective 28/11/2005

Applicants will not normally be granted a medical waiver if:
they have an infectious or communicable disease other than tuberculosis, or
they need surgery that is likely to create a severe resource problem within the New Zealand health system.

This section does not apply to:
applicants from the Pacific whose entry to New Zealand has been approved on medical grounds so that they can receive a mitral valve replacement (Note: waivers will not be granted to nationals of countries that can supply appropriate care); or
people referred to New Zealand for medical treatment if ongoing treatment is not available in the home country (Note: applicants must provide evidence that the treatment is unavailable in the home country); or
applicants with a terminal illness if entry has been approved on humanitarian grounds to be with a close family member resident in New Zealand.

A4.65.1 Action

Applications covered by section A4.65 above will not automatically be declined on health grounds.
Visa and immigration officers must consider the surrounding circumstances to decide whether they are compelling enough to justify making an exception to the acceptable standard of health requirement.
Factors that officers may take into account in making their decision include but are not limited to the following:
the objectives of the relevant residence policy or category, and
whether New Zealand has sufficient resources, and the degree to which the applicant would be a burden on New Zealand health services, and
whether the applicant has a spouse or partner who is a New Zealand citizen or resident, and
whether the applicant has immediate family lawfully and permanently* (see F4.1.1) resident in New Zealand, and
whether the applicant's potential contribution to New Zealand will be significant, and
whether the applicant meets all other requirements of the Humanitarian category (see H2).

A4.65.5 Further medical opinions

To assist in determining whether a medical waiver is justified under A4.65 above, visa and immigration officers may seek a further medical opinion from the consultant physician who carried out the initial assessment.
Officers should refer all relevant papers to the consultant physician, together with the reasons for seeking a further opinion. If appropriate, they should ask for a prognosis and/or in light of further information received from the applicant an opinion on the extent of any likely burden on the health service if a medical waiver is granted.
If the consultant physician and the applicant's medical advisor(s) have provided conflicting reports, officers should seek a further medical opinion from either the medical referee or the psychiatric referee (see A4.50).

I don't know if you can pick your way through all that and find some words of encouragement. I would hope that, if INZ can see some end to, or at least a lessening of, the 'burden' to the NZ health service, they would look kindly upon you. Good luck!