New Zealand Student Visa Chest X-ray: Who Needs One and When to Book

TL;DR: If you will study in New Zealand for 6 months or longer and your country is not on Immigration New Zealand's low tuberculosis incidence list, your New Zealand student visa needs a chest X-ray. Sri Lanka and India are not on that list. The X-ray must be done by an approved panel physician, and the result must be no more than three months old when Immigration New Zealand receives your application. Book it close to the date you apply, not months before.

The chest X-ray is one of the smallest steps in a New Zealand student visa application, and one of the easiest to get wrong. Book it too early and the result expires before you apply. Book it too late and it holds up an application that is otherwise ready.

This guide explains who needs the X-ray, how the panel physician process works and how to time it against your intake.

Planning a New Zealand intake and unsure how the health checks fit your timeline? Check your eligibility with Prosper.

Who needs a chest X-ray for a New Zealand student visa

Immigration New Zealand (INZ) decides this with two questions: how long you will stay, and which country you are a citizen of.

INZ's page on countries with a low incidence of tuberculosis states: "If you are applying for a visa to come to New Zealand for 6 months or longer, you must have a chest X-ray if you are a citizen of a country that is not on this list."

The list is mostly made up of countries with low tuberculosis rates. In Asia it includes Japan, Israel, Turkey, the Maldives and several Gulf states. Most of South Asia, including India, is not on it.

For longer stays INZ may also ask for a general medical examination. Its Fee Paying Student Visa page says a medical certificate is typically not required for stays under 12 months, so check the health section of that page against your course length.

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How the X-ray process works

INZ sets out the process on its page about getting an X-ray or medical examination.

1. Use a panel physician. INZ says you "must visit a panel physician", an approved doctor or clinic, unless there are none in your country. INZ's website has a tool to find one.
2. Bring an identity document. INZ asks you to bring an identity document to the appointment. Bring your passport, since it is the document your visa application will use.
3. Get your eMedical reference code. Panel physicians send results to INZ electronically through eMedical. You give INZ the reference code from your panel physician, and INZ gets the results directly.
4. Pay the clinic. INZ is clear that "you must pay any costs related to your X-ray and medical examinations". Ask for the price when you book.

The three-month rule, and how to time your X-ray

INZ says your chest X-ray and medical examination results "must be no more than 3 months old when we get your application". That single rule decides when you book.

The right order is to get the X-ray once the rest of your application is close to ready, so you can lodge within a few weeks of the appointment. Work back from your intake:

• Your offer of place and funds evidence first. Without these you cannot lodge, and the X-ray clock keeps running.
• INZ processing time next. INZ's Fee Paying Student Visa page shows 80 percent of applications decided within 8 weeks. For a February start, that means lodging by early December at the latest, and earlier is safer.
• The X-ray inside the three months before you lodge. For a December lodgement, an appointment in October or November keeps the result valid.

Our guide to New Zealand student visa processing time explains how to plan around the October to March peak.

What the X-ray sits alongside

The chest X-ray is one part of a complete application. INZ's Fee Paying Student Visa page lists the visa cost from NZD 850 and funds of NZD 20,000 for each year of tertiary study if you are paying your own living costs. Our guide to New Zealand student visa funds covers how to show that money.

Applying from Sri Lanka

• Sri Lanka is not on INZ's low tuberculosis incidence list, so any New Zealand student visa for 6 months or longer needs a chest X-ray.
• Use INZ's panel physician tool to find an approved clinic in Sri Lanka, and book only with a listed clinic.
• INZ's Fee Paying Student Visa page notes that applicants from India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal or Bhutan applying in those countries are limited to immediate family as financial sponsors.
• If your documents also need checking before you apply, read our guide to IOM document verification for a New Zealand student visa.

FAQ

Do I need a chest X-ray for a New Zealand student visa from Sri Lanka? Yes, if you are staying 6 months or longer, because it is not on INZ's low tuberculosis incidence list.

How long is a chest X-ray valid for a New Zealand visa? The result must be no more than 3 months old when INZ receives your application.

Can I use any hospital for the X-ray? No. INZ requires a panel physician unless there is none in your country.

Do I send the X-ray result to INZ myself? Usually not. The panel physician sends it through eMedical, and you give INZ the eMedical reference code.

Who pays for the X-ray? You do. INZ says applicants pay all costs of their X-ray and medical examinations.

PS: A chest X-ray booked at the right moment is a small thing that keeps a New Zealand application moving. If you want help lining up your offer, funds, health checks and lodgement date, check your eligibility with Prosper.

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