New Zealand Removes Hepatitis B and C from Resident Visa High-Cost Health Conditions List

• New Zealand will no longer automatically assess resident visa applicants with hepatitis B or hepatitis C as failing health requirements, following changes to its high-cost health conditions list.  

Resident Visa High-Cost Health Conditions List 

Immigration New Zealand (INZ) has removed hepatitis B and hepatitis C from the list of high-cost health conditions used to assess resident visa applicants. The change applies to resident visa applications submitted on or after August 3, 2026.  

Under the updated policy: 

• Applicants with hepatitis B or hepatitis C will no longer be automatically assessed as not meeting New Zealand’s acceptable health standards.  
• INZ medical assessors will instead evaluate applicants based on their individual medical circumstances.  

According to the official announcement, New Zealand made these changes after treatment costs for both conditions fell below the country’s NZD 81,000 significant cost threshold.

INZ also updated the wording of several other health conditions on the high-cost health conditions list to provide greater clarity for applicants and medical assessors. 

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