[chlg]

I was just going over some details and want to check something, I am overweight, I'm 1.80 m and weight 140 kg. Is this a big no in order to get the visa??? I don't have diabetes, cholesterol, or any of that. I'm OK and all my medical tests are between the normal ranges... I don't drink alcohol or smoke... I confess My weight is a reflex of my sedentary way of life and is due to a life of working in a highly stress environment for long hours, i was 12 to 15 hours a day and no exercise... This is one of my biggest motivation to change our way of life to a more healthier lifestyle... Could this prevent me to get the visas??? I already got the job offer and all the documents ready but this really scare me...

 

[escapedtonz]

I was just going over some details and want to check something, I am overweight, I'm 1.80 m and weight 140 kg. Is this a big no in order to get the visa??? I don't have diabetes, cholesterol, or any of that. I'm OK and all my medical tests are between the normal ranges... I don't drink alcohol or smoke... I confess My weight is a reflex of my sedentary way of life and is due to a life of working in a highly stress environment for long hours, i was 12 to 15 hours a day and no exercise... This is one of my biggest motivation to change our way of life to a more healthier lifestyle... Could this prevent me to get the visas??? I already got the job offer and all the documents ready but this really scare me...

No one can say for sure. It could go either way.
Immigration consider the facts within the medical report. If the GP / consultant who carries out the medical marks any concerns Immigration will investigate it by referring the medical report to their medical assessor who will make a determination based on the facts presented in the report.
The facts that you do not have diabetes or high cholesterol will be in your favour but there's a lot of variables they must consider.
At the end of the day Immigration are making sure that you do not deplete the NZ health system too much over the length of your visa term if they were to award you the visa.
Promising to pay for private health cover also does not sway their views of this.

If you have a period of time before the medical I would advise you to completely change your life now. Eat healthily, lots of exercise, fruit, veggies, no smoking, no alcohol. Lose weight.
It's a small price to pay.

 

[Liam(at)Large]

The red flag for weight is a BMI over 30. Your BMI is over 43, you are not overweight but morbidly obese. Your application will be referred to the medical assessor and almost definitely declined.

 

[inhamilton]

As escapedtoNZ said, no one would know for sure. All you can do is try and see what happens. It may be that your specialist skills are in such shortage that they'll give you the green light. But if Liam is correct, then I guess you might be lucky to get through at your current weight.
They let Kim Dotcom (the owner of megaupload) in, and he's about your weight, but he is a multi-millionaire and therefore can guarantee payment of any medical expenses.
Do you have time to lose weight before the medical?

 

[Liam(at)Large]

There's no real speculation here... While the MAs obviously have some human input on borderline cases they predominantly work from an operations manual and set guidelines, under which a BMI of 43 is a decline. People with BMIs of 35 (acceptable not so long ago) are being declined, 43 is just so high.

Kim Dotcom, like it or not, bought his residency through an investor category for $10million. OP, if you have a spare $10mill laying around, then the Medical is not an issue.

 

[jsharbuck]

Our immigration consultant warned us that 35 % was the cut off point. I lost weight and was well below before our medicals. Have lost more since getting here.

 

[chlg]

No one can say for sure. It could go either way.
Immigration consider the facts within the medical report. If the GP / consultant who carries out the medical marks any concerns Immigration will investigate it by referring the medical report to their medical assessor who will make a determination based on the facts presented in the report.
The facts that you do not have diabetes or high cholesterol will be in your favour but there's a lot of variables they must consider.
At the end of the day Immigration are making sure that you do not deplete the NZ health system too much over the length of your visa term if they were to award you the visa.
Promising to pay for private health cover also does not sway their views of this.

If you have a period of time before the medical I would advise you to completely change your life now. Eat healthily, lots of exercise, fruit, veggies, no smoking, no alcohol. Lose weight.
It's a small price to pay.

I appreciate your answer, unfortunately our medicals are around the corner, i don't have time to loose weight that allow us to get below the mark. I understand and have to face the decline id that as most certainly will be. It will be a blow but it is definitely a lesson learned the hard way...

 

[escapedtonz]

I appreciate your answer, unfortunately our medicals are around the corner, i don't have time to loose weight that allow us to get below the mark. I understand and have to face the decline id that as most certainly will be. It will be a blow but it is definitely a lesson learned the hard way...

If you are declined on health reasons you have options.

If the skills for the job you have secured are in short supply you have option of applying for a medical waiver. This is considered by Immigration on the basis that you being in NZ providing your skills far outweighs any health issues.

Also another option is to apply for a different type of visa.
When you apply for a Residency visa then Immigration must consider you for a lifetime.
If you apply for a Temporary Work Visa instead your health can only be considered for a maximum of 3 years (maximum length of this visa type).
The visa term awarded will coincide with the job offer or contract length. These visas are only awarded to people who have a job offer and the job and employer forms part of its conditions.
If the job offer is permanent then it is likely you will be awarded a Temporary Work Visa for 3 years.

You could make a deal with your employer to only offer a contract of maximum 12 months each time.
As the length of the job offer / contract shortens so does the length of time Immigration have to consider your health.
For a Temporary Work Visa of between 6 months and 12 months duration you do not need to submit a General Medical Certificate or X-rays and the acceptable standard of health does not mention BMI for temporary entrants.

You could do this for the first year which allows you entry and then in that year, lose the weight.

If you don't manage to lose the weight in the first year you could re-apply to be awarded another Temporary Work Visa for another year, but be aware you are running out of time.
These visas will only allow entry for 3 years. In that time it is expected that people with permanent job offers who want to stay apply for Residency to allow a permanent stay but then medicals and X-rays are required.

http://glossary.immigration.govt.nz/healthrequirementstemporary.htm

 

[Joshua82]

On the topic of health issues affecting your application: do severe allergies, mobility, mental health (in family) etc affect an application? I only have allergies but I figured the other bits might be important to others.

 

[Kimbella]

On the topic of health issues affecting your application: do severe allergies, mobility, mental health (in family) etc affect an application? I only have allergies but I figured the other bits might be important to others.

No, not under usual circumstances (well, mobility might--they do ask specific questions about back pain/surgery/injuries). I don't know that mobility issues are in and of themselves a problem, unless you *cannot* move to work... if you are physically impaired, but capable of mobility by use of aides, I don't know that you would necessarily be declined... what they don't want is someone coming over and then suddenly being incapacitated by a chronic condition that renders them unable to work, and adds strain to the welfare/health system.

Visa applications do require that you list living family members, but there is nothing requested about their health (unless you are including them in your application to come to NZ with you, and then they would be required to submit their own physical). I have some chronic, mild/moderate medical conditions which did not preclude me from passing my physical and being approved for residency--I can't see how allergies would be an issue, no matter how bad they might be. The things the "state" is concerned about our expensive maladies requiring intensive intervention, or conditions that heighten the risk of certain serious conditions in the future, i.e., obesity: high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, which can lead to kidney failure, blindness, chronic musculoskeletal stress, joint disease, etc, etc. Most mild conditions seem to be tolerated.

Cheers,
Kim

 

[Joshua82]

Thank you Kimbella. That makes sense.

 

[Guest]

Here is an interesting recent story that made headlines here and even made CNN page. CNN reported that INZ never actually said that his obesity was the reason for being declined. All of his facts may not pertain to your situation but it does give some insight as to how INZ thinks and may give some idea of the arguments that could be used in a "strategy" to INZ. The overriding factor seems to be that you must not be identified as a potential drain on NZ healthcare.
Overweight chef gets 23 month reprieve - National - NZ Herald News

I can't see any specific mention of BMI or weight in the INZ manual but you get the picture of why they might just avoid obese people by reading http://www.immigration.govt.nz/NR/rdonlyres/DD2D2D27-DD49-4A62-96CC-3A1F32223C8E/0/INZ1121.pdf

 

[lisamct]

This is what it now says in the Examining Physicians Handbook around being able to record a BMI as insignificant;

the physical findings are completely normal, no significant recent weight loss, BMI in a normal range and less than or equal to 30

So I'm guessing if its higher than 30 its an automatic referral.

 

[sam and paul]

It has been interesting reading the issues regarding body mass index. me and my family are looking to immigrate to nz in 2014
I am married to a kiwi for the last ten years and have 4 children we will be applying for a family visa as his wife a British citizen, will i be effected when it comes to BMI issues as it is over thirty five with know health issues as i under take medicals every year for work.

 

[Liam(at)Large]

It has been interesting reading the issues regarding body mass index. me and my family are looking to immigrate to nz in 2014
I am married to a kiwi for the last ten years and have 4 children we will be applying for a family visa as his wife a British citizen, will i be effected when it comes to BMI issues as it is over thirty five with know health issues as i under take medicals every year for work.

Yes, family stream applicants have to pass the same medical.

 

[jsharbuck]

No above 30 is not an automatic referral. Mine was 32 and I passed. I have taken steps since here to loose more.

 

[Kimbella]

It has been interesting reading the issues regarding body mass index. me and my family are looking to immigrate to nz in 2014
I am married to a kiwi for the last ten years and have 4 children we will be applying for a family visa as his wife a British citizen, will i be effected when it comes to BMI issues as it is over thirty five with know health issues as i under take medicals every year for work.

Above 35 is definitely going to be a factor for you regardless of whether you have any current medical issues. I was speaking about this with my own GP not too many months ago while we discussed the immigration process (he is an immigrant himself, came from Britain decades ago). When he immigrated, he said there was almost nothing required, but now it is much more stringent, the health requirement is the most intense part, and over 35 is the magic number they *really* scrutinize.. if you can, I would take it upon yourself to start dropping weight... altho the BMI isn't the best method of calculating health, they still use it here. It isn't your current health that they are most concerned with, but the associated health risks that are known to be clearly linked with obesity later on (diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, etc). They may not deny your application, but they may only issue you with temporary Visa of 23 months of less (which would prevent you from being able to access national healthcare), and insist that you buy private health coverage... or, they could deny it altogether.

Best of luck!

 

[chlg]

I just received the visas approved for all of us.... We are going to NZ ASAP... All of us were approved without restrictions... See you all there... Thanks for all your support...

 

[jsharbuck]

Great news!! When are you getting here?

 

[chlg]

I just got them from Fedex, but i'm thinking based on my new boss that we should be there ASAP... Probably middle of Nov... Just in time for my kids to get into school next year...