Rush for immigration medical tests as Phase 2 of One-off visa nears
On September 30 2021, the government announced the One-off residency programme, which would provide residence to some 165,000 migrants.
Phase 1 of the processing of the One-off visa began on December 1, 2021, for those who had already applied for residence under the Skilled Migrant or Residence from Work categories on or before September 29, 2021, or had submitted a Skilled Migrant Category Expression Of Interest, and had included your dependent child in the Expression of Interest aged 17 years or older on September 29, 2021.
INZ expected around 14000 applications in Phase 1.
And now, from March 1, 2022, Phase 2 of the One-off visa will commence for all other eligible applicants, including those who have submitted a Skilled Migrant Category Expression of Interest. INZ would expect to get about 100,000 applications in Phase 2.
Since it is a lifetime opportunity for thousands of migrants waiting to get residence in NZ for years, the eligible migrants have already started preparing for it.
Applicant Harpreet Singh believes it is always an advantage to have medicals sorted on time. "Since I have to apply for my One-off residence in March Phase 2, I don't want to leave getting any paperwork, including my medicals, to the last moment. I have to get my medical and X-ray done because I got them done around four years back. I have already got my appointment for it to save myself from any hassle," he says.
Since X-ray and medical reports will be needed for those who have had these medicals submitted to NZ more than 36 months ago, medical centres that conduct immigration medicals are already flooded with people seeking appointments to get their Immigration medical done.
Tend, a full-service primary healthcare provider which provides Immigration medical at their Symonds Street Centre, is one such provider which has seen an increase in people asking to get their Immigration medicals done. Tend spokesperson says, "We’ve seen a significant increase of patients booking immigration medical appointments with Tend recently. During this period of high demand, we’re continuing to work with each of our patients to ensure they can be seen in a timely manner. It's important to remember that while phase two applications open on March 1, 2022, medical certificate applications close at the end of July, so there is plenty of time.”
Dr. Jitendra Pal of Selwyn House Medical Centre in Howick feels that the panic around Omicron and fear of lockdown is also the primary reason behind this increase in demand for immigration medicals.
“Undoubtedly, there has been a great increase in the need for immigration e-medicals. This has been aggravated by an expectation of a lockdown or a panic about Omicron. We want to reassure the applicants that there is ample time and Immigration is aware of the lack of appointments. There is no need to rush it.”
Michelle Holmes, Operations Manager for Auckland Radiology Group, also acknowledges the surge in demand for immigration medicals. “We have seen a large increase in demand for chest x-rays as part of the new residency pathway. We are also receiving large volumes of daily telephone calls requesting medical exams as part of this pathway, but unfortunately, as a radiology practice, we can only perform the x-ray part of the exam (this is the second part of the medical exam process). We are delighted to provide this imaging service at our NZ immigration-approved sites. No appointment is necessary, but the first step is as per the NZIS website, all new immigrants to NZ must see a medical panel physician before coming to see us,” explains Holmes.
On September 30 2021, the government announced the One-off residency programme, which would provide residence to some 165,000 migrants.
Phase 1 of the processing of the One-off visa began on December 1, 2021, for those who had already applied for residence under the Skilled Migrant or Residence...
On September 30 2021, the government announced the One-off residency programme, which would provide residence to some 165,000 migrants.
Phase 1 of the processing of the One-off visa began on December 1, 2021, for those who had already applied for residence under the Skilled Migrant or Residence from Work categories on or before September 29, 2021, or had submitted a Skilled Migrant Category Expression Of Interest, and had included your dependent child in the Expression of Interest aged 17 years or older on September 29, 2021.
INZ expected around 14000 applications in Phase 1.
And now, from March 1, 2022, Phase 2 of the One-off visa will commence for all other eligible applicants, including those who have submitted a Skilled Migrant Category Expression of Interest. INZ would expect to get about 100,000 applications in Phase 2.
Since it is a lifetime opportunity for thousands of migrants waiting to get residence in NZ for years, the eligible migrants have already started preparing for it.
Applicant Harpreet Singh believes it is always an advantage to have medicals sorted on time. "Since I have to apply for my One-off residence in March Phase 2, I don't want to leave getting any paperwork, including my medicals, to the last moment. I have to get my medical and X-ray done because I got them done around four years back. I have already got my appointment for it to save myself from any hassle," he says.
Since X-ray and medical reports will be needed for those who have had these medicals submitted to NZ more than 36 months ago, medical centres that conduct immigration medicals are already flooded with people seeking appointments to get their Immigration medical done.
Tend, a full-service primary healthcare provider which provides Immigration medical at their Symonds Street Centre, is one such provider which has seen an increase in people asking to get their Immigration medicals done. Tend spokesperson says, "We’ve seen a significant increase of patients booking immigration medical appointments with Tend recently. During this period of high demand, we’re continuing to work with each of our patients to ensure they can be seen in a timely manner. It's important to remember that while phase two applications open on March 1, 2022, medical certificate applications close at the end of July, so there is plenty of time.”
Dr. Jitendra Pal of Selwyn House Medical Centre in Howick feels that the panic around Omicron and fear of lockdown is also the primary reason behind this increase in demand for immigration medicals.
“Undoubtedly, there has been a great increase in the need for immigration e-medicals. This has been aggravated by an expectation of a lockdown or a panic about Omicron. We want to reassure the applicants that there is ample time and Immigration is aware of the lack of appointments. There is no need to rush it.”
Michelle Holmes, Operations Manager for Auckland Radiology Group, also acknowledges the surge in demand for immigration medicals. “We have seen a large increase in demand for chest x-rays as part of the new residency pathway. We are also receiving large volumes of daily telephone calls requesting medical exams as part of this pathway, but unfortunately, as a radiology practice, we can only perform the x-ray part of the exam (this is the second part of the medical exam process). We are delighted to provide this imaging service at our NZ immigration-approved sites. No appointment is necessary, but the first step is as per the NZIS website, all new immigrants to NZ must see a medical panel physician before coming to see us,” explains Holmes.
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