If you are coming to New Zealand to visit, study or work, you should consider holding medical and comprehensive hospitalization insurance during your stay here, as certain visa holders are not covered by the publicly funded health services. To find out who is eligible for publicly funded health services in NZ, please refer to the Ministry of Health website.
Fee paying foreign students must hold acceptable insurance as a condition of their visa from the period of their enrolment until the expiry of their student visa. An acceptable insurance policy is one which complies with the insurance requirements of the Code of Practice for the Pastoral Care of International Students and is acceptable to the student's education provider.
NZ schools may require you to obtain insurance before offering you a place at their institution. You should discuss details of this requirement with the school/institution you want to attend.
Most Working Holiday visa applicants must obtain medical and comprehensive hospitalization insurance before their visa is granted. To find out if this applies to you, please refer to your country's specific requirements in the list of Available Schemes.
If medical insurance is a required for your application, please note that a visa will not be issued to you unless you obtain this insurance.
This answer was last updated on 2 August, 2012.
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