Can New Zealand split a family over a health rule? Questions Zimbabwean applicants should ask first

Visa guide · 2026-08-21 · 4 min read

A family of four sits close together on a wooden bench outside a sunlit home overlooking the coast.

For many families in Harare and Bulawayo, the hardest part of emigrating is not the visa form but the possibility that one person cannot come with everyone else. A New Zealand tribunal case has brought that fear into focus. It concerns an 11-year-old boy with Down syndrome whose wider family already held permanent residence, and a health rule that said he did not qualify.

The family's position

The boy's father needs to keep working in New Zealand to support the household. His mother and his younger sister, who says he means everything to her, already hold permanent residence. Deporting him would not just move one child. It would divide a family between two countries.

The family had left Sri Lanka, where, by his mother's account to the tribunal, he was treated as an outcast. She said she had been told he was retribution for a past life, saw hospital staff push him aside in waiting rooms and could not enrol him at a local school after other parents objected.

The rule that stood in the way

Immigration New Zealand assessed him against its standard health requirements and found he did not meet them. It also found no basis for an exception. The decision was not about his ability to manage daily life: a paediatrician had confirmed that he has no heart condition, which affects roughly four in ten people with Down syndrome, and that he eats and toilets independently. The issue was the likely need for Ongoing Resourcing Scheme (ORS) support at school, seen as a probable cost to the public education system.

The Immigration and Protection Tribunal agreed that the rules had been applied correctly. It still concluded that keeping him with his family was in his best interests and asked the immigration minister to grant a residence-class visa as a one-off exception.

Questions to put to an adviser before you apply

Will every family member be assessed against the health requirement, and how?
Could support a child might need at school be treated as a cost?
What medical evidence should we gather, and from whom?
If a waiver is refused, what are the options and who decides?
Should some family members apply first, and what would that mean for the others?

Take these to a licensed immigration adviser or a person who is lawfully exempt from licensing, such as a lawyer, and ask what the consultation will cost before you book. If you are also preparing a job application, Build AI CV can help with the CV side.

Common mistakes in family applications

Choosing who travels first without understanding the consequences for the others.
Thinking that a ministerial exception is routine. It is a rare, discretionary step.
Keeping evidence of hardship in your head instead of writing it down: in this case the mother's detailed account carried weight.
Relying on informal advice from people who are not licensed.

Our other guides may help, including what New Zealand's immigration overhaul means for you, how student visas are reshaping the story and staying on after a master's degree.

Frequently asked questions

Was the boy allowed to stay?

Not yet. The tribunal asked the immigration minister to grant a one-off exception, and the final decision rests with the minister.

Does a medical waiver always succeed?

No. Waivers are discretionary. Meeting the clinical facts is not the same as meeting the cost threshold.

Why did the tribunal look beyond the rulebook?

It weighed the family's documented history of discrimination and the harm of splitting the family, while accepting the rules had been applied correctly.

Does this mean New Zealand will change its rule?

Nothing in the case changes the rule. It does keep the discussion going about whether a cost-based test accounts for families like this one.

Who should we talk to?

A licensed immigration adviser or lawfully exempt person for New Zealand, and an agent registered with MARA for Australia. Confirm costs in writing.

Key takeaways

A health requirement based on cost can keep a child out even when the family are already residents.
The tribunal accepted the rules were applied correctly and asked for a one-off exception.
Family separation weighed heavily in its thinking.
Gather medical and personal evidence early and ask an adviser how your family would be assessed.
Use licensed advice and agree fees first.

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