New Zealand Student Visa Chest X-Ray and Medical for Pakistani Students 2026

Who needs a chest X-ray for a New Zealand student visa?

It depends on three facts: how long you will stay, which country you hold a passport from, and where you have lived in the last five years. Immigration New Zealand, usually shortened to INZ, builds the rule around tuberculosis risk, not around your personal health.

As of 16 October 2026, the Immigration New Zealand Fee Paying Student Visa page says that if you will stay in New Zealand for more than 6 months, you must have a chest X-ray if you are a citizen of a country without a low incidence of tuberculosis or have spent more than 3 months in the last 5 years in such a country.

The same page says a student staying less than six months does not normally need a chest X-ray, and a student staying less than 12 months does not normally need a medical certificate. The department adds that when you apply you answer health questions that help it decide, and that it may ask for evidence even if you did not need it at the time of applying. You can read the general rules on the INZ page on who needs an X-ray or medical examination.

A short version for most Pakistani students

• A bachelor or master course is almost always longer than six months, so the X-ray rule applies.
• A short English course of less than six months normally does not need one.
• Children under 11 are generally excused from the chest X-ray unless a special report is needed.
• Pregnant applicants are excused from the X-ray in the usual case.

Why does Pakistan trigger the TB rule?

Because Pakistan is not on INZ's list of countries with a low incidence of TB. The department publishes that list on its page on countries with a low incidence of tuberculosis, and its operational manual repeats the same list in instruction A4.25.10. As of 16 October 2026, Pakistan does not appear on either. The list includes places such as Australia, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Japan and the Netherlands, and the rule says a person who holds a passport from a country not on the list is treated as having risk factors for TB.

There is a narrow exception. The manual says an applicant who proves they have never lived or spent time in the country that issued their passport can escape the requirement, provided they have not spent three combined months in other non-listed countries in the last five years. That rarely fits a student from Lahore who has grown up in Pakistan, so plan on the test.

One more rule catches people who already did an X-ray. If you give INZ a chest X-ray certificate once and it was issued within the last 36 months, INZ may accept it for a later application. But if you have spent six months in a row in a non-listed country since that certificate, you need a new one. For a Pakistani student who returns home between visas, the old certificate may not carry over.

Do you also need a full medical examination?

Normally no. A full medical examination is a separate thing from the chest X-ray. It includes a physical check and blood and urine tests, and INZ asks for it in narrower cases. The student visa page says full fee-paying students do not usually need to provide a medical certificate, and the INZ guidance on who needs an examination says holders of a Fee-Paying Student Visa or Pathway Student Visa do not need one unless certain conditions apply.

Those conditions are specific: you have used intravenous drugs, you have had a blood transfusion, you have been exposed to something that could have exposed you to a serious infectious disease such as HIV or hepatitis B or C, or INZ asks you to have one. The rule is different for PhD students, MFAT-funded scholarship students and exchange students staying more than 12 months, who must have a medical examination.

When should you get the test?

This is the part that causes most of the lost time. As of 16 October 2026, the same student visa page says evidence of a chest X-ray or medical examination must be less than 3 months old when Immigration New Zealand receives it.

Now compare that with what INZ says about process. Its page on how to get an X-ray or medical examination says that for a student visa, INZ will let you know after you submit your application if you need an X-ray or examination, and the student visa page says the department may ask for the evidence while processing. The same student page also states plainly that students staying over six months from a non-low-TB country must have a chest X-ray.

So you have two reasonable choices. You can lodge first and wait for INZ to tell you what it wants, which avoids paying for a test you may not need but adds a round trip and some delay. Or you can complete the X-ray close to your lodging date, which saves the round trip and risks nothing if the result is still inside three months. For a Pakistani student on a course longer than six months, we usually recommend the second route, timed within about four weeks of lodgement.

Do not test too early

A student who does the X-ray in August for an application lodged in December has a certificate that expired in November. The clinic fee is paid again. The delay is the real cost, because a late certificate stalls the file at the busiest time of year. INZ advises applying at least three months before travel and says processing is busiest from October to March, so an expired certificate can push your start date.

Where do you get it in Pakistan?

From a panel physician, which is a doctor or radiologist approved by INZ. The department says that if there is a panel physician in your country you must use one. Only where there is none can you use any registered doctor. You find your nearest approved clinic with the filters on the INZ page on doctors who can do X-rays and medical examinations.

IOM Pakistan runs New Zealand immigration medical examinations in Islamabad, Mirpur, Karachi and Lahore. IOM tells applicants to contact it through its official channels to schedule, says it does not charge for appointments or offer paid expedited services, and warns applicants not to pay anyone outside IOM for appointment help. If someone promises you a faster slot for a fee, treat it as a warning sign.

The eMedical system

Results do not reach INZ on paper. IOM says the medical documents go to INZ electronically through the eMedical system after complete results are received. Your application then carries an eMedical reference number or a medical certificate. Ask the clinic to give you the reference, and keep a screenshot. For some visa types INZ issues a health case reference, known as an NZHR, which you give to the clinic when you book.

What does the test cost?

The clinic sets the fee, not INZ. The IOM Pakistan page for New Zealand visa applicants lists a chest X-ray only at PKR 11,000 and a full examination for applicants aged 15 and above at PKR 37,000 in Islamabad, Mirpur and Karachi and PKR 38,000 in Lahore, with fees shown as effective from 1 June 2023 and subject to change, so ask IOM for today's figure when you book.

Read that carefully. The chest X-ray only option is much cheaper than a full examination, and Lahore adds a 16 percent GST on laboratory and radiology tests on top of the service fee, according to the IOM page. Sputum examination, repeat X-rays and specialist consultations are charged separately. Because the schedule on the page is dated June 2023, it is the part of this guide most likely to be out of date. Phone before you travel to the clinic.

For the wider budget, add the visa charge and the rest of your costs. As of 16 October 2026, the Fee Paying Student Visa page shows the cost from NZD 850 and a processing time of 80% within 7 weeks, so check the live fee table before you pay. Our guides to the cost of studying in New Zealand from Pakistan and the New Zealand student visa funds requirement cover those lines.

What do you take to the clinic?

IOM publishes a checklist, and families who follow it avoid a second visit. Take these items.

• Your original passport, valid, and a photocopy.
• Glasses or contact lenses if you wear them.
• A list of any medicines you take, with doses.
• Any earlier medical reports or X-rays that relate to your chest.
• A valid polio vaccination card issued by an approved government health authority.
• For an applicant under 18, a parent or legal guardian, plus proof of relationship.
• For Pakistani families, the Family Registration Certificate, and a mother's marriage certificate showing the father's name if she accompanies the children.
• If you use a licensed immigration adviser, the completed Immigration Adviser Details form.

IOM says to allow about three to four hours for the health assessment. A chaperone is available for a physical examination, and you can bring a support person, though space limits how many can be admitted. If you are menstruating on the day of a full medical, INZ says the examination should wait until it finishes, because blood can affect the urine test. That does not apply to a chest X-ray only, but check with the clinic.

What happens if the X-ray is not clear?

Do not panic, and do not hide anything. An unclear shadow on an X-ray is common, and most cases lead to follow-up tests rather than a refusal. The follow-up may include sputum tests, a repeat X-ray or a specialist opinion, and each is charged separately according to IOM.

The rules do have a hard edge. INZ's operational manual says an applicant assessed as having active TB, excluding latent TB, is not treated as meeting the standard of health. If you are offshore, that means you treat the illness first, get clearance and come back to the application later. Your education provider may let you defer your intake, so tell it early. A student who is open with the clinic and the provider usually finishes with a smaller delay than one who hopes the problem goes away.

Build a buffer. If your X-ray falls only six weeks before the intake date and anything comes up, you will not make the date. This is the best reason to schedule the test earlier within the three-month validity window rather than at the last moment.

Do you need a police certificate too?

Only in some cases. As of 16 October 2026, the Fee Paying Student Visa page says police certificates less than 6 months old are required if you are 17 or older and your total time in New Zealand will be 24 months or longer. The certificates must come from countries you are a citizen of and countries where you spent more than five years since you turned 17. INZ does not accept a receipt showing you have applied.

A student on a 12 or 18 month postgraduate diploma will usually not hit the 24 month line. A student starting a three year degree will. If you are close to the line, remember that time already spent in New Zealand counts. For how the Pakistani certificate works in practice, see our guide to police character certificates from Pakistan. If you are weighing the long game, our note on the New Zealand post-study work visa shows why a clean file at the start helps later.

What mistakes cost Pakistani applicants time?

• Testing too early. The result expires after three months, and an expired certificate is useless.
• Using a non-panel clinic. If a panel physician exists in Pakistan, INZ requires one.
• Paying for the wrong package. A chest X-ray only is a different product from a full examination.
• Forgetting the polio card. IOM lists it among the documents to bring.
• Arriving without proof of relationship for a child. A parent must attend, with documents.
• Treating a pending result as good news. No result means no decision. Do not book flights.
• Reusing a result from another country's application. Each country has its own forms and systems.
• Ignoring the intake calendar. INZ says processing is busiest between October and March.

Before any of this, check how long the whole student visa takes, because the medical sits inside that timeline. Our guide on how long a New Zealand student visa takes from Pakistan helps you work backwards from your start date. For the equivalent steps in other countries, compare our note on the immigration medical exam for Canada and Australia, and read our piece on whether a TB test is needed for a UK student visa.

What does a realistic timeline look like?

This is an illustration, not a prediction. A student from Model Town has a conditional offer for a February 2027 intake at a New Zealand university and plans a 2 year master's degree.

• Early October 2026: offer accepted, tuition deposit paid, passport checked for validity beyond the course.
• Late October: the family confirms the chest X-ray is needed, because the course is over six months and Pakistan is not on the low-TB list. They also note the 24 month police certificate trigger.
• Early November: the student applies for the police certificate, which can take time, and books the IOM chest X-ray for late November.
• Late November: X-ray done, results sent through eMedical, reference number noted.
• Early December: application lodged inside the three-month window, with funds, offer and insurance declaration ready.
• December to January: INZ processes the file. The family replies to any request the same day.
• January: visa granted, flight booked, accommodation confirmed.

The calendar leaves a month of slack before the intake. It also keeps the X-ray certificate well inside its three-month life. That is the entire trick.

Frequently asked questions