[Shalet Peters]

Hi ,

We are planning to Migrate to NZ ,the only problem we have as of now is that my Husband has Hepatitis B-a healthy carrier with no problem of the liver or any other part.Before we start our process we would like your valuable suggestions to help us take this forward .

We would love to hear from you with your experiences,

regards

Shalet.

[migratory birds]

Being a hepatitis B carrier, in the absence of other clinical signs, is not grounds for automatic dismissal of an application as are other conditions (ie HIV, renal failure).

They will ask for liver function and hepatitis B panels as well as a 5-10 yr written prognostic report from the specialist who is overseeing/monitoring his hepatitis. As long as the labs look good and the 5-10 yr prognosis is good (not likely to require any medical intervention), it shouldn't present a problem.

Move forward and submit your application without undue worry and when the time comes NZIS will tell you what additional reports they need and from whom.

[Silverwing86]

Hi Shalet and welcome to the forum !

Hepatits B is a tough one as it is actually mentioned in Appendix 10 ("Medical conditions deemed to impose significant costs and/or demands on New Zealand's health and/or education services") of the INZ Operations Manual (which you can find here (http://www.immigration.govt.nz/nzis/operations_manual/7641.htm#o7642)).

Hepatits B is the second point in the Appendix and here's what it says:

Hepatitis B surface antigen positive, with abnormal liver function

Now, not being a medical type person, I'm not exactly sure what this means, but it seems to me that if your husbands' blood work and liver function is okay, you should be able to get through.

Make sure you send along as much information as possible with your initial application, ie; reports from GP and, if possible, a specialist, preferably stating that there will be no serious health issues/cost in the future (which is what they want to hear).

Be forewarned though that his case will most likely be sent on to the Medical Assessor (all cases with medical issues, even potential ones, usually are), which means it might take longer to process.

This is probably not exactly what you'd like to be hearing at the moment, but I figure it's best to know what lies ahead so that you are well prepared for the Zen patience ;) you're likely to need when dealing with INZ and a potential medical issue (been there, done that, know all about it :D !).

Again, if your husbands' bloodwork and liver function is within the norm then, although it might take a bit longer, I don't see why you shouldn't get through the process just fine.

Good luck !

Silver

[migratory birds]

"Abnormal liver function" means just that. Chronic carriers of Hep B can have normal liver function or abnormal liver function (or swing back and forth between unremarkable labs and labs with some values a little out of range or wildly out of range). It's one way of monitoring the progression, if any, and the effects the virus is having on the liver. Many have completely normal liver function for many years, even decades, after infection. For chronic carriers of Hep B a liver function panel, hep B panel, and sometimes ultrasound of the liver, are recc'd on an annual basis.

If his liver function tests (ALT, AST, alk phos, bilirubin, albumin, protein, etc) are coming back normal and prognosis is good, there really shouldn't be a problem.

Sometimes some of these labs can be coming in just out of range which isn't concerning to specialists unless they're way out of normal range.

If these tests are coming back abnormal enough and prognosis is questionable it may be more difficult to get approval.

[Shalet Peters]

Dear All,

Thank you very much for your response and assistance.I was really glad after reading your replies and concerns .We shall update you'll in future as we continue on our journey to immigrate to NZ.

God Bless,

Shalet