Pollyana

alexc12

Do you know if this could cause additional delays? I don't know. I am sort of in a state of mental paralysis here.

I do worry if I start sending in additional information at this point to my case officer, to then direct to my file in the medical assessor's queue, that it could delay things further.

There isn't really mention of this on the Immigration website; where you should send in additional info before the MA has viewed your case. I worry the additional information could slow things down, and then the MA might still reject it and require further tests on their end.

Conversely, not doing it if it would prevent the need for a sputum and much delay would also be a bad thing.

This is very stressful and I am unsure how to proceed

alexc12

I am just curious if anyone has actually avoided additional delays and additional tests like sputum and more xrays by sending in additional new tests they proactively acquired on their own from their family doctor?

I had a minor abnormality on my xray showing upper shadowing.

I'm trying to decide whether getting xrays through my GP and then sending those to a case officer to then forward to the medical assessor BEFORE he sees my application/medicals for the first time is wise; as a way to sort of counter a knee-jerk cautionary reaction on the part of the medical assessor to ask for a sputum and additional tests.

I've seen people on this forum saying it was both a good idea -- as the medical assessor might pass you given additional xrays which say come back clear -- and a potentially bad one -- that the additional stuff you send in might just cause more delays as it wasn't requested and might not work anyway.

I am pretty confident if I get an xray through my GP it will come back clear or at worse it will be a benign lingering infection or some benign tissue or something; however, I am not sure what to do with this xray if I get it done.

Does anyone have personal experience with this, where sending additional xrays in after submitting your medicals to a medical assessor's queue, while still waiting for the medical assessor to view your case for the first time, actually got you a pass from the medical assessor?

I have an xray I took in July 2018 which was clear of abnormality. I have an Xray I took for immigration last month which showed an abnormality and upper shadowing. And if I get an xray now which shows my lungs to be clear and comparable to last year, then I can send both the July 2018 xray and new xray in to discredit the one immigration has from last month as a glitch.

Again, I am unsure whether this will work or just cause delays. Rather than speculating I was hoping some of you might have experience.

BEVS

It will not be additional delays. It will be the same delay but with underpinning information to show why the dodgy xray is fine and there is no reason to decline the application.
I think you may be misunderstanding how the process works a little bit.

Your case was passed to a medical assessor. It is currently wiating in a case load pile to be processed.
Once the medical assessor looks at the application they will do one of two things.
1) Deline the application on health grounds
2) Ask for further information before making a yes/no decision.

They do not decline and then ask for more info. Their decision is final. From there it is a long drawn process of a medical waiver which you really do not want for just a WHV.

As I have written before, you really need to get your ducks in a row .

Get a new xray.
Have your doctor write a confirming identifying letter to accompany both the new and previous xrays.
Get your doctor to arrange for a TB skin test. There is no need for it to be sputum at all. The results of this could be with you within 2/3 days.

The application is already stalled and delayed. All you can do is to help move it along . Nothing you do will delay it further.
Giving the extra info now could speed things up as a medical assessor may be glad to remove one case from their huge pile.

I hope this helps .

MrsFychan

I would just wait, no point sending anything in unless they ask for it.
As suggested in the other thread, maybe just drop the CO a polite email

BEVS

I have merged this thread with the previous one and placed all in the main NZ forum.
Saves confusion when responding.

BEVS

It did.

In the days since the first post the OP could have organised a TB skin test and an xray .

If not for the NZ MA and NZ immigration then to ensure his own peace of mind as to the cause.

Hopefully the MA will pass the application in a few weeks time when it reaches the top of the everlasting heap. If not then it will either be declined without recourse really or further info will be requested to explain the xray. It will then return to a queue of all those cases awaiting further information.

If the OP has a case offcer point of contact then it can only be to the good to send in further info now to underpin that the standard of health passes merit.

I am not sure why a sputum test keeps being mentioned. A simple skin test will do the trick that the OP is free of TB. However if it is suspected that there is non-latent TB disease then a sputum test is required. In any case, the MA and NZ immy will want to know what the shadow is all about. Having said that , the rules for a temp visa like a WHV do vary a little from that of a residency visa so there may be some leeway with this.

alexc12

I've never heard of anyone being rejected for xray issues; they seem to always follow with a sputum test. The reason sputum test is required I believe because its more definitive than any other TB test. Every person who immigration flags for medicals suspected of TB seems to go for a sputum test; I've never heard of anyone getting a skin test from immigration.

Pollyana

Do you have a wide knowledge of TB and how it affects immigration?
For personal reasons I am interested that skin tests are not given any consideration. Links to your info would be genuinely appreciated.

BEVS

Then you have no worries.

Perhaps there is a misunderstanding in what the concern was and is.

I had read it that the concern was a delay due to an xray showing a shadow on both lungs. My suggestions were simply about how to best manage the issue to pehaps aid the application given it has been referred to an NZ MA. The skin test suggestion was merely to rule out tb in advance of an NZ MA requiring their own tb test. Entirely up to you how you proceed .

please note that Mrs F provided further info with an explanation of her shadow found. If you do not wish to line up the ducks so to speak then just wait it out and hope for an approval.

Pulaski

Skin tests are not particularly reliable test for TB, with both false positives and false negatives being possible, especially with respect to whether there is a current TB infection.

A sputum culture is far more reliable, though it can take several weeks to complete, but provides reliable evidence of current infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria.