Quality_Guru

Hello all,

I would really appreciate as much replies as i could get, as i have found so much contradicting information online.

I have had my 2nd interview via skype and all went well. I have a further interview in 2 weeks in London, and I'm fairly confident i will receive a Job offer as both parties are interested.

I'm 24 years old, and i am a tad on the heavier side, 36 BMI to be precise. I wasn't too bothered about my BMI as i have lost 2 stone in the last 8 months and read that the BMI should be under 35, which wont be a problem as i would manage to reach that in no amount of time at all......That was until i read more online and seen that this has changed to 30!!! I dont have any health problems other than acid reflux and IBS, which i take Omeprazole for. IBS i dont take medication for and is controlled via diet.

What advice can anyone give me?

How much time from a Job offer would i have to undertake a medical? would they let me arrange it for 3 months time so i could get my BMI to as an acceptable standard as possible? say 32?

I understand this is above the 30 requirement, however what are the chances of me definitely being denied a Visa if my BMI was below 35 but above 30? Would my young age of 24 see me as less of a risk?

The visa would be from an accredited employer in a Health&Safety/Quality role.

My partner would also be coming with me, however she is a low BMI and healthy.

It seems as though we are getting excited and then POW another requirement to meet!

I really really appreciate anyone coming back with any answers, especially to the time from offer to medical and the BMI.


Thanks
QG

LittleGreyCat

Hmm......

....if I was looking at the medical details and saw a high BMI for someone young I would be more concerned, if anything. People tend to increase weight with age.

You may be advised to work harder at reducing your BMI instead of looking to extend the time before you have the medical. I think (others will confirm) that the medical comes fairly early on in the Visa process.

Losing 2 stone is very good; however if it took you 8 months you might need to step up the weight loss rate a bit.

For hard core weight loss, see
Reversing Type 2 Diabetes - Newcastle Magnetic Resonance Centre - Newcastle University
which is aimed at people with diabetes but is a general method of losing a lot of weight quickly.

You ask "How much time from a Job offer would i have to undertake a medical? would they let me arrange it for 3 months time so i could get my BMI to as an acceptable standard as possible? say 32?".

For this to work your prospective employer would have to agree to wait for 4-6 months before you took up the post.

If you are thinking Job Offer -> Visa (which you need before you start the job) -> Start job in NZ -> Take medical sometime later (but what is your incentive once you are in country with the job) then I very much doubt this will work.

Telling your prospective employer "Can you wait a bit because I won't pass the medical at the moment" may not be career enhancing.

For the record my highest BMI ever was 27.5 and that was far too high for the good of my general health.

Quality_Guru

Thanks for the response.

I asked the recruiter last night what sort of timelines people come across in. The answer received was 3-12 months. So i think the employer would be okay waiting, however i would obviously mention its because of my BMI.

They are a accredited employer so would this have any effect?

you said "If you are thinking Job Offer -> Visa (which you need before you start the job) -> Start job in NZ -> Take medical sometime later (but what is your incentive once you are in country with the job) then I very much doubt this will work"

Would did you mean by this? Are you saying that i could start employment without a medical?

FYI: its been a week since I've applied for the role and got this far, and the only reason my current weight loss has taken 8 months is because I've been doing it at my own pace. But now that i have a goal to reach for i would step that up into 5th gear to achieve my weight loss within 4-6 months.

I've always been a bigger guy, generally because I'm 6 foot 2 and broad on the shoulders.

Thanks
QG

inkedneonurse

Hi mate

I'm in the same boat I'm 32 with a bmi of 36 I have lost 4 stone since January and like you I am a broad shoulderd 6ft. I'm ex army so basic fitness level is good and I gave no health problems here is some info for you (It's from an nz immigration law firm which I am in no way advertising)

http://http://www.liveinnewzealand.c...-problems.html

LittleGreyCat

What I was trying to point out is that if you were hoping to get start work then have a medical this was unlikely.

The experts will have the fine details, but I think that if you get a job offer which gives you 140 points or more then you should be able to submit your Expression Of Interest (EOI) and then get drawn from the pool within a month. There will then be a delay whilst you get assigned someone from Immigration and I think you can drag your heels a bit there and still stay within the rules but your future employer may expect you to go full steam ahead. If everything drops into place you could be over in NZ in three months. Which in turn means that you would have to have passed a medical quite a bit before that.

What you need is someone who has been down this route to work out how soon they had their medical after they were drawn from the pool.

I guess you should go full steam ahead on the weight loss; if you don't get the job offer you haven't lost anything (apart from a bit of weight) and if you do get the offer then you are on track for the medical.

I am guessing that you find the idea a little daunting if you are thinking of trying to delay your medical. I sympathise; I'm trying to get my BMI down below 23.7 and finding it very hard.

LittleGreyCat

Tried the link but it didn't work.

inkedneonurse

http://www.liveinnewzealand.co.nz/new-zealand-immigration-requirements-rules/medical-problems.html

Copy and paste this don't know why the hyper link didn't work

Pulaski

As far as I know a BMI of 30 has always been the cut off point for "obese". Anything over 25 is "over weight".

Depending on how tall you are those figures may be harsh or generous - BMI as conventionally calculated is "fair" of you're around 5'8", but gives a figure of, IIRC about 2 two low if you're around 5'0"-5'2" e.g. if your conventional BMI is 29, adjusted to be "fair", would be 31, and 2 too high if you're around 6'2"-6'4" e.g. if your conventional BMI is 26, to be fair it should be 24. These errors are a result of height being linear and weight being a function of volume i.e. the same reason why a mouse has dramatically different proportions to an elephant.

Quality_Guru

Pulaski,

It was in relation to the immigration standards in New Zealand.

They used to accept under 35 but I've been reading this has now changed to 30.

Cheers
QG

Pulaski

Wow! NZ is more tolerant of obesity than America?

inkedneonurse

Most recent article I have read (April 16) clearly states over 35 and you will have problems

MrsFychan

If you are 35 or over they usually refer the medical for further tests, it does not mean you won't get a visa just you may need a medical waiver dependant on the results of any further tests

Quality_Guru

Thank you to everyone for the replys.

As mentioned i have another interview, two weeks today in London.

They are an accredited employer that also use a 3rd party to help with the visa organisation.

I have faith that i will definitely be able to get my BMI below 35 prior to the medical.. and touch wood (as far as i know) everything else should be A-ok.

moving2NZ2013

mine was 38! just had a baby though. not reffered or anything

inkedneonurse

I'm interested to see how you got on