A South African woman seeking residency in New Zealand has refused to undergo medical tests as she believes only God, not doctors, can determine her health. 

The 80-year-old woman’s unshakeable belief has now cost her a chance of becoming a New Zealand resident. 

The woman applied for residence under the Family (Parent) category in March 2024 to join her daughter, who lives here. 

As part of an immigration application, a medical report is required. 

The widow, who lives in South Africa, told Immigration New Zealand she would not consent to testing for her hypertension and possible kidney disease, citing her Christian faith. 

She believed only God could determine her life expectancy and it went against her faith for doctors to have “the right to speak life or death” over her. 

She noted that, statistically, only 26.4% of South African women born in 1944 reach the age of 90, and said it would “take a miracle” for her to live that long. 

The woman said any possible health costs would be the responsibility of her daughter, who has lived in New Zealand since 2016. 

Immigration New Zealand said it could not determine whether she met the “acceptable standard of health” and declined her application. She has now appealed to the Immigration and Protection Tribunal. 

In a recently released decision, the woman continued to maintain she would not provide a medical report because of her religious beliefs. 

She cited biblical verse and said medical practitioners were “being glorified to the status of the one and only sovereign God who is in control over life and death and is the only one with the right to make any such determination in my life”. 

In a statement provided to the tribunal, she said “death and life are in the tongue”, and therefore giving the doctors “the right to speak life or death” over her, including when she would need renal replacement therapy, not only went against her faith but “provides the enemy [Satan] with an opportunity to interfere in what God has ordained for me”. 

She described herself as fit, having not seen a specialist in 20 years, active and independent, living alone, driving herself and walking 5km daily. 

She also said she held a living will prohibiting medical intervention to “unnaturally lengthen” her life, and said her daughter would enforce it. 

“I will only consent to medical care that will not unnaturally lengthen my days,” she wrote. 

The tribunal acknowledged the woman’s religious convictions but said they could not override New Zealand’s immigration health requirements, which aim to protect public health and manage limited resources. 

It noted all applicants must meet the same standard and the requirement for medical assessment was justified. 

“The appellant did not demonstrate that she met the criteria of the Family (Parent) category, particularly that she was of an acceptable standard of health,” the decision said. 

“Her request that she should be entitled to an exemption of the health instructions and her right to do so as an expression of her religious beliefs undermines the purpose of the health instructions, of protecting public health goals and outcomes.” 

The tribunal concluded although the woman’s circumstances were heartfelt, they were not “uncommon, out of the ordinary or abnormal” enough to warrant an exception. 

Her appeal was dismissed. 

Shannon Pitman is a Whangārei-based reporter for Open Justice covering courts in the Te Tai Tokerau region. She is of Ngāpuhi/ Ngāti Pūkenga descent and has worked in digital media for the past five years. She joined NZME in 2023.