Who can enrol?
If you are a New Zealand citizen (this includes people from the Cook Islands, Niue and Tokelau) or resident, you are eligible for the full range of publicly funded health and disability services.
This is also generally the case if you hold a residence class visa; you hold a work visa that allows you to stay in New Zealand for at least two consecutive years; or you are an Australian citizen or permanent resident staying in New Zealand for two years or more.
International students are not eligible to enrol and should make sure they have medical insurance.
If you are not eligible to enrol, you will still find it useful to register with a doctor as a non-enrolled patient at that general practice. Registration does not entitle you to cheaper visits or to subsidised medicines, but it does bring many of the other benefits of enrolling such as building up a relationship with a family doctor who can support you and your family’s needs.