858 Visa Health Check and Character Requirements: What to Expect

Health and character requirements are mandatory for every 858 visa applicant and every family member included in the application. These are standard permanent residency requirements — the 858 does not have more stringent health standards than other permanent visa classes, but failing to prepare for them properly is a common cause of processing delays.

Here is exactly what is involved, what the assessment is looking for, and how to avoid the most common complications.

Health Assessment: What the Medical Examination Covers

Every applicant must undergo a medical examination conducted by a panel physician approved by the Department of Home Affairs. You cannot use your own general practitioner — the examination must be performed by a physician on the Department's approved list, which is accessible through the eMedical system.

The examination typically includes:

Physical examination: A general assessment of your health, height, weight, blood pressure, and a review of your medical history. The physician will ask about existing conditions, previous surgeries, current medications, and family history of certain conditions.

Chest X-ray: Required for all applicants aged 11 and over. This screens for tuberculosis and other pulmonary conditions. If your chest X-ray shows any abnormality, a follow-up review — sometimes including a sputum test — will be requested before the health assessment is finalised.

Blood tests: Required depending on your age, country of origin, and circumstances. A full blood count and HIV test are standard components for most adult applicants. For applicants from countries with higher prevalence of certain conditions, additional tests may be included.

Serological tests: The physician may conduct tests for syphilis and other conditions as part of the standard panel.

Children under 11 typically undergo a physical examination only, without chest X-ray, unless clinical circumstances indicate otherwise.

The examination results are submitted directly to the Department through the eMedical system — you do not receive a paper certificate to include in your application. The Department accesses the results through the system and assesses them against the health criteria.

What the Health Assessment Is Looking For

The health criterion is a cost-of-care assessment. The Department considers whether a health condition is likely to impose a significant cost on Australia's public health system or community services, or whether it might cause prejudice to Australian residents competing for limited health resources.

Common conditions that may trigger additional review:

• Chronic conditions requiring ongoing specialist care (renal failure requiring dialysis, certain cancers in active treatment, severe cardiac conditions)
• Conditions requiring long-term residential care
• Infectious diseases requiring public health management

A health waiver is available in some circumstances, particularly where the applicant has strong ties to Australia, the benefit of the visa grant to Australia is significant, and the cost burden is within acceptable limits. For a senior professional whose skills are of high value to Australia — exactly the profile the 858 is designed for — a health waiver application is worth pursuing even if a condition initially triggers an adverse finding.

Most 858 applicants do not have conditions that raise health concerns. For the majority, the examination is a straightforward process completed in a single appointment.

Cost and Logistics

A health examination for one adult typically costs approximately $400 AUD, though this varies by location and the specific tests required. Panel physicians are available in major cities in Australia and through eMedical-approved facilities in most countries where applicants commonly apply — including India, the US, the UK, China, and Europe.

For a family of four, expect approximately $1,600 AUD in total health examination costs.

Offshore applicants need to find an approved panel physician in their current country of residence or in another country they are able to travel to. The Department's ImmiAccount portal allows you to search for approved health examination providers by country.

Timing note: health examinations must generally be completed within a certain period of lodging your visa application. The results remain valid for 12 months from the date of the examination. If your application processing extends beyond this window, you may need to repeat the examination.

Character Requirement: What It Involves

The character requirement is assessed against the provisions of section 501 of the Migration Act. The Department is looking for evidence that you are not a risk to the Australian community.

Police clearance certificates: You must provide police clearance certificates from every country you have lived in for 12 months or more, cumulatively, in the past 10 years. This includes Australia if you have lived there.

For most applicants, this means:

• Your current country of residence
• Your country of birth or previous countries of longer-term residence, if you have lived there for at least 12 months in the last decade

The certificate must be the current, official national-level police clearance — not a local or provincial clearance. Different countries have different processes and timescales for issuing clearances:

• Australia: AFP National Police Check, available online, typically 1–2 weeks
• India: Police clearance certificate from passport office or local superintendant of police, typically 4–8 weeks
• US: FBI Identity History Summary Check, currently taking 8–12 weeks
• UK: ACRO Certificate of Character, typically 10 days to 3 weeks
• China: Notarised No Criminal Record Certificate from local public security bureau, typically 4–8 weeks

Start police clearances early. For applicants from countries with longer processing times, this is the most common cause of delays in lodging a visa application after receiving an invitation. You have a 60-day window after receiving your invitation — if your FBI check takes 10 weeks, you may not be able to lodge within that window if you do not initiate it before receiving the invitation.

Disclosable Court Outcomes

You are required to declare any court outcomes — convictions, findings of guilt, and certain other court outcomes — regardless of whether they appear on the police clearance. This includes outcomes that may have been spent, expunged, or sealed under domestic law.

For minor historical matters (for example, a traffic infringement resulting in a fine 15 years ago), the impact on a 858 application is generally minimal. The character assessment considers the nature of the offence, how long ago it occurred, and evidence of subsequent conduct.

For any substantive criminal history — convictions for serious offences, offences involving violence, drug trafficking, fraud, or offences involving immigration deception — you should seek professional migration advice before lodging an EOI. The character assessment in these circumstances is more complex and the outcome depends heavily on the specifics.

Timing Your Health and Character Preparation

The most practical approach is to begin health and police clearance preparation in the period between submitting your EOI and receiving an invitation. If your EOI is strong, you may receive an invitation within weeks (Priority 2) or months (Priority 3–4). Using that waiting period to complete your health examination and initiate police clearance applications means you will be ready to lodge within the 60-day invitation window.

If you receive an invitation and then begin preparing your health and character documentation, you are likely to be under pressure — particularly if police clearances from multiple countries take several weeks each.

For a complete visa application checklist, including the health and character documentation required for primary and secondary applicants, processing timelines, and the full evidence package for the 858, the Australia Global Talent Visa (858) Guide covers all mandatory requirements in detail.

Health and character requirements are standard administrative steps — for most qualified applicants, they are not obstacles, just processes that need to be managed in the right sequence. Starting early is the main thing.

See more Australia guides →