Most of Africa and Asia Must Get Tuberculosis Clearance

Most of Africa and Asia Must Get Tuberculosis Clearance

IMPACT – Medium

What is the change? The U.K. has added more than 50 countries in Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe whose citizens must undergo tuberculosis testing for stays in the U.K. over six months.

What does the change mean? The change adds a step to the processing of visas.

  • Implementation timeframe: Dec. 31, 2013.
  • Visas/permits affected: Visas valid for longer than six months, including work, study, settlement. Fiancé(e) visas for six months also require TB testing.
  • Who is affected: Residents in the targeted countries who are applying for visas for more than six months.
  • Impact on processing times: Tests add a step to overall preparation time for applications.
  • Next steps: Obtain tuberculosis screening from designated applicants.

Background: Over the past year, the U.K. imposed compulsory TB testing for long-term visas, gradually expanding the requirement to more and more countries.

The final list of countries includes:

Algeria Democratic Republic of Congo Liberia Namibia
Angola Djibouti Macau (all categories) Rwanda
Armenia Equatorial Guinea Madagascar São Tomé and Príncipe
Azerbaijan Gabon Mali Senegal
Benin Georgia Marshall Islands Solomon Islands
Botswana Guinea Micronesia Tajikistan
Brunei Darussalam Guinea Bissau Moldova East Timor
Burundi Hong Kong (all categories) Mongolia Turkmenistan
China (all categories) Kazakhstan Mozambique Tuvalu
Cape Verde Kiribati Nigeria Ukraine
Central African Republic Korea, Republic of Papua New Guinea Uzbekistan
Chad Korea, Democratic People’s Republic of Palau Vanuatu
Congo Kyrgyzstan Russian Federation

Applicants who file on or after Dec. 31, 2013, must include a TB clearance certificate.

Applicants must go to a clinic approved by the U.K. Home Office and undergo a chest X-ray. Those who test negative will get a TB certificate. Those who are diagnosed with TB will not get a certificate and will receive a referral letter for treatment that can take up to six months to complete. Applicants cannot apply for a U.K. visa until they can prove that they are free of the disease.

The U.K. Home Office publishes a list of approved clinics in each country on its website.

BAL Analysis: Companies and individuals can avoid surprises by planning well in advance to get TB clearance certificates for stays in the U.K. lasting longer than six months.

This alert has been provided by the BAL Global Practice group in the United Kingdom. For additional information, please contact uk@bal.com.

Copyright © 2016 Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. All rights reserved. Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. For inquiries please contact copyright@bal.com.

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