Medical Examination once again in China - Confucius Institute Scholarship

[PeterPeterPumpkinEater]

Hello,

 

I wanted to ask about medical examination which takes place in China when we come as scholarship students.

Let me explain ...

 

I applied for Confucius Institute Scholarship.

When I applied they wanted all the documents including Foreigner Physical Examination Form. I sent all the documents and in June, they sent me an info that I recieved a CIS and I can come to China. But, the info says that I will have to take a medical examination once again in China (every student has to).

 

I have some problems with my pancreas and I am afraid that after coming to China, they will discover it and send me back home. So I wanted to ask... what does medical examination in China cover? Is it the same as the Foreigner Physical Examination Form or it includes more?

 

Best regards

Peter

[shuoshuo]

Your results don't have to be perfect, I think you will be alright. But you shouldn't have anything highly contagious or the diseases listed on their form (tuberculosis, HIV/Aids).

 

That said, you can sort this part yourself when you get to China, if you don't want to do this with the school (around everyone else).  This examination is done in order for you to obtain your residence permit.  You will need a form from the medical bureau that clears you. You can obtain this directly from the bureau, the school doesn't need to help you with this.

[hedwards]

They're mostly interested in mental illnesses, sexually transmitted infections and anything that's highly contagious. I think the purpose of the examination in your home country is mostly to try and prevent people from flying to China and just be turned away by the official exam.

 

Having the school help is nice, but probably not necessary. My employer sent a couple people when we all went for our exams, but that was overkill, most of it was self explanatory and it's mostly just a matter of going to the correct rooms and doing as they say. I don't think that it's necessary to know any Chinese at all to get through the process. Especially in areas where they deal with foreigners on a regular basis.

[shuoshuo]

I should add that the Physical examination form for scholarships require just the very basic (and most important part).  For example, in my country they only check for HIV, common STDs and Hepatitis.  Physical examinations done in China will cover thorough blood work and routine (down to blood count for red blood cells, white blood cells and everything else).  They also do the liver function test which my country forgot or deliberately didn't do, and then they do an abdominal ultrasound, which is not a requirement of the form.

[Matty]

I did it a few days ago:

• Blood test (At long last I know my blood type!)
• Urine test (Obviously the coordination test to see if you can juggle a cup of urine and fixing up your pants!)
• Height
• Weight
• Eyes (Colour blindness test and E W M reverse-E)
• Nose and throat (quick glance)
• Blood pressure
• ECG (心电图)
• Ultrasound (Discovered I'm not pregnant - lucky too, since I'm not woman!)
• X-Ray (I have bones)
• Pulse (I'm not heartless after all)
• A general look at your body (with a couple of proddings if they think something looks unusual to test for pain)
• Temperature (they wrote 36.5, but no idea when they did any test for that)

Really, I don't think you have much to worry about if you're not a danger to others (contagious, insane, etc) or perhaps a serious imminent life threatening issue.

[Rae]

This might not apply to you but I brought all of my results and reports from my Physical Examination done in my home country and then took them to the place where you need to do the inspection and they gave a medical certification without having to redo it. I think that if your tests were done within 6 months of you going there, they can accept your previous Physcial and administer approval.

[shuoshuo]

Matty, yes that seems to be all of it. 

 

Last year my university forgot to set up an appointment with the medical bureau (I'm sorry I don't know what it's called but it's the place where they issue the verification certificate).  We only get 30 days to stay in China with the visa issued, if you schedule an appointment in one of the bigger cities, they'll give you a date that's one week from the day you schedule the appointment.  Then it takes about 4 days to 1 week for you to get your results.  Some time around early Oct there is a public holiday, which gets in the way of all the processing.  So if your university is as forgetful as mine was, you should just sort this out yourself.

[roddy]

Welcome to the site, Rae and Peter. 

 

It's probably important to remember that the tests won't be the same everywhere - correct me if I'm wrong, but there's no national standard for what needs to get checked for?

 

But as said, they're really looking for anything that might cause them trouble - infectious diseases, etc. They don't go looking for reasons to reject you, and I'm not sure I even remember any cases of anyone failing a medical. It honestly wouldn't surprise me if the blood and urine samples go in the bin to save money. 

[shuoshuo]

The urine test is not necessary, and they don't even do a urine test if you have your test done in China.  But the blood test is an important part of the test, you cannot skip that part.

[Matty]

Wow, you have to book one week in advance? They didn't have you do a urine test?

 

Here in Guangxi, Nanning I just went there in the morning (no appointment), did my tests  (including a urine test), and got my results at about 4:30 - 5:00pm that day.

[ChTTay]

For me, there was a urine test in Yinchuan, Ningxia but not in Beijing. Both places results took about a week.

I also have experience of taking a medical check to be "validated" in China. If you already did one at home, they just check that it has all the info they need and, if it does, give you a validation certificate to go with it. If its missing something, they just make you do the test its missing and not the whole thing. At least this is the case in Beijing. Specifically, the test centre in Haidian district (Xi Er Qi?).

[shuoshuo]

Matty - Yes, about a week in advance in Shanghai.  Then you get your results in about 4 days to 1 week.  There's possibly way too many foreigners in Shanghai.

 

ChTTay - Yes, the 'validation certificate' necessary for the residence permit is what we need.  They made me do one test that was missing...and charged me so much for it!

[ChTTay]

I wanted to add...

I got my original examination done in Yinchuan and I still had to have it validates in Beijing. It couldn't be accepted without the Beijing validation. That was pretty irritating when I first found out. I got it done in Yinchuan to save a bit of time as the place was nearby and i was familiar with everything there.

[Matty]

Now for a more perfect answer:

 

China’s New Visa Law

5. What are the grounds of ineligibility?

 

The following are grounds for denying a visa, residence certificate, stay certificate, or entry to China (EEAL, arts. 21, 25; State Council regs., art 21):

 

a. The foreign national has infectious tuberculosis or other infectious diseases that might seriously endanger public health. (EEAL, art. 21). Further, the Exit-Entry Inspection and Quarantine Bureau prohibits entry of persons who suffer from serious mental illness. Implementing Rules of the PRC Health and Quarantine Law, State Council No. 574 (Apr. 24, 2010). The 2010 amendment to these Rules removed the prohibition on entry for persons with AIDS.

 

 

=======================================

 

Wow, so people can come with AIDS now? I'm not sure what to think of that.

[shuoshuo]

I was in China when they announced the rule about AIDS.  I thought it was a positive move forward.  But I was under the impression when I did my physicals in China recently that they would deny you the scholarship if you were found to be infected with HIV/AIDS (why else would the blood test for HIV/AIDS be necessary? - and I think they use 3 or so methods to test for the different antibodies).

[Matty]

>> why else would the blood test for HIV/AIDS be necessary?

 

I think at the very least it's worth making sure the foreigners know if they have it.

If every person on earth who had HIV/AIDS knew it, I believe it would slow the spread greatly.

[shuoshuo]

I mean, why else would it be mandatory to take this specific test at this specific time? If anyone had HIV/Aids in my country (and they don't let us apply for a scholarship unless we take the test), I believe we won't even be allowed to apply.  Also, the doctor never tests for mental illnesses.  I mean, in the past year I have filled in the physical examination form twice, once in China and once in my country.  At which point did they test for mental illness? Do they simply look at us and guess, or...?

[roddy]

The blanket 'no AIDS' rule was done away with quite some time ago, but I wouldn't be surprised if it still stops you getting a residence permit for work or study. That'll all depend on what the local authorities and your school or employer think.

[shuoshuo]

When this new law emerged, it was effective immediately.  It was a month or two before I extended my visa in China.  I remember the visa office telling me two things about the physical examination: 1.) if I had been living in China then it won't be necessary for me to take the tests and 2.) if I was extending my visa for a period of less than 6 months I wouldn't need to take the tests.  The visa officer told me this when she handed me an instructions 'checklist' that was printed out before the rule came out, and it said the physical examination was mandatory. They're quite lenient with short-term visitors.

[hedwards]

@Shushuo, that's bad medical practice.

 

It's mostly just high risk populations that need to be tested for medical reasons. Testing people who haven't had sex and haven't received an transfusions represents a risk with no benefit. Knowing ones status is important, but there's no point in risking the health and safety of virgins just to have a comprehensive testing policy. Even the safest screenings have a risk associated with them. Hopefully the risk is offset by the benefit, but not always.