UK clinics for Z-visa health check?

[mungouk]

I've spent hours online today but have been unable to find this information...

 

Does anyone in or from the UK know how I find a local clinic or hospital (private not NHS,  since I've not been resident for years) that will conduct the relevant health check for a Z-visa application?

 

There seem to be plenty of "medmigration" type places that cater for Australia/Canada/NZ visa applications, but frenzied googling has found nothing for China. 

 

Is it just a matter of turning up with that weird form and asking someone to do a chest X-ray and blood test for HIV, Syphilis etc and whatever else might be required to decide you don't have Leprosy, "Plague" or Veneral Disease?

 

Many thanks!

 

 

[AaronUK]

Did the company sponsoring your Z visa say this was a requirement? I had to just get a letter from my doctor to say I had no health issues.

 

I had my medical check once I was in china with my Z visa. I used the medical check to convert the z visa into my residence permit.

[mungouk]

Hi @AaronUK yes they did, although I'm querying it. There are many conflicting reports out there online.  Also time is very short in my case.

 

As I've not lived in the UK for 8 years I don't have a UK doctor.  I had one in Singapore but as I'm no longer there since December it might be tricky to get her to produce something, although not impossible.

 

I've had these checks before for India and Australia, but somehow it was a lot easier to locate "approved" clinics or hospitals.  Hmmm.

 

 

[roddy]

I'd just be phoning up and asking if they can do the x-ray. If they can do that, they can do the rest of the job. I'd be pushing back at the employers first, if there's time - point out that the Z visa application pages on the embassy website make no mention of a health check, and that health checks are always done in China, as part of the residence permit application. These facts are almost certainly true. 

 

It's likely that it's not a Z-visa issue so much as the local authority wherever your employer is asking for health info before they issue the invitation letter or permit or whatever it is nowadays. Which is excessive. I'm pretty sure there are reports on here of people trying to get the tests done and the doctor laughing at the form and rummaging around in the desk for an old address stamp to put over the photo. 

[roddy]

Although, for example here - excessive though I may consider it, it's there in black and white. 

[mungouk]

Thanks guys... I called my nearest Chinese consulate (Manchester) to ask them where to go and they said they don't know because the “local employment bureau” (in China) is who decides... would this be the same as the Human Resources and Social Security Bureau as linked to above?

 

7 hours ago, roddy said:

I'd just be phoning up and asking

 

Thanks @roddy... yes it does sound like the least-difficult route is to contact some private clinics and see if they can do the tests, which would appear to be  Chest X-ray, ECG (?), urine test and blood test to say that applicants are free of TB, HIV, Syphilis, Cholera and Yellow Fever.

 

A cursory google search reveals several clinics who specifically say they do screenings for China visas, but the lowest price in Manchester I've found so far is an eye-watering £460 (!!) with £375 seeming to be more normal for London.

 

I'll keep searching for smaller clinics who, despite doing the urine test, aren't taking the piss quite so much.

 

 

[roddy]

7 minutes ago, mungouk said:

would this be the same as the Human Resources and Social Security Bureau as linked to above?

I would believe so, although there are other bodies performing much the same role. And you're expected to get it certified by.... the Chinese embassy or consulate.

 

I think in the region of £400 isn't far off, I'm afraid. Up here in Edinburgh even a 15 minute consultation with a private GP is £100 (we had a leaflet through the door), so X-ray, radiologist to glance at the X-ray and wonder why you even bothered, bloodwork done, doctor to look it over and sign it off... Look at what an STD screen costs, then add on the extras...

[mungouk]

11 minutes ago, roddy said:

in the region of £400

 

Best I've found so far is £295 in London with 24-hour turnaround.  I guess there's more competition down there.

 

Even with the cost of a train ticket it'd be much cheaper!

 

[mungouk]

OK, a quick update.  I ended up going with the clinic in London charging £295 which included:

• Chest X-ray
• Blood test for Hepatitis B (HBsAg), Syphilis and HIV
• Detailed ECG
• Blood Group test
• Eyesight check, colour-blindness, physical examination of ears, throat etc as on the crazy form

(I didn't have to give a urine sample.)

 

I booked an appointment online last Friday and got a slot Monday afternoon. They're not open at weekends.

 

The tests took about 45 mins all together, and the doctor was very pleasant and professional.

 

I got the results back by email within 24 hours as advertised, but when I just called the Chinese consulate to check, they insisted that they won't legalise the Health Report unless it's got an apostille from the FCO, which means getting the original legalised, or a copy certified by a solicitor and then legalised.  (I'd been told/read somewhere that the health check doesn't need legalising. Apparently not true.)

 

The clinic normally sends out the original docs by 1st class post (2-3 working days), but I just called them and for an extra £10 they will send it recorded delivery to arrive by 1pm tomorrow. Which will mean I can send it off to the FCO immediately.

 

(According to the FCO's legalisation website it doesn't need certifying by a solicitor if you send the original document.)

 

Even having to pay £95 for a return train ticket to London this was still cheaper than the local clinics which were all quoting me around £600.  (I'm currently in North Wales.) Even Manchester would have been about £485 including a train ticket there and back, and I don't think any of these other places were offering such a quick turnaround.