Medical Check for Residence Permit - Rejected for Treated Syphilis?

[JCB Japan]

Well, this is a sensitive subject.

 

When applying to work in China one has a medical exam outside of the country.  And then another medical check (in China) when apply for residency permit.

 

A medical check outside of China that includes an RPR test for screening Syphilis would only show an active case, not a past treated case.

 

Is the Syphilis screening for the residency medical check (in China) a RPR test (which screens for an active case of Syphilis) or a TPPA test (which screens for Syphilis antibodies)?  

 

If someone was treated long ago for Syphilis, his or her body shows Syphilis antibodies for life.  Can someone confirm that residency permit medical checks are screening for active cases of syphilis?  Or, if the residency permit shows Syphilis antibodies from a past treated case of Syphilis, will his/her residency permit application be rejected?

 

Thank you for considering these questions.

[Lu]

I don't have an answer to your question, but thanks for asking it. I'm sure you're not the first or the last person running into this issue, and hopefully someone here will know the answer, which will be helpful to others as well.

[mungouk]

On the out-of-country exam form there's a fairly ambiguous box where the doctor is supposed to summarise the lab results.

 

 

On the out-of-country tests that I've had for visas, the doctor has just written "Syphilis, HBsAg, HIV - non-reactive" in that box, along with general comments about any out of range results for things like liver function etc.

 

(Despite what it says in that box, I've never attached full lab test results to the form.)

 

However, looking at the lab results for the in-country medical check that you have to do on arrival, it clearly specifies Anti-HCV, HBsAg, TPPA and Anti-HIV.

 

(The lab results for blood and urine are pretty detailed, covering Cholesterol, ALT, AST, MPV, MCHC, MCV, MCH... etc.)

 

Whether the TPPA test being positive means they don't issue the blue "certificate of verification" (which also doesn't have the lab results attached), I couldn't say. But it does seem that that's the test they do.

 

 

[Brit182]

Hello,

 

Did you get an answer on this in the end? I’m in the same situation myself of needed to know, and information is sparse. I hope everything worked out for you! 

[John242]

Hi! So I applied for a job in Beijing sometime last year and got the job offer and accepted it. I was notified of the health checks I had to undergo and thought everything was going to be fine. I took the health check and found out that I had contracted Syphilis! I was taken aback but quickly proceeded with treatment and considered cured. I shared the results with the company after everything. Unfortunately, they recently contacted me saying that my work permit and visa application has been denied which is heartbreaking.  They also let me know that the dreaded covid-19 pandemic contributed to the decline in my application as well.

 

For my visa application journey, not only did I have to provide the health physical form results, my x-ray ecg, hiv, syphilis and all other lab results were requested as well. Just a heads up.

 

I just wanted to share my story because there really is little to no info regarding this situation specifically on Syphilis. So I'm posting so others won't have to go through the pain and stress that I went through. However, this is my experience and it may be different for others.

[Arkay21]

I contracted syphilis while in China completely unaware of it. When switching employers I did the medical check again and the hospital called me saying there was a problem - they refused to tell my company the specifics and asked for me to come to the hospital. They told me I had syphilis and then said I could still pass the medical exam and get a new work permit if I got treatment at a Chinese hospital and showed it to them - I did that and it worked. I got my health check passed and my work permit approved without any trouble, and the hospital was very professional about it. However, I refused to tell my company anything about it - I think that's where people like John242 went wrong. Of course these companies are untrustworthy and they are NOT your friends - they will instantly deny your application if they find out you have syphilis, whatever you do don't ever let your company know about it. A lesson you learn in China is to never trust your employer with sensitive information, even if they're acting friendly.