This article has been reviewed by Wego’s editorial team to ensure that the content is up to date & accurate.
Updated February 2024
Medical tests, or the UK Tuberculosis (TB) test, has a vital role to play within the United Kingdom, serving to evaluate the health and welfare and the fitness of individuals for travelling. Before applying for a UK visa, travelers from certain specified countries who are willing to spend 6 months or more in the UK must first undergo a medical test in order to obtain a UK visa.
Continue reading as Wego delves into everything you need to know about undergoing a medical test before applying for a UK visa.
Table of Contents
UK visa medical test
The UK visa medical test is the TB test conducted to check if the travelers are fit to travel to the UK. Travelers need to have a TB test if they are coming to the UK for more than 6 months, and either:
- they live in one of the countries required to conduct a TB test for travelling to the UK, or
- they have lived in any of these countries in the past 6 months.
Who are required to take the UK visa medical test?
Travelers from the following countries are required to take a UK visa medical test or the UK TB test:
Countries with approved testing clinics
Travelers from the following countries can get tested at the approved UK medical testing clinics in their home countries:
- Afghanistan
- Algeria
- Angola
- Armenia
- Azerbaijan
- Bangladesh
- Belarus
- Bhutan
- Bolivia
- Botswana
- Brunei
- Burundi
- Cameroon
- China
- Côte d’Ivoire
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Dominican Republic
- Ecuador
- Ethiopia
- Gambia
- Georgia
- Ghana
- Guatemala
- Guyana
- Haiti
- Hong Kong
- India
- Indonesia
- Iraq
- Kazakhstan
- Kenya
- Laos
- Madagascar
- Malawi
- Malaysia
- Moldova
- Mongolia
- Morocco
- Mozambique
- Namibia
- Nepal
- Nigeria
- North Korea
- Pakistan
- Papua New Guinea
- Panama
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Philippines
- Russia
- Rwanda
- Senegal
- Sierra Leone
- Solomon Islands
- South Africa
- South Korea
- Sri Lanka
- Sudan
- Tajikistan
- Tanzania
- Thailand
- Turkmenistan
- Uganda
- Ukraine
- Uzbekistan
- Vietnam
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
Countries that need to get tested in another country
- Benin
- Burkina Faso
- Cambodia
- Cape Verde
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- Congo
- Djibouti
- Guinea
- Guinea Bissau
- Kiribati
- Kyrgyzstan
- Lesotho
- Liberia
- Mali
- Marshall Islands
- Mauritania
- Micronesia
- Niger
- Palau
- Somalia
- South Sudan
- Suriname
- Swaziland
- Togo
- Tuvalu
- Vanuatu
Who are not required to get a UK visa medical test?
The following categories of visitors are not required to conduct a TB or UK visa medical test:
- diplomats accredited to the UK
- a returning UK resident who has not been away for more than 2 years
- individuals living at least 6 months in a country where TB screening is not required by the UK and have been away from that country for no more than 6 months
Children
Children under 11 years of age will not normally have a chest x-ray. However, please note that children must see a clinician at an approved clinic who will decide if they need a chest X-ray.
The guardian must complete a health questionnaire, and if the clinician decides that the child does not have TB, they will give the guardians a certificate, which should be included with the child’s UK visa application.
Pregnant women
Pregnant women can choose any one of the following:
- an x-ray with an extra shield to protect themselves and their unborn child in the second and third trimesters
- a sputum test (phlegm coughed up from lungs). Please note that may be an extra fee that allows them to wait up to 8 weeks for results.
- to wait until after delivery.
UK visa medical test requirements
The travelers required to conduct a TB test will be given a chest x-ray to test for TB. In case the result of the x-ray is not clear, they may also be required to give a sputum sample (phlegm coughed up from the lungs).
However, in case the test shows that they do not have TB, the applicants will be given a certificate that is valid for 6 months from the date of their x-ray.
Please note that you need to include this certificate with your UK visa application.
UK visa medical test application
The UK visa medical test or the TB test has to be conducted at one of the clinics approved by the Home Office in the traveler’s country. You can find out the complete list of approved clinics from the GOV.UK website.
Please note that you will only need to get a UK visa medical test if you are coming to the UK for more than 6 months and have lived in one of the above-mentioned countries for 6 months or more.
UK visa medical test fees
The cost of a UK visa medical test depends on the country and approved center you are getting tested from. Please make sure to consult your approved clinic regarding the accurate UK visa medical test fees.
