# New countries added to TB pre-entry screening for UK visas over six months



## AnAmericanInScotland (Feb 8, 2012)

This is on the UKBA news page, and there is also a link (look to the right for the pdf) to the written ministerial statement. The news blurb doesn't say when the new countries will begin testing pre-entry, but does say the cost for the testing will be born by the visa applicant, and to watch the site for further information:

UK Border Agency | New screening to tackle tuberculosis in the UK

I haven't read the ministerial statement, it's possible the statement announces a start date.


----------



## teuchter (Dec 12, 2011)

AnAmericanInScotland said:


> This is on the UKBA news page, and there is also a link (look to the right for the pdf) to the written ministerial statement. The news blurb doesn't say when the new countries will begin testing pre-entry, but does say the cost for the testing will be born by the visa applicant, and to watch the site for further information:
> 
> UK Border Agency | New screening to tackle tuberculosis in the UK
> 
> I haven't read the ministerial statement, it's possible the statement announces a start date.


Not only does it not say when, it also doesn't mention how the screening will be conducted.

As my partner is from Indonesia, this will affect us. I just wonder if a UAE TB clearance will be acceptable? (All foreign residents here are screened for TB/HIV/hepatitis upon renewal of work permits every two years.)

teuchter


----------



## AnAmericanInScotland (Feb 8, 2012)

All it says in the ministerial statement is '...roll out in summer...'. They're rolling out a lot of things in the summer

I thought you and your partner were already in the UK-this applies to pre-entry from what the news blurb and the ministerial statement says. Are you both in Dubai (I'm going by your profile flags and statement of location)?

I would think the one done in UAE should be enough-if they are planning to test people who are in the country they are applying from, won't the UKBA accept test results from a recognised test centre in that country? It just makes sense.

Stay tuned to that news page for more info. I already check it twice and sometimes thrice daily, if I see anything I'll post it.

I have to be honest and say I can understand why they are doing this. I was surprised to see Guatemala and the US weren't on the list, because I know there is a lot of TB in both countries-a lot of it drug resistant. I was tested before I came over, just in case, because I'm weird that way, but I think it wouldn't be a bad idea for everyone to be tested. It hides in your system and pops out at the worst possible times-but if treated it is sorted and over in less than six months.


----------



## Zama (Apr 23, 2012)

Thanks for sharing this, unexpectable and obviously adding more stress to the visa application. Is it applicable for fiance settlement visas? As they are for 6 months....


----------



## AnAmericanInScotland (Feb 8, 2012)

Zama said:


> Thanks for sharing this, unexpectable and obviously adding more stress to the visa application. Is it applicable for fiance settlement visas? As they are for 6 months....


I'd have to say yes, this will apply to the fiance(e) visa as it is an entry visa for six months and is a precourser to the longer FLR(M)-which is for the probationary two years.

I know you were thinking of applying in June. You might want to consider being proactive, and getting the test done soon in a large testing centre that will be more likely to meet UKBA standards, just to be ahead of the thing. 

I don't know how long testing takes in your country, mine was in the US and was the skin test-it took less than a week-went in on Monday, went back on Thursday for the analysis of the skin. In the US, the skin test is done first. If my skin test had come back positive I would have had to take the blood test to see if there was latent TB or active. 

Because the ministerial statement mentions latent TB, I wonder if they will want the blood test instead of the skin test?


----------



## teuchter (Dec 12, 2011)

AnAmericanInScotland said:


> All it says in the ministerial statement is '...roll out in summer...'. They're rolling out a lot of things in the summer
> 
> I thought you and your partner were already in the UK-this applies to pre-entry from what the news blurb and the ministerial statement says. Are you both in Dubai (I'm going by your profile flags and statement of location)?
> 
> ...


We had originally planned to have moved back by now, but various extrinsic factors have lead to us having to push our plans back. Meanwhile we are indeed both still in Dubai and closely following all UK immigration-related news!

teuchter


----------



## Zama (Apr 23, 2012)

AnAmericanInScotland said:


> I'd have to say yes, this will apply to the fiance(e) visa as it is an entry visa for six months and is a precourser to the longer FLR(M)-which is for the probationary two years.
> 
> I know you were thinking of applying in June. You might want to consider being proactive, and getting the test done soon in a large testing centre that will be more likely to meet UKBA standards, just to be ahead of the thing.
> 
> ...


 I have no idea which large testing centre meets UKBA standards, they are most probably somewhere else in my country. I have done x-ray scanning in November last year and it is not recommended to do it more than once a year. 
Oh well, nothing could have upset me more this evening than some more rules changes right before the date we want to apply for visa....


----------



## AnAmericanInScotland (Feb 8, 2012)

Zama said:


> I have no idea which large testing centre meets UKBA standards, they are most probably somewhere else in my country. I have done x-ray scanning in November last year and it is not recommended to do it more than once a year.
> Oh well, nothing could have upset me more this evening than some more rules changes right before the date we want to apply for visa....


Where did you have the x-ray screening done? You might be able to have the skin test there too.

I think the standards UKBA would probably be looking for would be any medium to large hospital that does out-patient testing, or a clinic with a locally very high reputation. Do you live in a city, or near one? Here in the UK where my husband and I live we would go about 20 miles south of us to have testing done, it's possible you have the same kind of situation there?

Can you check around and see who does certified skin tests? It might be as simple as a visit to your general practitioner.


----------



## Zama (Apr 23, 2012)

AnAmericanInScotland said:


> Where did you have the x-ray screening done? You might be able to have the skin test there too.
> 
> I think the standards UKBA would probably be looking for would be any medium to large hospital that does out-patient testing, or a clinic with a locally very high reputation. Do you live in a city, or near one? Here in the UK where my husband and I live we would go about 20 miles south of us to have testing done, it's possible you have the same kind of situation there?
> 
> Can you check around and see who does certified skin tests? It might be as simple as a visit to your general practitioner.


I've done my last X-ray in a local state clinic as part of medical check up before starting my new job. 
I live in the city, but I am sure this certified centre will be in Almaty, where the visa centre is located. One of my friends did his check up for Australian visa there... 
However, part of me really hopes that they allow some grace period before implementing these changes. So if they say they are going to make it a part of summer changes, I assume it will not take place earlier than July? How long the grace period normally is? 
Thanks in advance!


----------



## AnAmericanInScotland (Feb 8, 2012)

Zama said:


> I've done my last X-ray in a local state clinic as part of medical check up before starting my new job.
> I live in the city, but I am sure this certified centre will be in Almaty, where the visa centre is located. One of my friends did his check up for Australian visa there...
> However, part of me really hopes that they allow some grace period before implementing these changes. So if they say they are going to make it a part of summer changes, I assume it will not take place earlier than July? How long the grace period normally is?
> Thanks in advance!


You're probably right about the location of what would be an acceptable testing centre-if the one in Almaty is doing testing for Australia visas now the UKBA would probably go with that. But then again, a local state clinic test might suffice too-we'll know more once the whole plan is announced.

I wish I knew what if any grace period there would be, I suspect they are going to implement this as quickly as they can because frankly this is a rather serious issue. The best thing you can do is bookmark the UKBA news page and then check it at least once a day for any updates.


----------



## fergie (Oct 4, 2010)

TB is a very worrying problem, on the rise again as it is becoming more drug resistant , if people have it without knowing it could spread more to young babies, children or to people with low immune systems, and can be a killer if not treated.
The drugs to treat TB, if it has not already got to an advanced stage are very expensive, so screening for it as a prior to entry requirement is a good thing, to stop it becoming an epidemic in the UK, and put more strain on the NHS.


----------



## AnAmericanInScotland (Feb 8, 2012)

fergie said:


> TB is a very worrying problem, on the rise again as it is becoming more drug resistant , if people have it without knowing it could spread more to young babies, children or to people with low immune systems, and can be a killer if not treated.
> The drugs to treat TB, if it has not already got to an advanced stage are very expensive, so screening for it as a prior to entry requirement is a good thing, to stop it becoming an epidemic in the UK, and put more strain on the NHS.


Too right, Fergie, I agree completely. Plans like this are appropriate and a great way for the UKBA to truly defend the borders of the UK. I'm impressed that they are going to do this.


----------



## Zama (Apr 23, 2012)

AnAmericanInScotland said:


> You're probably right about the location of what would be an acceptable testing centre-if the one in Almaty is doing testing for Australia visas now the UKBA would probably go with that. But then again, a local state clinic test might suffice too-we'll know more once the whole plan is announced.
> 
> I wish I knew what if any grace period there would be, I suspect they are going to implement this as quickly as they can because frankly this is a rather serious issue. The best thing you can do is bookmark the UKBA news page and then check it at least once a day for any updates.


good morning! thanks for your advice 
Couldn't sleep whole night and in the morning found out the phone of clinic in Almaty which does medical check up for immigrants to Australia, Canada, New Zeland and the US. I assume they are going to do the same for the UK migrants, however, noone knows there about the change and they said they don't do check ups for the UK. 
Not sure how long it will take for the embassy to set up a process of this screening thing... 
The good thing is that x-ray results take one day... Not sure though, whether x-ray itself is enough?


----------



## AnAmericanInScotland (Feb 8, 2012)

Zama said:


> good morning! thanks for your advice
> Couldn't sleep whole night and in the morning found out the phone of clinic in Almaty which does medical check up for immigrants to Australia, Canada, New Zeland and the US. I assume they are going to do the same for the UK migrants, however, noone knows there about the change and they said they don't do check ups for the UK.
> Not sure how long it will take for the embassy to set up a process of this screening thing...
> The good thing is that x-ray results take one day... Not sure though, whether x-ray itself is enough?


According to the ministerial statement (pdf available at the link in the first post on this thread) the airport x-ray screening they already do isn't working to catch active cases and so now they are going to require lab tests pre-entry as part of the visa process. X-rays will not be accepted.

Which sounds to me as though it's possible they are skipping the skin test and going straight to the blood test. 

I don't know how the UKBA will choose an acceptable testing facility. In the US the general practice is for the agency requiring the test to do some research-they look for all kinds of things but the two main criteria are reliability of the testing centre and location convenience for most applicants. It's a fair process and usually works so I assume it's the same way the UKBA chooses. 

Although, if there is a testing centre already set up and is doing certified testing for other countries, it seems logical that the UKBA might decide to use the pre-existing facility. This announcement was just posted yesterday and so, as a guess only, I'm thinking more than likely the UKBA is still in negotiation with the centre in Almaty and no-one is allowed to talk about it until all of the details are worked out.

That is just a guess on my part-we'll have to wait and see what the UKBA and the new countries on the list decide as to how to implement this.


----------



## fergie (Oct 4, 2010)

I hope when they do test, in immigrants home countries,I hope! the results are strictly monitored to "tie them' to the person they belong to, as it has been known to fake these as well as passports, for cash in some of the more corrupt nations.
As an example, an Indo. maid was employed by a young couple in HK, at interveiw she told them she was very fit, and didn't suffer any illness's and needed the job badly BLa-bla! So they took her on to look after this couple and 3 under 5's, one being a new born baby. After a few months the maids cough got worse, and she was weak, so the couple insisted she was checked out. The maid went into the hospital and was diagnosed with advanced infective pulmonary TB, when the couple asked her about this, she said she knew she had the disease for a long while, but needed the work so didn't tell anybody. So she lived with this family-as it is part of the contract and handled these babies daily, and prepared food etc, knowing she was an infective 'time bomb'. Naturally this couple were furious with her for lying her way into a job, and the risk to their family, they all had to receive treatment, it did go to court.


----------



## Zama (Apr 23, 2012)

AnAmericanInScotland said:


> According to the ministerial statement (pdf available at the link in the first post on this thread) the airport x-ray screening they already do isn't working to catch active cases and so now they are going to require lab tests pre-entry as part of the visa process. X-rays will not be accepted.
> 
> Which sounds to me as though it's possible they are skipping the skin test and going straight to the blood test.
> 
> ...


Yeah, we will have just to wait and see. Worrying before the new process is declared is just pointless...I think I need to turn off Internet and concentrate on my work.


----------



## AnAmericanInScotland (Feb 8, 2012)

Zama said:


> Yeah, we will have just to wait and see. Worrying before this is just pointless...


I'm not a big fan of worrying But I am a HUGE fan of being forewarned and prepared. I think there is a difference between the two but it's a distinction a lot of people don't get:lol: Knowing, though, that this is in the works is a help to potential applicants I think. First of all-no surprises on Application Day. Second, no delays-if an applicant knows this is coming, the applicant can test ahead of time and get that potential obstacle out of the way. 

I'm just very surprised more Latin American countries, and the US as well, aren't on the list. As an American I can assure you that especially in the US South TB is on the rise, and drug-resistant TB is also a big concern in the US. There have been several cases in the US of people being restrained to isolation wards to force their compliance with treatment. 

It is not a civil rights 'issue', it is a public health nightmare, and as Fergie notes in her last post, it is a problem that has extremely serious consequences-as a parent I can all too well imagine the family's horror at finding out not only their maid had active, infectious TB, but lied her way into a position of such trust without any concern at all for the children she was to have such close contact with.

I have two (now adult) children-when we were expats in Central America I was VERY careful about who was in my house and around my little dears! Drug-resistant TB and several other life-threatening diseases were rampant down there at the time. Having household staff was practically de rigueur there (my husband was with the US embassy) and I shocked the heck out of everyone when I let mine go to do all the housework and child care myself. But, dang, the staff were always coughing into the air, not washing their hands after using the convenience...


----------



## Zama (Apr 23, 2012)

AnAmericanInScotland said:


> I'm not a big fan of worrying But I am a HUGE fan of being forewarned and prepared. I think there is a difference between the two but it's a distinction a lot of people don't get:lol: Knowing, though, that this is in the works is a help to potential applicants I think. First of all-no surprises on Application Day. Second, no delays-if an applicant knows this is coming, the applicant can test ahead of time and get that potential obstacle out of the way.
> 
> I'm just very surprised more Latin American countries, and the US as well, aren't on the list. As an American I can assure you that especially in the US South TB is on the rise, and drug-resistant TB is also a big concern in the US. There have been several cases in the US of people being restrained to isolation wards to force their compliance with treatment.
> 
> ...


American in Scotland, I fully understand your position and the position of others, who try to protect the dearest ones. I never wish this to happen to any family around the world. I also understand the UK government who wants to improve things in country. 

After long thinking today, I came to decision to do the screening before my Thailand trip (of course of they announce the details on the website) and after my return, will just grab the results and submit my docs to the visa section. Sounds like a plan! 
I just Hope my blood testing result will be the same as my x-ray ones! Oh well, I better stop being paranoid now...
Thanks for your time to respond my messages anyway


----------



## Zama (Apr 23, 2012)

UK Border Agency | Pre-entry screening for migrants to tackle tuberculosis in the UK
They are going to implement the TB screening programm in 2013 only in Kazakhtan


----------



## AnAmericanInScotland (Feb 8, 2012)

Zama said:


> UK Border Agency | Pre-entry screening for migrants to tackle tuberculosis in the UK
> They are going to implement the TB screening programm in 2013 only in Kazakhtan


This is must be a relief for you-one less thing to worry about 



> We will not implement the programme in Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan until 2013. If you are applying for a visa in 2012 you will not be affected.


----------



## Zama (Apr 23, 2012)

AnAmericanInScotland said:


> This is must be a relief for you-one less thing to worry about


Oh yeah, it is a relief indeed!  one worry less


----------



## 302993 (Oct 8, 2013)

Zama said:


> UK Border Agency | Pre-entry screening for migrants to tackle tuberculosis in the UK
> They are going to implement the TB screening programm in 2013 only in Kazakhtan


Has anyone got any update regarding the pre-screening program for TB! I've just checked the UKBA site and there was no new announcement on implementing the TB screening program for Kazakhstan/Kyrgyzstan.Are we on the list then as 2013 is coming to its end?


----------



## AnAmericanInScotland (Feb 8, 2012)

Missis D said:


> Has anyone got any update regarding the pre-screening program for TB! I've just checked the UKBA site and there was no new announcement on implementing the TB screening program for Kazakhstan/Kyrgyzstan.Are we on the list then as 2013 is coming to its end?


Have you made your application, and if yes, was the TB test certificate listed as one of the mandatory documents?

I went to the UKBA site and tried to find a new list of countries - can't find one; I did find the news update you mention and from reading it I got the impression Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan became listed in 2013...

But when I used the search function for partners and family members visa applications, using Kyrgyzstan as the country being applied from, nothing was said about a TB test being required. 

Hopefully someone will post in with more informative search results.


----------



## 302993 (Oct 8, 2013)

AnAmericanInScotland said:


> Have you made your application, and if yes, was the TB test certificate listed as one of the mandatory documents?
> 
> I went to the UKBA site and tried to find a new list of countries - can't find one; I did find the news update you mention and from reading it I got the impression Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan became listed in 2013...
> 
> ...


Thank you AmericanInScotland for your response.
Yes,I've already made my application and scheduled the appointment for the 2nd December.TB test is mentioned in supporting documents guidance as the mandatory requirement for some countries,and Kyrgyzstan is not listed there yet. If there's a change it's better to be prepared.With my biometrics coming soon the last thing I need is to be told that TB test is mandatory for citizens of Kyrgyzstan.


----------



## Kylemacca01 (Nov 21, 2013)

I think the best way is to ask the partner in your country of application. I emailed VFS in korea who deal with visa applications here and i was told TB screening will come in after Dec 31st 2013. 

I guarantee whoever processes your application in your country will know the answer to this.


----------



## AnAmericanInScotland (Feb 8, 2012)

Kylemacca01 has a good suggestion (email and ask) but if Kyrgyzstan isn't listed in the supporting documents guidance download, I'd feel you're not going to need it - you would have been instructed to have your TB test certificate to show at your biometrics appointment I'd think, if it were a required document.


----------



## 302993 (Oct 8, 2013)

Kylemacca01 said:


> I think the best way is to ask the partner in your country of application. I emailed VFS in korea who deal with visa applications here and i was told TB screening will come in after Dec 31st 2013.
> 
> I guarantee whoever processes your application in your country will know the answer to this.


Thank you Kylemacca,I will follow your suggestion!


----------

