Travel restrictions for people with HIV

Key points

• A number of countries restrict the entry and/or residence of people with HIV.
• Restrictions are not always consistently enforced.
• Restrictions can change with little notice and it is important to seek up-to-date information.

A number of countries restrict entry for people with HIV. This means that foreigners with HIV may be refused entry, denied permission to work or settle, or even be deported.

The situation is complex and changes from country to country. A few countries ban all foreign HIV-positive individuals from entering a country; others have no entry restrictions for tourists but require individuals to be HIV negative in order to apply for a work or residence permit.

How these restrictions are enforced varies. In some countries, people applying for a visa or residency permit may be obliged to take an HIV test or to prove their HIV-negative status. In others, no documentation may be requested, but a foreigner who is found to have HIV could be deported. Not all countries have specific immigration laws relating to HIV but this does not mean that declaring HIV status will not cause issues.

More positively, the number of countries restricting travel by people with HIV has reduced in recent years. A large number of countries have legislation clearly stating that entry and permission to live and work will not be affected by HIV status. Most countries do not require any type of medical tests either for short-term or long-term stays.

Regulations around the world

Restrictions on entry and residence for HIV-positive individuals can change quickly and with very little notice. Below we set out some general guidance on current regulations across different continents, based on information from the website www.hivtravel.org. This is provided by Deutsche AIDS-Hilfe, the European AIDS Treatment Group and the International AIDS Society.

Please note that country-specific regulations may have changed since the time of writing, and before any travel arrangements are made it is advisable to check the www.hivtravel.org website for up-to-date details by country. Regulations regarding working and your HIV status also differ by country, and so should you intend to work abroad then you are advised to check the country-specific page on the www.hivtravel.org website.

East Asia

For entry and short-term stays, there are generally no restrictions for people living with HIV across East Asian states.

In China, although the country has lifted its ban on short-term visitors with HIV/AIDS the website www.hivtravel.org still recommends not to declare your status on visa application forms and to be careful with voluntary status declaration (e.g. refrain from wearing red ribbon stickers). An HIV test is required for work and study visa applications of more than six months in China.

The only country in East Asia that will deport on the basis of HIV status is the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea).

South & South East Asia

There are generally few restrictions on entry and short-term stays across South & South East Asia. The exceptions to this are Brunei, where people known to be HIV positive are prohibited from entering and those found to be HIV positive face deportation, and Bhutan, where travellers must present the results of an HIV/AIDS test completed within the six months prior to their visit if they wish to stay for longer than two weeks.

Other than Bahrain and Bhutan, Iran, Malaysia and Singapore also have restrictions on long-term stays.

Note that in Iran, Maldives, Malaysia and Sri Lanka regulations are unclear or inconclusive. You are advised to contact their respective embassies prior to travelling for clear guidance.

Other information to note

When contacting an embassy or consulate to ask about travel restrictions, an individual’s name and HIV status can be kept anonymous.

For British Overseas Territories, The Foreign & Commonwealth Office website is a good place to start at www.fco.gov.uk. It may also be beneficial to contact an HIV organisation in the destination country to ask for information.

If a country does have entry restrictions, people with HIV who still decide to travel risk being refused entry or deported. It is worth noting that some countries will offer waivers under certain circumstances, particularly if the trip is to visit family members, but they may be difficult to obtain.

Travel restrictions for people with HIV can change quickly and so need to be checked before any trip. China and America are two examples of countries that recently lifted their restrictions on HIV-positive visitors.

In countries where restrictions have been recently changed, extra caution should be taken if discussing HIV status. If someone with HIV flouted the regulation and travelled into a country when the ban was in place, they could still be open to deportation following a travel ban being lifted. This could happen if there was proof that the individual knew of their HIV-positive status when the ban was in place and still entered the country. In this circumstance, the individual would have broken the law in the past and could be deported for that reason.