Tuberculosis tests for visa applicants

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1. Check if you need a TB test for your visa application

You’ll need to have a tuberculosis (TB) test if all of the following are true:

  • you’re coming to the UK for 6 months or more
  • you’ve lived in any of these listed countries for 6 months or more
  • you were living there (or another listed country) within the last 6 months

If you’re coming to the UK for less than 6 months, you’ll still need a TB test if you’re applying for a Returning Resident visa, or a family visa as a fiancé, fiancée or proposed civil partner.

If you’re already in the UK and are applying for or extending a British National (Overseas) visa, you’ll need a TB test if you did not provide a TB certificate when you came to the UK. 

You’ll be given a chest x-ray to test for TB. If the result of the x-ray is not clear you may also be asked to give a sputum sample (phlegm coughed up from your lungs).

If your test shows that you do not have TB, you’ll be given a certificate which is valid for 6 months from the date of your x-ray. Include this certificate with your UK visa application.

Who does not need to be tested

You will not need a TB test if any of the following apply:

  • you’re a diplomat accredited to the UK
  • you’re a returning UK resident and have not been away for more than 2 years
  • you’re coming on a scheme to support people from Ukraine

Children who need a TB test

All children must see a clinician who’ll decide if they need a chest x-ray. Children under 11 will not normally have a chest x-ray.

You must take your child to an approved clinic and complete a health questionnaire. If the clinician decides your child does not have TB they’ll give you a certificate. Include this certificate with your child’s UK visa application.

Pregnant women who need a TB test

You can choose:

  • an x-ray with an extra shield to protect you and your unborn child in the 2nd and 3rd trimesters
  • a sputum test (phlegm coughed up from your lungs) - there may be an extra fee and you could wait up to 8 weeks for results
  • to wait until after delivery

2. Countries where you need a TB test for your UK visa application

You must be tested at a clinic that has been approved by the Home Office.

Some countries do not have approved testing centres so you’ll need to get tested in a different country. Some other countries have approved clinics where you can get tested.

Countries and where to find approved clinics

A

Afghanistan

Algeria

Angola

Armenia

Azerbaijan

B

Bangladesh

Belarus

Benin (get tested in another country)

Bhutan

Bolivia

Botswana

Brunei

Burkina Faso (get tested in another country)

Burundi

C

Cambodia

Cape Verde (get tested in another country)

Central African Republic (get tested in another country)

Chad

Cameroon

China

Congo (get tested in another country)

Côte d’Ivoire

D

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Djibouti (get tested in another country)

Dominican Republic

E

East Timor (get tested in another country)

Ecuador

Equatorial Guinea (get tested in another country)

Eritrea (get tested in another country)

Ethiopia

G

Gabon (get tested in another country)

Gambia

Georgia

Ghana

Guatemala

Guinea (get tested in another country)

Guinea Bissau (get tested in another country)

Guyana

H

Haiti

Hong Kong

I

India

Indonesia

Iraq

K

Kazakhstan

Kenya

Kiribati (get tested in another country)

Kyrgyzstan (get tested in another country)

L

Laos

Lesotho (get tested in another country)

Liberia (get tested in another country)

M

Macau (get tested in another country)

Madagascar

Malawi

Malaysia

Mali (get tested in another country)

Marshall Islands (get tested in another country)

Mauritania (get tested in another country)

Micronesia, Federated States of (get tested in another country)

Moldova

Mongolia

Morocco

Mozambique

Myanmar (Burma)

N

Namibia

Nepal

Niger (get tested in another country)

Nigeria

North Korea

P

Pakistan

Palau (get tested in another country)

Papua New Guinea

Panama

Paraguay

Peru

Philippines

R

Russia

Rwanda

S

São Tomé and Principe (get tested in another country)

Senegal

Sierra Leone

Solomon Islands

Somalia (get tested in another country)

South Africa

South Korea

South Sudan (get tested in another country)

Sri Lanka

Sudan

Suriname (get tested in another country)

Swaziland (get tested in another country)

T

Tajikistan

Tanzania

Togo (get tested in another country)

Thailand

Turkmenistan

Tuvalu (get tested in another country)

U

Uganda

Ukraine

Uzbekistan

V

Vanuatu

Vietnam

Z

Zambia

Zimbabwe

3. Other countries with approved TB test clinics

You must be tested at a clinic that has been approved by the Home Office.

You can find approved clinics to get a tuberculosis (TB) test in most of the listed countries where you need a TB test for your UK visa application.

You can also find approved clinics in:

Clinics in the UK

You can get a TB test at a clinic in the UK if either: