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2 November 2021

TB Test
Guide for UK
Visa
Applications
Demetris Demetriou

If you are planning to come to the

UK to stay for over six months and

are a resident of one of a number of

countries specified by the British

Government, you will need to have

a tuberculosis (TB) test before you

are allowed to enter the country.

The purpose of screening for TB is

to detect the presence of lung TB

and prevent transmission to others

when travelling, while also helping

with early detection and treatment

where the traveller is unaware of

their condition.

After you have been screened for

TB, if the tests are clear, you will be

issued a TB clearance certificate.

The certificate confirms you are

free of lung TB and is a mandatory

requirement before you can apply

for a visa to enter the UK.

Countries where you

need a TB test to
enter the UK
Pre-entry screening is compulsory

for those people who wish to come

into the UK and stay for over six

months if they are a national of one

of the following countries, as listed

on the .gov website (as at

November 2021). Screening is not

required if you are coming to the UK

as a tourist.

A B C D
Bangladesh Cambodia Democratic
Afghanistan Republic of
Belarus Cape Verde (get
the Congo
Algeria tested
Benin (get tested
in Gambia or Senegal) Djibouti (get
Angola in Nigeria)
tested
Central African
Armenia Bhutan in Ethiopia)
Republic (get tested
Azerbaijan Bolivia in Cameroon) Dominican
Republic
  Botswana Chad (get tested
in Cameroon)
  Brunei
Cameroon
  Burma
China
  Burkina Faso (get
tested in Ghana) Congo (get tested
  in Democratic
Burundi Republic of the
Congo)

Côte d’Ivoire

E G H I
East Timor Gabon (get tested Haiti India
(get tested in Cameroon)
Hong Kong Indonesia
in Indonesia)
Gambia
Iraq
Ecuador
Georgia
Equatorial
Ghana
Guinea (get
tested Guatemala
in Ghana)
Guinea (get tested
Eritrea (get in Sierra Leone)
tested
in Kenya) Guinea Bissau (get
tested
Ethiopia in Gambia or Senegal)

Guyana

K L M N
Kazakhstan Laos Macau (get tested Namibia
in Hong Kong)
Kenya Lesotho (get tested Nepal
in South Africa) Madagascar
Kiribati (get Niger (get
tested in Fiji) Liberia (get tested Malawi tested
in Ghana) in Ghana)
Kyrgyzstan Malaysia
(get tested Nigeria
Mali (get tested
in Kazakhstan)
in Gambia or Senegal) North Korea

Marshall Islands (get

tested in Fiji)

Mauritania (get
tested in Morocco)

Micronesia (get
tested in Fiji)

Moldova

Mongolia

Morocco

Mozambique

P R S T
Pakistan Russia São Tomé and Tajikistan
Principe (get tested
Palau (get Rwanda Tanzania
in Angola)
tested
Togo (get
in Philippines) Senegal
tested
Papua New Sierra Leone in Ghana)
Guinea
Solomon Islands (get Thailand
Panama tested in Papua New
Turkmenistan
Guinea)
Paraguay
Tuvalu (get
Somalia (get tested
Peru tested in Fiji)
in Kenya)
Philippines
South Africa

South Korea

South Sudan (get

tested in Kenya)

Sri Lanka

Sudan

Suriname (get tested

in Guyana)

Swaziland (get tested

in South Africa)

U V Z
Uganda Vanuatu (get tested Zambia
in Fiji)
Ukraine Zimbabwe
Vietnam
Uzbekistan

Do all UK visa
applicants need to
be tested for TB?
If you are planning to come from a

country where TB is common and

are applying for a long-term visa,

then you must be screened. There

are specific screening rules that

apply to children under the age of

eleven and pregnant women.

Where the screening

takes place
The test is taken at your own

convenience in your country of

residence. It is not done on arrival

in the UK. You will need to make an

appointment to be screened at a

designated and UK government

approved clinic in your home

country. This is done on behalf of

the UK Immigration Authority. You

can find a list of approved clinics on

the gov.uk website.

Things you will need

to take to the
appointment
You will need to take two official

documents proving your identity,

one of which must be your

passport. Besides this requirement,

you will also need two recent

passport sized photographs,

payment for your TB screening test,

and your medical records. If you

have previously had a TB test, you

should provide details of the

previous results, diagnosis, and any

treatment you may have received.

How much does a TB

test UK cost?
The clinic fee varies from country to

country and covers the

consultation, chest X-ray, and the

TB clearance certificate. If further

tests, such as sputum tests, are

thought to be necessary by your

doctor, additional costs may be

incurred. The clinic fees for the TB

test are in addition to the cost of

your visa application to the UK

Home Office.

What is the TB test

procedure?
Although almost all cases of TB can

be treated and cured, delays in

diagnosis and other factors mean it

remains a serious condition. TB can

affect any part of someone’s body,

but the risk of transmission only

happens when the active disease is

in the lungs. This means that pre-

entry screening only covers active

TB in the lungs. This is a type of TB

affecting the lungs and can be

difficult to diagnose. You may have

a chest X-ray to look for changes in

the appearance of your lungs that

may suggest TB. Samples of phlegm

are also often taken and checked

for the presence of TB bacteria.

Before screening begins, you will be

required to complete the Informed

Consent Form at the clinic. The

doctor will then ask you about any

current health complaints, worries

or symptoms you may have,

previous illnesses (including TB) and

treatment, and whether you have

had a friend or relative with TB. If

the doctor considers it appropriate

they may carry out a physical

examination.

Chest X-ray
You will be given a chest X-ray that

can identify any changes in your

lungs, which may indicate lung TB.

Your results are generally ready to

be collected within 24 hours. If your

doctor does not think you have TB

(following consultation and chest X-

ray), they will issue you with a TB

certificate.

Sputum Test
If your chest X-ray shows areas of

concern, or if the test results are

inconclusive, your doctor will ask

you to provide three samples of

sputum (phlegm coughed up from

the lungs). This is done in the clinic

on three consecutive mornings, so

you should be prepared to attend

the clinic. The samples you provide

will then be analysed under a

microscope. Sometimes the TB

bacteria can be seen with a special

stain process. However, more often

the TB bacteria will grow in a

culture of the sample you have

provided, therefore all samples will

be cultured. It is important to note

that in these cases, the final

diagnosis can take around two

months to get.

Are there any

exemptions to taking
a TB test UK?
There are certain circumstances

where you do not have to undergo

TB screening. You will not need to

take a TB test UK if you are a

diplomat accredited to the UK, you

are a UK resident returning to the

UK providing you have not been

away for over two years, or you

lived in a country for at least six

months where TB screening is not

required by the UK and you have

not been away from that country for

over six months.

Can a whole family

be screened
together?
If you are intending to come to the

UK with your family, the clinic

should allow screening of all your

family members on the same day.

Children and pregnant

women
All children who are coming to the

UK and applying for a visa from a

listed country are required to show

they are free of TB and will need to

see a doctor to confirm this.

Children under the age of eleven

will not usually be required to have

a chest X-ray, however, the child

must be taken to an approved clinic

to complete a health questionnaire.

If the doctor decides your child

does not have TB, they will give you

a certificate which you should

include within your child’s UK visa

application.

Pregnant women can request a

chest X-ray with an extra shield to

protect them and their unborn child

in the second and third trimesters

or take a sputum test instead. If

they decide to take the sputum test,

there may be an additional fee and

they could have to wait up to eight

weeks for the results. Alternatively,

they can wait until after the child is

born and take the chest X-ray then.

How long is a TB
certificate valid for?
A TB clearance certificate is valid

for six months from the date it is

issued. After you have entered the

UK, health authorities may contact

you to offer a further screening test

for inactive – or latent – TB. This is

in addition to the pre-entry

screening you had in your home

country and is to prevent

reactivation of this type of TB.

Testing for latent TB

Latent TB is where someone has

been infected with TB, but they do

not display any symptoms. For

example, if you have been in close

contact with someone who is known

to have active TB, you may need to

have a test or if you have recently

spent time or live in a country

where TB levels are high.

The Mantoux test is commonly used

to test for latent TB. It involves

injecting a tiny amount of PPD

tuberculin into the skin of your

forearm. This may also be called the

tuberculin skin test (TST). If you

have a latent TB infection, your skin

will have a sensitivity to the PPD

substance and a small red bump will

develop at the injection site,

typically around 48 to 72 hours after

having the test.

If your skin has a particularly

powerful reaction, you may need to

go on to have a chest X-ray to

confirm if you have active TB. If

your skin does not react to the test,

you do not have latent TB infection.

Although if you have previously

received a BCG vaccination, you

could have a mild skin reaction to

the test, but this does not

necessarily mean you have latent

TB.

There is a new blood test for TB that

is becoming more widely available

and is called the interferon gamma

release assay (IGRA). The IGRA may

be used to help diagnose latent TB

if:

You have had a positive

Mantoux test

You previously had a BCG

vaccination – as discussed

above, the Mantoux test may

not be reliable in such cases

You have recently moved to the

UK from a country where TB is

common

As part of a health check when

you register with a GP in the

UK

You are going to have

treatment that will suppress

your immune system

(immunosuppressant

treatment)

If you have come to the UK to

be a healthcare worker

How will testing

positive for TB affect
my visa application?
If you test positive for TB, you will

be referred straightaway by your

doctor for antibiotic treatment.

Although you will not be issued with

a clearance certificate, you can

reapply following successful

completion of your treatment. Your

doctor will report your diagnosis of

lung TB to your local, regional or

national authorities following the

requirements of your country. Your

doctor will also report your

diagnosis to the UK health

authorities.

After completing your treatment

(generally after six months), you are

eligible for re-screening. This will

incur an additional fee. Prior to

applying for your UK visa, you will

need a screening clearance

certificate from an approved clinic,

confirming you are now free of lung

TB.

If you no longer have TB, the

certificate will be issued and you

can then include it within your visa

application. A previous diagnosis of

TB will not have any adverse effect

on the visa process if you are

subsequently certified free of TB.

Need assistance?
DavidsonMorris’ immigration

lawyers advise on all aspects of UK

visa applications, including entry

requirements such as TB testing.

For specialist advice, contact us.

TB test for the UK

FAQs

How do you get a TB test

UK?

You should contact your

closest approved clinic

directly and book an

appointment for a TB

screening test; making it

clear that you require the

test for a UK visa

application. You can find

your nearest clinic by

checking on the gov.uk

website.

Can I do TB test in UK?

No. You will need to take

the test in your home

country before applying for

a UK visa to enter the UK.

You cannot take the test in

the UK.

How much does a TB test

cost UK?

The costs of testing varies

from country to country

and includes the

consultation, the screening

test, and certificate of

clearance. Other tests,

such as sputum tests, may

be required, which will

incur additional costs.

Do I need a TB test ever y

year ?

Further testing is not

required, providing you

have lived at least six

months in a country where

TB screening is not required

by the UK, and you have

been away from that

country for no more than

six months.

Last updated: 2 November 2021

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