Municipal clinics will not conduct medical tests for visas from July 1

Municipal clinics will not conduct medical tests for visas from July 1
By Nina Muslim, Staff Reporter GULF NEWS Published: April 17, 2008, 00:15

Dubai: As of July 1, municipal clinics will not be allowed to conduct medical tests for residence and labour visas.

The UAE Cabinet reached the decision recently.

Expatriates are required to undergo medical testing every three years or when they change jobs to check for infectious diseases such as HIV/Aids and tuberculosis. Anyone found to be HIV-positive is deported.

Humaid Al Qutami, Minister of Health, told Gulf News the decision was reached to ensure public safety.

"No municipalities [will do the testing] anymore. It is not their speciality to test people for infectious diseases," he said. He added municipalities had other responsibilities.

Under the new decision, medical facilities run by the preventive medicine department at the ministry, Dubai Health Authority and Abu Dhabi Health Authority will be the only ones tasked with the testing.

To ease the expected congestion at the health facilities, Al Qutami said in future the ministry would allow private facilities to conduct residence and labour visa medical testing.