Long-term visa TB testing comes to Russia
The Home Office announced arrangements for the introduction of pre-entry tuberculosis (TB) screening in Russia for long-term visa applicants starting on 31 December 2013.
This follows the UK Government’s announcement in May 2012 that it would be extending this requirement to an additional 67 countries, including Russia, based on the figures for high TB incidence provided by the World Health Organisation.
This brings the UK into line with the practice of a number of other countries including the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Further details can be found in the news article published on the Home Office’s UK visa website for Russia.
Pre-entry TB screening is not required for those going to the UK as a tourist or other type of visitor. This includes those people applying for two, five and 10 year visitor visas who will not need to produce a TB screening certificate because the maximum stay in the UK at any one time is still six months.
It will be required for all individuals in Russia who are applying for a UK visa which is longer than six months, including those applying for a Tier 4 student visa and student visitors seeking to go to the UK for six to 11 months under the current ministerial concession to learn English.
It will be required for those applying for a fiancé (e) visa as applicants in this category must demonstrate their intention to remain in the UK for longer than six months.
The process will require individuals to be screened and obtain a certificate from an Home Office approved Health Centre in Russia to show that they are free of TB before they make a UK visa application. They will need to include the TB certificate with their visa application.
The requirement for pre-entry TB screening will begin from 31 December 2013. Applicants who require pre-entry TB screening should contact one of the approved clinics to schedule an appointment for screening. A fee for the screening will be payable directly to the clinic. No appointments should be made prior to 31 December. Regrettably, it is not possible to offer screening services in Rostov-on-Don at this time. Until such time as screening services become available in Rostov-on-Don applicants in that area will need to travel to a clinic in one of the other cities.
Further details of the approved Health Centre facilities available in Russia are on the Home Office’s UK visa website for Russia.
BACKGROUND:
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On 21 May 2012, the UK government announced plans to extend pre-entry TB screening to a further 67 countries, including Russia. Further background is contained in our press release of http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/newsarticles/2012/may/42-tb-test
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Further information about requirements for pre-entry TB screening in Russia including the Health Centres, and frequently asked questions, is available on the Home Office’s UK visa website for Russia.
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Normally, the Home Office seeks to have a screening provider in the locale of all the UK Visa Application Centres (VAC), but it is not possible to offer screening in Rostov-on-Don at this time. Our global implementation plan has been to use clinics already accredited by our partners in the FCC and there are no accredited clinics in Rostov. In collaboration with Public Health England (PHE) we hope to rectify this and use Rostov-on-Don as a test location for the UK to accredit its own clinic.