Entry restrictions

Find out if a country you are planning to visit has any entry restrictions for people with HIV. (In January 2010, the US lifted its long-standing ban on legal entry to the US for non-citizens with HIV. Other countries still place restrictions on either temporary or long-term visits by individuals with HIV.)

The most reliable way of finding out if a country you want to visit restricts entry by people with HIV is to call the embassy or consulate. If you do this, you may prefer not to reveal your name or the fact that you are HIV-positive to them. An HIV advocacy or support agency might be willing to do this for you. You might also consider contacting an HIV organisation in the country you are thinking of traveling to and enquire about entry restrictions.

If a country you want to travel to does have entry restrictions, then you need to decide if you want to take the risk of travelling. If you are stopped by customs or immigration and they establish that you are HIV-positive, they will probably refuse entry and deport you. If you have haemophilia and are travelling with clotting factors or injecting equipment, it’s likely that customs officers will question you about your HIV status.

If you are a citizen of an EU country, or have the right to live in an EU country, then there should be no restrictions on your admittance to another EU member state. But because you receive free HIV care in the UK doesn’t necessarily mean that you will be entitled to it in the country you are visiting.

If you are planning a long-term visit or permanent move to another country, make sure at a very early stage in your planning that your HIV status isn’t going to be a problem. A good place to start would be to contact an HIV organisation in the country you want to move to.