Travel restrictions

Over sixty countries around the world have some form of restriction on the entry, residence and stay of foreigners who are HIV-positive. Restrictions vary, and include countries which ask HIV-positive tourists to declare their status when applying for a visa, countries which require foreigners entering the country for longer stays to take an HIV test and countries which prevent HIV-positive foreign nationals from entering for any reason.

At the time of writing, five EU members had some form of restriction (Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia). 

These countries perpetuate stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV by singling out HIV as an infection worthy of special treatment.

A online database lists information on the policy of each government, country-by-country, at www.hivtravel.org.

This content was checked for accuracy at the time it was written. It may have been superseded by more recent developments. NAM recommends checking whether this is the most current information when making decisions that may affect your health.