Travelling with HIV

The time to migrate south to warmer climates is already upon us and many people are eagerly anticipating winter getaways.

But if you are HIV positive and planning to leave our chilly nation and travel somewhere a bit warmer, you might have to do some research before you pack your bags, even for a short trip to the good old USA.

Currently in the US, if you are HIV positive and not a resident, you would have a very difficult time visiting, applying for residence or even entering the country. Generally, the US refuses entry to foreign nationals known to be HIV positive. This ban has been in effect for over two decades.

In very exceptional cases, a stay of 30 days may be granted (for family visits, medical treatment, business travel or participation in a scientific, health-related conference). Currently, immigrants with HIV are not granted legal permanent residency except under extremely limited circumstances.

The US is working on changing their travel restrictions for people living with HIV. Congress passed a policy change last summer which President George W. Bush signed into law; however, the Bush administration was unable to implement the policy before leaving office.

Earlier this summer, progress was made when the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published proposed regulations that would remove HIV as a “communicable disease of public health significance” and eliminate the HIV travel and immigration ban once and for all.

Canada does allow people living with HIV to enter the country for short-term tourist stays, however the majority of foreigners testing positive for HIV won't be granted a residence permit for Canada. There are exceptions for the following groups of people:

• HIV-positive refugees
• HIV-positive sponsored spouses or common law partners of Canadian citizens or permanent residents
• HIV-positive children of Canadian citizens or permanent residents

For a little perspective, these 8 countries have a complete ban on the entry of all HIV positive people: Brunei Darussalam, China, Oman, Qatar, Sudan, United Arab Emirates, United States of America and Yemen.

In these 5 countries, territories and areas, proof of HIV-negative status is required when the period of stay surpasses a particular duration (stays beginning as short as 10 days up to 90 days) : Egypt, Iraq, Singapore, Tunisia, Turks and Caicos Islands

And these 29 countries deport foreigners once they are discovered to be HIV positive: Armenia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, China, Egypt, Hungary, Iraq, Jordan, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea), Republic of Korea (South Korea), Kuwait, Malaysia, Republic of Moldova, Mongolia, Oman, Qatar, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sudan, Syrian Arabic Republic, Tajikistan, Taiwan, United Arab Emirates, United States of America, Uzbekistan, Yemen.

Many people are unaware that such restrictions exist and that our neighbors to the south still have a system in place with some of the strictest regulations in the world.

If you are living with HIV and plan on traveling or moving to another country it is best to check what regulations are in place for people living with HIV. A good place to start your search is The Global Database on HIV Related Travel Restrictions.

What do you think about Canada's restrictions for people living with HIV? Should we be more in line with European countries who have no restrictions? Why do you think it has taken so long for the United States to start the process of making changes to their policies?