Neil51

My future employer in Qatar (who is sorting out all my visa and permit arrangements) has asked me to get some health checks done before I leave the UK. I am to scan them in and e-mail them to my employer, plus also bring them with me to Qatar. I think that this is for my residence visa as they have already applied for my visa based on other documents provided.

They have told me that I will need to have these test repeated when I get to Qatar. I asked why I needed them doing if they were to be repeated in Qatar, and their reply was that it is to compare with the Qatari ones in case anything is amiss.

One health check in particular is causing me difficulty: the TB test. My NHS trust do not do it anymore, and say that they just check whether I have had the vaccination for TB by the scar on my arm.

After having a belly-full already of having to send documents to the FCO, then the Qatar embassy, I am ready for packing in the process because of the need to get this done in the UK, then to have it repeated in Qatar. My last e-mail to my employer was that TB is something that was in Britian during the time of Charles Dickens, I am not from sub-Sarahan Africa, and unless you can waive this requirement I am not coming.

Firstly is this requirement to have the health tests done in UK and then again in Qatar somtheing that everyone has to do or not? I have a suspicion that my employer wants to see these checks as clear before they pay for my flights and all the other admin stuff.

Secondly, if I do have to have a TB test done in the UK, can someone tell me where please? I have checked all over and cannot find anyone offering this.

Thirdly, is this sort of ridiculous beurocracy something that I'd need to get used to in Qatar?
Thanks

co durham boy

You arrive , you visa application is started , you take a basic medical , results are done within 1 week , visa issued , the end .

It's straightforward and quick and painless with the right P.R.O . I've never heard of anyone having pre-medical tests done but that's not to say it doesn't happen , could depend on what level or organisation your working with .

The reason they give you doesn't make sense , if you fail any of these tests you'll probably be refused a visa in any case . T.B is debatable as any scarring on the lungs is perceived as a case of T.B by the Qatari authorities until proven otherwise but you'd just get a second opinion , you wouldn't pre-empt a failure .

It sounds like you're dealing with a box ticker in H.R that is used to following a set menu shall we say . I'd tell them that you can't get it and the only test that's admissible for the visa is the one done at the Qatar Medical Commission .

Im afraid it is ridiculous but wait until you get here , it gets worse !

abbey08

My wife works in HR in a Qatar government organisation and she did get one candidate who posted chest x-rays to try and "speed up the process".

Needless to say after they stopped laughing they binned the x-rays and sent the candidate to the Medical Commission for the tests in the normal way.

Dont let process in this place beat you. Expect process here to f**k up and take a long time, accept that and get through it. It somehow makes receiving your documents all the more satisfying. Don't get upset or frustrated or you will not last five minutes in this place.

If you cant make your employer see sense get it done in a private hospital - however I would be loooking for them to cover the cost as it is just not needed. You might find this is just one idiot within your employers HR department - you will encounter many idiots in your dealings out here. Try and get confirmation from another suitably unqualified idiot within your prospective employer as to whether this is really needed.

Good luck and don't give up.

Neil51

Thanks for your help,
I have had a reply from my employers HR this morning to say not to bother with the TB test. She said that if I test for TB then they will just reject my residence visa, and that the test is just "to insure you have record that you do not have TB".
Why I would need such a record is not explained?
I'm going to ask for elaboration.

co durham boy

Don't bother mate you'll drive yourself insane . You'll get used to it eventually , nothing will make any sense for a while and everything will be disjointed and fu**ed up then it'll click into place.

By Middle East standards you've had a result , remember the people you're dealing with in your H.R will not be the decision makers so any real time info or answers you require could take forever .

If you test for T.B here you can appeal it's not like H.I.V or Hep where you're jettisoned onto the first plane out.
Some countries still have massive problems with T.B and your lovely H.R lady cannot differentiate between them as she's just ticking boxes. Par for the course in The Gulf.

Good luck

Mogs

Probably because they don't want TB in their country. Same reason you get tested for HIV when you apply for residency in the UAE. ie If you have it, you don't get residency.

They don't consider the fact that any number of visitors to the country can (and do) bring infectious diseases within their borders.

Neil51

Too late, I've already contacted her.
But I'll take on your advice when I get there.
Thanks again.

Alexa

Usually people from countries like the Philippines, Pakistan, India need to take their medical tests ,defo TB, in their home countries before coming to Qatar.