Job Discussion Forums

[davoosh]

Hello,

As other posters have mentioned, getting a medical check in the UK which covers all the necessary things for a visa is quite expensive - even more so if you live outside of London. The cost seems to be around £300-400, and probably more like £500 once travelling to London etc. is included.

Do schools generally reimburse the cost or part of it?

Thanks.

[currentaffairs]

The medical check-up in itself is not so expensive. If your GP will do it then it costs about 50 quid. The first time around I didn't have the chest X-ray, and the second time around I did (many get through it without having to have a chest X-ray). The X-ray will add another 50 quid plus booking an appointment and waiting for the results (for me around two weeks).

If you go through an agent then you are talking about 500 quid for the medical and everything else - the visa paperwork, admin costs, and so on.

I ended up paying around 350 quid by doing it myself but it took months to sort out the authentication of documents, booking appointments, and waiting for the blood test/scan results, etc. If you do it in London through a visa agent then you can do all the medical procedures in a day.

[davoosh]

Thanks - that's interesting to know. There seem to be clinics in London which charge upwards of £300 for visa medicals (and nothing else).
I didn't realise the other paperwork costs would add up so much? Is it required to get degree certs etc. apostillised?

Did you get reimbursement for any of these costs?

[currentaffairs]

I am talking about the UK medical. I am working in the Middle East and don't know about all the specific Chinese red tape... It does add up to get your degrees, and in my case the medical form, notarised and legalised.

My previous employer did pay my visa costs but the latest one didn't.. You need to keep all receipts and ask your employer.

[hdeth]

You don't need a full-blown medical exam for most jobs. The expensive stuff is the x-ray and one other test they do (forget the name) which aren't required in the vast majority of China. What's required is basically a physical by a GP. In the US at least you can haggle with a local GP and get a decent deal.

I wouldn't expect a Chinese employer to pay any of those costs. They should pay for the Chinese medical exam but that's not 100% assured.

[Non Sequitur]

The Chinese medical form sets out what is needed. My experience is that you pay for home country stuff and the check done in China is school's cost.
Take X-ray films with you as Chinese will likely accept them and this will avoid additional nuking.

[Dan123]

I'm from the UK and didn't take a medical test until I came to China. Both of my medical tests with both of my jobs were quite basic, but both schools paid for both tests. I think they only cost a few hundred rmb anyway.

[Non Sequitur]

[davoosh]

Seems to be quite job specific - from what I've read Beijing seems to require a full medical from home country?

I'm not sure if UK GPs usually have all the necessary equipment in their surgeries for the full medical check? Spending over £400 for something which needs to be repeated anyway isn't exactly a small amount...

[hz88]

If you are being invited to China as a Foreign Expert that is being sent an invitation letter to apply for a z visa then you will need to have had a health check completed before this invitation letter can be issued.

The rules were changed on 7th September and from what I can see the only exceptions to this rule seem to be for Xinjiang and Tibet.

If your company are not asking for one then they have either 'obtained' one or are not inviting you on a z visa.

Regarding UK, yes from my experience it is not available on the NHS and most surgeries don't have the equipment to complete this as it requires a chest x ray and ultrasound. They will refer you to an international clinic. Expect to pay over £400.

In my experience it is unlikely that cost will be refunded, perhaps you could ask for some of it but it is a rare event.

[Non Sequitur]

'or are not inviting you on a z visa'

Yeah. That's the worrying part.