Job Discussion Forums

[Aussiegirl]

Hi All

My school has sent me a contract which I need to sign and send back with a physician's examination report aka a medical, I presume in order to process the paperwork to send me to get a Z visa.

Please, has anyone downloaded a medical examination requirements form lately? The school has provided no information at all and the links on the long thread on this topic have all been deleted.

Also, can you define blood tests please? Is this just being tested for HIV or what else do they want the blood test to report on?

Attention: any Aussies who had a medical before departure. Did you just go to your local GP and get him/her to arrange the required tests? Obviously we can't front up to a hospital here and get all the tests done by the same entity, so does it matter that some tests will have the name of the GP and some the pathologist and some the radiologist etc. etc?

I'm prepared to race off to get them done, just what exactly? I've picked up this much from the posts:

physical examination
blood tests (blood sample taken)
hearing test
eye test
color-blindness test
chest x-ray
ECG

Query: Can the doctor just state in a letter that my hearing is fine and that my vision is fine but subject to wearing prescription distance lenses as per copy of enclosed prescription which I have from the optometrist. (That, of course, is another name. This gets really awkward in Oz when you can't just have it all done at the same clinic.

Am I complicating this or is it just naturally complicated?

Help I need to know asap.

Many thanks
Aussiegirl

[frank d]

I hate to tell you this, but the first time I came to China in 2003, I downloaded the official medical examination form required by the Chinese government. I took it to my personal physician, and she her best to follow it exactly (although it is confusing in some areas).

When I traveled to New York City to obtain my Z visa before entering, the Chinese visa office had no interest in looking at the medical form, telling me to provide it after I arrived in China.

I first went to the small city of Nantong (Jiangsu) and within days after my arrival, the local government declared my American medical examination (on THEIR government-issued form) to be unacceptable. They required another examination -- again paid out of my pocket!

Two months later, I move on to Nanjing (also Jiangsu), and I am required to submit to a THIRD medical examination. (I refuse to pay for this one.)

Although all three reports were positive regarding the status of my health (because they did not ask me to leave China), I did not appreciate the fact that the results were not provided to me as well.

WELCOME TO CHINA!

[Roger]

Aussiegirl,
I have never experienced your own situation but from what you write it would appear that this is only a token confirmation that you are sound and fit; your medical examination will most likely be held in China prior to you receiving your residence permit.

In past years many westerners underwent very thorough medical checkups before applying for their work visa, only to be told they had to take another medical in China - because Chinese authorities seldom trust other authorities!

[frank d]

Yeah, typical! They don't accept a medical examination performed by a highly-trained, qualified U.S. physician using THEIR medical examination form, but they certainly accept our American dollars!

[Spiderman Too]

Aussiegirl

You left chest x-ray off your list.

I suspect that the medical report being requested by the school is for their own benefit; a kind of preliminary confirmation that you're fit to be employed.

As for the 'Z' visa application, I have done this 3 times (outside of China) and on my second application the embassy clerk told me that I needed a full medical report. I (politely) asked to speak with her supervisor and told him that my employing school had told me they would arrange a complete medical exam after I arrived in China.

Without hesitation (indicating he knew the score), the supervisor said something to the clerk and she went ahead and processed my application.

[Super Mario]

Here's a link that explains the process:
http://www.footprintsrecruiting.com/content.php?cat=319&sc=20&abarcar_Session=4f4b361b32ea0b2eda34fc0d926aa939

And here's one, from the same site, for the form itself:
http://www.footprintsrecruiting.com/pdf/China_medical_exam.pdf

Print it off and take it to your doctor.
As others have noted, you may be asked to do it again in China.

PS I'm an Aussie currently in Adelaide. I've been through this whole circus a few times. I'll pm you my phone no. in case you want some advice.

[tw]

Read the thread www.eslcafe.com/forums/job/viewtopic.php?t=4192 and you will learn that in more and more parts of China, a medical exam is required before the employer can get you the necessary documents needed for your Z visa. The Chinese embassy/consulate doesn't care about the medical exam. However, if you think about this: would you and the employer spend all that money to get you into China, only to find out that you have AIDS/TB and have to go back to your home country at your own expense?

Don't worry too much about the hearing test. I am extremely near-sighted and I had no problem passing the medical test. Yes, they MAY ask you to take another medical exam in China. Send a photocopy of your completed report to the employer and keep the original. Tell the employer the report cost you a lot of money and you will give them the original AFTER you have arrived in China (also so you don't have to pay for another one should they not want to hire you or unable to get you the paperwork for your Z visa). Bring the original to China and if and when they tell you to take the medical exam again, show the original to the medical clinic staff and point out that it was completed on a CHINESE GOVERNMENT form. They will just stamp it and voila, your employer pays a small fee and you don't have to go through another medical exam. I used this trick and it worked for me. Whether it will work for everyone is another story. Face it, rules and regulations differ from one region to another in China.

[Don McChesney]

Different rules different provinces.
From Qld to Henan, no medical needed, nowhere on the Z application form does it say "have a medical".
I then got one each time in Zhengzhou, Height weight, bloods (for HIV etc) ECG echo-sound of liver (for hepatitis) , listen to chest (for TB and heart sounds), eyes and finish. Costs 320 RMB.
Remind the school you haven't cost them anything so far, so if you fail your medical, they are not out of pocket, and you are fit anyway. Ask if they will re-emburse the cost when you are accepted by them!!!
Probably just send a doctor's note to say you appear to be fit and healthy enough for teaching duties. Otherwise the full overseas cost will be your first 4 months wages!!!
They are being over cautious at YOUR expense.

[Aussiegirl]

Hi All

Thank you for all your great advice and feedback.

I think I've sorted the medical, though whether it will be all in time to get a Z visa before my leaving date of 13th February - who knows.

Super Mario's form - obtained through his link above - is possibly fine for other countries and it is actually the same as several I found last night on different Chinese uni sites after googling "Physical Examination Record for Foreigners". Many thanks again Super Mario, especially for allowing me ring you.

However, Aussies beware. I spoke to the Chinese Consulate in Melbourne today and they require a 3 page version of this examination form, which you can pick up in person from the Consulate. They agreed to fax me a copy, but hours and hours later I haven't seen it yet. The good news is Royal Melbourne Hospital have a copy they're keeping it for me. Both Royal Melbourne and St Vincents Hospitals do the examinations in Melbourne and both are designated [hospitals] by the Chinese Consulate. Royal Melbourne bulk bills except for bloodwork and St Vincent's charge $150 plus x ray plus bloodwork etc. No doubt you've already guessed which one I chose. You don't need a doctor's referral, just ring up and make an appointment. You need to ask for the staff clinic at both, then explain what you need and be sure to mention for travel to China. Both take a couple of days to get the results back, which will be just in time for me to express courier them back to China in time to find everything and everyone shut down for the winter break !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hopefully they can organise things really fast the day they get back. BTW, does anyone know what day/date this might be please? Then hopefully they will send everything back express and I can make a mad dash to the Consulate and get my visa processed in one day. If not, all this will be for nought, and I'll have to go the L visa way.
The school has suggested now that I postpone my travel date. Noooooooooo! This is my first overseas trip ever and I've lucked out to have a travel buddy - a fellow Aussie from the school is returning to China from a holiday here and I've booked and organised to travel back with her. The thought of missing this fantastic opportunity is horrendous. I'd rather travel on the L visa and go through the mill when I get there. BUT... if the school insists I delay, will I have a choice? It would have been helpful if they'd told me I needed this examination a week ago when they let me know they'd mailed the contract. To be fair, for now, I'm going to do things the way they say/need/want and bend with the wind knowing it is good practice for the main event.
Fingers crossed.
Many thanks to all again.
Aussiegirl

[Super Mario]

Good luck Aussiegirl!

TW and Don, I'd never heard of the medical being anything other than compulsory for a Z visa

[Spiderman Too]

[Don McChesney]

Supermario, your quote about a compulsory medical exam is correct, but it doesn't state which country it is to be in.
In Henan the quarantine hospital in Zhengzhou does it, as I said in my posting (above)

[tony lee]

[bukowski1234]

[quote][quote="Super Mario"]Good luck Aussiegirl!

TW and Don, I'd never heard of the medical being anything other than compulsory for a Z visa[quote]
Health Certificates
The Public Security Bureau requires health certificates for foreign nationals seeking residency in China. To obtain one, you need to have a complete physical examination which shows you are in good health and free of any communicable diseases (including an HIV test, Hepatitis B and Syphilis test and sometimes a chest x-ray and ECG). [/quote]
But in a country where everything is simultaneously possible and impossible, who knows??

And please, I'd love the administrators here to delete old links and replace them. This thread is a fine example.[/quote][/quote]

When I applied in 2004, the PRC consulate in D.C. told me that I could NOT obtain a z visa without a medical check performed in the States.

This time, theSAME CONSULATE told me that all i needed was the letter of invitation and and the Foreign Expert's Certificate. When I inquired about the medical exam (and other rigamarole which was required two years ago) I was told that, no, I would not need any authentication, no med check, none of that. She said that the rules had changed, but they were unsure what the rules are at this time, so all I'd have to send were the application and the two papers, pictures, and my money.

This information is current as of Feb 1, 2006.