Visa Medical Tests from India: Which Countries Ask and When

Everything below is as published on the official sources, checked on 15 October 2026, across the 50 destinations in our India visa dataset. Use it to plan, then confirm the current checklist for your exact visa category. Our India visa hub links every country guide.

Do Indian tourists need a medical test for a visa?

For short tourist trips, the requirements in our dataset are about insurance, money and travel plans, not examinations. None of the medical requirements we found is attached to an ordinary tourist visa. Some destinations ask for vaccination proof instead, so read the full checklist of the country you are visiting.

Medicals start to matter when you plan to live somewhere: study for a degree, take a job, join family or settle. Even then, the rules are specific to the route. Two visas to the same country can differ, as South Korea shows below.

Which countries ask for a medical or TB test, and for which visa?

The pattern is clear. Medicals sit on family, study, work and residence routes, and the authority usually names who may do the test: a panel physician, a designated hospital or an Embassy doctor.

When does the medical happen in the process?

Before you submit your file

Some tests are part of the document checklist, so you need the result in hand before your appointment. South Korea's student and job-seeker checklists, published by the Korean Visa Application Centres in India, list the TB certificate alongside the admission letter and bank statements. Canada's super visa lists the immigration medical exam among the documents, next to private health insurance of at least CAN$100,000 in emergency coverage valid for 1 year from entry.

Timing matters where a validity limit applies. Suriname's Labour MKV asks for a medical certificate not older than 3 months, together with a legalised birth certificate and police clearance.

Through your employer

For several work permits the health document travels with your employer's application, not your visa file. China's Z visa needs a Notice for Foreigner's Work Permit issued to your China-based employer first, and the work permit documents include a health examination certificate. In Azerbaijan, the employer submits the HIV and hepatitis certificate to the State Migration Service with the rest of the work permit file. In Belgium, the medical certificate is one of the stay documents filed with the employer's single-permit application.

During processing

Greece is the example here. For national visas lodged through GVCW (employment, study and family reunification), the medical report reaches the Embassy in about a week, and the Embassy then schedules an in-person interview. No fixed overall processing period is published.

Which recent changes affect visa medicals?

• South Africa, 1 October 2026: the South Africa High Commission in New Delhi announced through VFS Global that medical reports are no longer required for long-term visa categories. Older checklists or advice that still mention one are out of date.
• Netherlands: the IND states that holders of an EU long-term resident permit from another EU country moving to the Netherlands need no MVV and no TB test.

Is insurance, a health surcharge or a 'medical visa' the same as a medical test?

No. Three things are often confused with medicals:

• Travel or health insurance. Schengen and other checklists ask for a policy, not an examination. Austria's working holiday visa and Lithuania's national study visa checklists, for example, ask for cover of at least EUR 30,000, and from 1 January 2026 Austria accepts travel medical insurance for applications lodged in India only from companies on the list of approved Indian insurers. Australia refuses a Student visa if Overseas Student Health Cover details are not given.
• The UK immigration healthcare surcharge. It is a charge of £1,035 per year paid with many UK long-stay visas, such as the Graduate and Global Talent routes. It is a payment, not a test.
• Medical treatment visas. The UK's Standard Visitor visa for medical reasons (£234) and Saudi Arabia's medical treatment visit visa are for people travelling to receive treatment.

Before you book a visa medical

• Use the named provider. A report from an ordinary clinic is not the same as one from a panel physician, designated hospital or Embassy panel doctor.
• Check the validity window. A certificate older than the stated limit, such as Suriname's 3 months, will not count.
• Match the visa category. South Korea lists TB proof for some categories and not others in our record; the checklist for your category decides.
• Re-check before you pay. South Africa's change shows that requirements are removed as well as added.
• Keep originals and copies. Medical and police documents are often requested together, as in Belgium, Suriname and New Zealand.

Yatra For Fun's India office in Gurugram prepares flight reservations, hotel bookings, travel itineraries and cover letters for visa files, with packages from INR 1,000 (flight reservation) to INR 3,000 (reservation, hotel, itinerary and cover letter). We do not arrange medical examinations. WhatsApp +91 95230 91018 or contact us.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a medical test for a Schengen tourist visa from India?

Our dataset shows no medical examination for Schengen short stays. What Schengen states ask for is travel medical insurance; Austria, for instance, accepts it for applications lodged in India only from companies on the approved list of Indian insurers since 1 January 2026.

Is the Korean TB certificate needed for a tourist visa?

In our record the TB certificate appears on the student (D-2, D-4-1), job-seeker (D-10-1) and long-term dependent family checklists. Check the checklist for your own category before you apply at a Korean Visa Application Centre.

Does South Africa still ask Indians for a medical report?

Not for long-term visas. The South Africa High Commission in New Delhi announced that medical reports are no longer required for long-term visa categories from 1 October 2026.

Who pays for a work-permit medical in China or Azerbaijan?

The official pages in our dataset do not say who pays. They show that the health document goes into the work permit file handled by the employer, so ask your employer how the test is arranged.