Question
Can I invite my HIV-positive partner to live with me in the UK?
9 June 2008. Related: Access to treatment, All topics.
Can I call over from abroad my HIV-positive partner to join me in the UK for permanent residence?
Answer
The UK does not put a ban on positive people, as long as they reside here legally. Also, although HIV testing is rare, I think that the UK reserves the right to include a health test, including HIV, if they think someone is travelling here who is not well.
There may also be differences depending on where your partner lives and whether you have a legally binding partnership. If you are married or are civil partners, then health issues like HIV-status may be fine, but if this is not a formally recognised relationship, then your partner’s HIV status could limit how easily they can enter the country, if this is something you disclose on the application form.
If your partner is a citizen of an EU country, he/she can come to the UK without a visa and this is much more straight-forward as EU citizens can travel freely between other EU countries.
If he/she is a citizen of a non-EU country, the process is more complicated. You will have to send him/her an invitation letter and go through the partnership visa procedure. It varies slightly by country, that is why you will have to check the exact documents necessary in the local British embassy.
If you are successful in your partners application to stay, according to the legislation, your partner will not legally be able to access HIV treatment for one year after arriving in the UK. Sometimes it is possible to be treated anyway, but this varies by hospital, region and other factors. If they are on treatment, then making sure that he/she has enough medications for that period may be important.
This is a specialist area and it might be useful to contact the National AIDS Trust (www.nat.org.uk) for their advice.
Best of luck!
Please will being positive have any effect on me applying to school and work in the UK?
I have been so afraid trying to apply for the VISA please help me, your answer will really be of help.
Hi Rf,
ARVS are free for anyone who lives in the UK. Your sister needs to find out where her local HIV clinic is and book an appointment to see either a specialist nurse or a HIV consultant. She’ll be able to access ARVs this way.
Sry , my sister gets spouse visa , she came to the uk but now she know that she has
hiv positive and her hospant cant suport her threatment , what does she can do for threatmen
Hi Dumisani,
Thanks for your comment.
I am also a male nurse in Zimbabwe and has been contemplating the idea of migrating to the UK to seek employment as a nurse. I was so worried about my HIV status until I have read about the lifting of the HIV ban that took place in UK in 2012.Now am feeling much relieved and am starting my IELTS.
Thanks for the information.
Hi Yantaw,
Being HIV positive is not a barrier to working and living in the UK. Having a copy your medical records could help you get the right HIV treatment when you come to the UK.
But as Lisa says above, this is a specialist area and it might be useful to contact the National AIDS Trust (http://www.nat.org.uk) for their advice.
i-Base is an HIV treatment information service, but we are not doctors and we can’t supply medication unfortunately. But if you are legally resident in the UK then HIV treatment is free on the National Health Service (NHS).
Hi. Im a nurse here in the Philippines and me and my partner currently decided to migrate to UK. I have been offered a job there but i am so uncertain and afraid that when my medical exam shows im positive, they will reject my application. I was diagnosed for 4 years now and my viral load count is undetectable everytime i have it tested. So is with my partner. With this i would like to ask if…..
– can i disclose my status with my employer?
– i read thru the UK gov medical requirements that they only need TB tests. Is this true or they still require me to have an hiv test?
– what if my medical test return to be positive, will my agency or my employer decline the offer? I can provide them documents that i am safe and undetectable now and a med cert coming from my infectious doctor.
– also, Lisa, where or how can i contact you personally for the regimented medications when i am already there.
Answers will really be a great help save our future. Thanks so much in advance
Hi Ronald,
You being positive won’t be an issue when applying for a working visa for the UK. Its OK for a nurse to be positive and work in the health sector in the UK.
Good day ! I would just like to know if i can obtain working visa in the UK as a nurse ? Since all the agencies here in the Philippines requires everybody to undergo HIV test as part of medical exam before going abroad to work..
Hi Bibbssen,
Since 2013 there have been no restrictions on people living with HIV working in any area in the NHS.
Being HIV positive shouldn’t affect your chances of a successful application.
Good luck!