In an era characterized by unprecedented global connectivity, the ability to cross borders freely is often considered a fundamental aspect. However, for individuals living with HIV, the freedom to explore is constrained by a web of visa restrictions imposed by various countries.
In the early years of the HIV epidemic, several countries decided to implement travel restrictions due to fear and misinformation, but as medical knowledge advanced, some began reevaluating their HIV-related restrictions.
The shift in perspective prompted a wave of policy reforms, with countries such as the US taking steps to lift the measures several years ago.
However, despite the progress, a number of countries still continue to maintain visa restrictions for individuals with HIV, VisaGuide.World reports.
Travel restrictions related to HIV refer to rules that require people to undergo HIV testing or stop them from entering, passing through, studying, working, or living in a country just because they have HIV.
This means that the restrictions affect mainly those who want to stay in a country for a long period of time.
Depending on the duration of the stay, a negative HIV test result must be presented to the authorities in order to get approval for the stay.
On the other hand, HIV-positive results lead to refusal of entry or requirement to leave the country.
While there are some 140 countries that have no restrictions in place for people living with HIV, data from the Global Database on HIV-related travel restrictions, HIV Travel, show that some countries still keep restrictions for short and long-term stays.
Countries With Restrictions for Short-Term Stays for People Living With HIV
According to HIV Travel, there are currently a total of 12 world countries that keep restrictions for short-term stays (under 90 days) in place for people living with HIV.
The full list of countries with visa restrictions for short-term stays for people with HIV is as follows:
- Bhutan
- Brunei
- Egypt
- Equatorial Guinea
- Iraq
- Jordan
- Kyrgyzstan
- Marshall Islands
- Russia
- Solomon Islands
- Suriname
- Syria
- Tunisia
Based on this list, it means that people living with HIV are not permitted to enter the countries above, even for tourism purposes, despite their stay being short.
Countries With Restrictions for Long-Term Stay for People Living With HIV
While 12 countries have visa restrictions for short-term stays for people with HIV, the case is not the same for long-term stays (over 90 days).
Data provided by HIV Travel reveal that a total of 54 countries have visa restrictions for long-term stays for people living with HIV.
The list of countries with visa restrictions for long-term stays for people with HIV includes:
- Algeria
- Aruba
- Australia
- Azerbaidjan
- Bahrain
- Belize
- Bhutan
- Bosnia Herzegovina
- Brunei
- Cayman Islands
- China
- Cuba
- Cyprus
- Dominican Republic
- Egypt
- Equatorial Guinea
- Honduras
- Iran
- Iraq
- Israel
- Jordan
- Kazakhstan
- Kuwait
- Kyrgyzstan
- Lebanon
- Malaysia
- Maldives
- Marshall Islands
- Mauritius
- Montserrat
- Nicaragua
- Oman
- Papua New Guinea
- Paraguay
- Qatar
- Russia
- Samoa
- Saudi Arabia
- Seychelles
- Singapore
- Slovakia
- Solomon Islands
- Kitts and Nevis
- Vincent and Grenadines
- Sudan
- Suriname
- Syria
- Tonga
- Tunisia
- Turks and Caicos Islands
- United Arab Emirates
- Uzbekistan
- Virgin Islands
- Yemen
The number of countries that have visa restrictions for long-term stays for people with HIV suggests that entry restrictions generally affect those who want to stay in a country for a long period of time, including students as well as those who wish to take up employment in a foreign country.
Countries That Have An Entry Ban & Deport People Living With HIV
In addition to the above-mentioned, data by HIV Travel show that there are also some countries that have an entry ban in place and deport people with HIV.
HIV Travel notes that Brunei, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Russia, Solomons Islands, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen do not permit the entry of people with HIV regardless of their period of stay.
Moreover, the list of countries that deport people when their HIV status is discovered includes Bahrain, Brunei, China, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Iraq, Jordan, South Korea, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, Oman, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.
HIV Travel argues that the deportation of people with HIV sets a poor example, stating that they have received several reports of people being denied access to treatment while waiting to return to their home country.
Other Hidden Struggles Faced by HIV-Positive Travelers
For individuals living with HIV, international travel is often followed by challenges that extend beyond the typical logistics of a journey, HIV Travel notes.
Visa application forms often include questions about general health, such as the one “Do you suffer from a communicable disease”?
For those who choose to answer honestly, the consequence can be the immediate refusal of entry.
As for HIV-positive individuals opting not to tell the truth, a complex web of issues arises. Those who choose to lie about their condition find themselves compelled to conceal their medication.
In some cases, health certification is a prerequisite for visa approval or entry, with the financial burden of these tests falling on the individual.
The journey for people living with HIV goes beyond the above-mentioned difficulties, according to HIV Travel, with the latter saying that there are cases when fellow passengers make reports.
In principle, anyone entering a country may find themselves in the position of having to provide information about “suspicious” fellow travellers. An HIV-positive passenger from Japan on his way to China, when China still had its restrictions enforced, was sent back on the next airplane after a fellow passenger on the plane listened in on a conversation about HIV and reported him.
HIV Travel
39 Million People Globally Were Living With HIV in 2022
Around 39 million people globally were living with HIV in 2022, data from UNAIDS reveal. Of the total, 37.5 million of them were adults over the age of 15, whereas 1.5 million were under the age of 14.
The majority of those who were living with HIV in 2022 were women and girls. Globally, a total of 46 percent of all new infections were among women and girls in 2022.
Every week, 4000 adolescent girls and young women aged 15–24 years became infected with HIV globally in 2022. Three thousand one hundred of these infections occurred in sub-Saharan Africa.
UNAIDS
According to the latter, in the same year, around 1.3 million people became newly infected with HIV, representing a significant drop compared to the peak in 1995 when 3.2 million infections were recorded.
In addition, data show that 630,000 people died from AIDS-related illnesses worldwide in 2022.
Deaths related to AIDS had reduced by 69 percent since the peak recorded in 2004, when 2.0 million people died and by 51 percent since 2010, when 1.3 million people died.
AIDS-related mortality has declined by 55 percent among women and girls and by 47 percent among men and boys since 2010.
UNAIDS
Regarding testing and treatment targets, data show that in 2022, a total of 85 percent of people living with HIV knew their HIV status. Of those, 76 percent were accessing treatment, and 71 percent were virally suppressed in 2022.
NGOs & Human Rights Advocates Condemn HIV-Related Travel Restrictions
Taking into account the ongoing visa restrictions for people living with HIV, several NGOs, as well as human rights advocates, have condemned the measures, calling them discriminatory.
In an explainer, UNAIDS previously said that the measures imposed on people with HIV cannot be justified.
Restrictions on entry, stay and residence based on HIV status are discriminatory and cannot be justified on public health grounds. Everyone should have equal freedom of movement regardless of their HIV status.
UNAIDS
The same stressed that there is no proof that HIV-related travel restrictions protect public health and said that these measures fuel stigma among people living with it.
Other NGOs have also spoken up on the matter, saying that there should no longer be such restrictions in place, calling all foreign country authorities to review their rules.
