Medical Inadmissibility to Canada

Faten is a Saudi Arabian citizen who is in the process of immigrating to Canada. Her new husband is a Canadian citizen, and he has sponsored her to live together in Canada. Faten recently underwent a medical examination and realized she has type 2 diabetes. Consequently, she wonders if the disease prevents her from immigrating to Canada and joining her husband. Is Fatan inadmissible to Canada?

One of the objectives of the Canadian immigration system is to protect the safety and health of Canadians. As a result, if you want to immigrate to Canada, you need to show an immigration officer that you are not inadmissible to our country because of medical issues.

What could cause medical inadmissibility in Canada?

Under section 38 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), you could become inadmissible for one of the following reasons.

• You are likely to be a danger to the health of Canadians.
• You are likely to be a danger to the safety of Canadians.
• Your health conditions may cause excessive demand for health or social services.

A danger to public health

At the moment, IRCC considers the following as grounds for medical inadmissibility because of being a danger to the public health of Canadians:

• Active pulmonary tuberculosis (TB)
• Untreated syphilis

They find people with these conditions inadmissible to Canada. Therefore, if you suffer from any of these conditions, seek medical treatment before applying for immigration to Canada. Also, if you are suffering from any severe contagious disease, treat it first. Remember that IRCC may issue a temporary ban on immigration for specific people or regions of the world because of the outbreak of serious illnesses. For example, we have had advisories and bans on Ebola and Avian influenza (Bird flu).

A danger to public safety

Persons who could endanger the safety of Canadians could become inadmissible to Canada. Some examples include the following:

• certain impulsive sociopathic behaviour disorders;
• some aberrant sexual disorders such as pedophilia;
• certain paranoid states or some organic brain syndromes associated with violence or risk of harm to others;
• applicants with substance abuse leading to antisocial behaviours such as violence and impaired driving, and
• other types of hostile, disruptive behaviour (source).

Causing excessive demand

If your health condition results in any of the following, you may not immigrate to Canada:

• Increasing the medical wait time of Canadians to the point that the rate of mortality or morbidity increases or
• putting a significant strain on the amount of money the Canadian universal healthcare system has to spend for you.

You may ask, what does significant strain mean? IRCC uses an excessive demand cost threshold to evaluate it. The current figure is $$26,220 annually (last updated January 1, 2024). The officers usually consider five years for their calculations. In other words, you may become inadmissible if your expenses exceed $131,100 for five years from entering Canada. Honestly, I simplified the matter as much as possible. Still, the calculations and factors you need to consider regarding excessive demand are much more complicated than this.

Exemptions

Nobody is exempt from the danger to public health and safety provisions, but the following people are exempt from the excessive demand:

• Spouses or common-law partners in sponsorship applications only,
• children or adopted children in sponsorship applications only,
• convention refugees or people in need of protection or
• spouses, common-law partners, or children of the people mentioned above

Who conducts medical examinations?

A panel physician conducts medical examinations (exceptions exist). A typical medical exam consists of an interview, a physical examination, laboratory tests, and a chest x-ray. A medical exam’s scope could change depending on your health conditions and application type. The IRCC website posts the list of panel physicians.

The panel physician uploads your information to a secure website. A medical officer reviews the report and then informs your immigration officer whether or not you pass the medical examination. If you pass, they issue you a medical certificate, but they usually do not share it with you. The immigration officer may request further tests or send you a procedural fairness letter.

What is a Procedural Fairness Letter?

If you receive a procedural fairness letter, the officer suspects or believes you are inadmissible to Canada because of medical issues. If you agree with them, you may not immigrate to Canada. However, you could fight back. Consult with a professional if you have received a procedural fairness letter. Don’t take this matter lightly.

Medical examination for temporary status

Immigration officers may request medical tests for temporary cases as well. For example, you may receive a medical examination request for your TRV (visitor’s visa), TRP, Study Permit, or Work Permit applications. Generally speaking, most people do not receive such correspondence, but you have to comply if you do.

You may face limitations if you do not undergo a medical examination for your work permit. For example, you may not work in:

• childcare services,
• healthcare services,
• primary or secondary schools and
• farming industry if you are from a particular country.

You must undergo a medical examination if you are from a certain country and want to work for more than six months in Canada.

Medical surveillance

Sometimes, the officers allow you to enter Canada but ask you to undergo medical surveillance. In other words, you need to introduce yourself to the healthcare authorities of your province of destination. Then, they will examine you now and again. The surveillance is usually every six months for five years or so.

Overcoming medical inadmissibility

If you receive a procedural fairness letter, you may try to fight back, but if you fail, you may consider the following solutions:

• Immigration to Canada under Humanitarian and Compassionate considerations (H&C)
• Receiving a Temporary Resident Permit (TRP)

Consider reading my article on the subject of the upfront medical exam.

We could help!

If you face medical inadmissibility or other immigration issues, fill out the following form. Alternatively, you may book a consultation session with me.