Immigration Medical Exam

All refugees will have had an immigration medical exam (IME) performed abroad, and refugee claimants will have to do one as part of their application process. These exams can only be performed by an approved panel physician. It consists of a general medical history as well as physical and mental examinations.

Mandatory investigations are also performed depending on the patient’s age: urinalysis (≥5), HIV serology (≥15), syphilis serology (≥15) and chest X-ray (≥11) to rule out active tuberculosis.

The main purpose of the immigration medical exam is to prevent the introduction of communicable diseases in Canada. The results from this exam are rarely made available to regular non-panel physicians in Canada. This is why we repeat some of the tests listed above (HIV and syphilis).