Physical Examination of Foreigners
After months of work, and repeated setbacks, I received my Chinese Z visa just 2 days before my earlier booked flight. The final delay in the work visa was Physical Examination Record of Foreigner which is a requirement when applying in Canada (apparently it is not required when applying from the US).
The biggest challenge with the form is that there are no clear instructions or list of places where you can get the form completed. I spend a full day trying to figure out where to complete the form, including visiting the Chinese Consulate in Toronto. In the end, my family doctor agreed to perform the exam (not covered by government health insurance), but he was faced with the problem of how to complete the exam. You need to perform a “Laboratory Exam (Serodiagnosis)” which means blood samples, but the form doesn’t say what tests should be performed nor does it say what the doctor should record in the large empty box.
I still don’t know what tests you need to complete, or the right way to complete the form, but I did get my visa, so I must have done something right. If your results are all normal like mine, your process should be similar.
Tests
Based on a guess from the form, I ordered the following tests
- Chest PA – Immigration
- Creatinine (eGFR)
- ALT
- Lipid Assessment
- ECG
- Blood type
- HIV
- VDRL
- AST
- BUN
- HepB sAg
Form
Once we had the results, my doctor filled out the form. Some of the items are obvious, such as blood pressure, and those were recorded as expected. For the miscellaneous items (development, nourishment, neck, etc), he wrote “N” (for normal) and circled the letter.
For chest x-ray exam, ECG and laboratory exam, he wrote “Normal”.
For suggestion, he wrote “Healthy adult”.
Finally, he stamped the affixed photo of myself (making sure the stamp overlapped onto the page), and stamped the second page where indicated with his office stamp.
These results took a week to return, and I got copies of all pages, which I also got stamped. I haven’t used them yet (I didn’t submit them with the application), but they could come handy for the exam when I apply for my residence permit in Shanghai.