United Kingdom Opposition Party Wants TB, HIV Checks for Would-Be Immigrants

Today in London, Britain's main opposition party proposed a new immigration policy that would require some people who live and work in the country for more than a year to undergo screening for diseases such as tuberculosis and HIV. Conservative Party leader Michael Howard said the initiative would apply to people immigrating from outside the European Union.

The ruling Labor Party and Conservatives both have recently announced competing immigration initiatives in the run-up to national elections expected in early May. According to Howard, his proposal would prevent immigrants from becoming a strain on the National Health Service, which provides free health care.

Under Howard's plan, immigrants who come from any non-EU country that has a high incidence of TB and who want to stay in Britain for more than a year would have to undergo a full medical examination. This would typically include chest X-rays to test for TB, as well as HIV and hepatitis testing for people over age 16. Pregnant women and children would be excluded from the chest X-ray.

A positive TB test would automatically result in rejection of the visa application, said Howard. Conditions such as HIV would be dealt with on a case-by-case basis, he added. Immigrants applying for refugee status in Britain would be not be included in the plan: Ill health should not be a cause for denying asylum to people fleeing persecution, Howard said.

Des Browne, the minister in charge of immigration, responded that TB screening for immigrants from high-risk areas is already government policy. A Home Office spokesperson said that while immigrants are not currently tested for HIV, that is under review.

The HIV/AIDS charity Terrence Higgins Trust criticized the Conservative proposal as "prejudice-based not evidence-based."

Back to other news for February 15, 2005