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Free tool · medical exam

Medical exam checker

Permanent residence always needs one. For visitors, students and workers it depends on how long you will stay, where you have been in the past year and the job you will do. This checker applies IRCC's table of 284 countries and territories, then tells you whether the in-Canada five-year exemption might apply.

Check my situation ↓ How IRCC decides
45% 128 of 284
Designated on IRCC's table
6 monthsin a row there in the past year
30 daysto take it once IRCC asks
Oct 5, 2029in-Canada exemption policy

Step by step

Do you need an exam?

A few taps. The route beside the questions shows which checks apply to you and which ones your answers skip.

Immigration medical exam checkerFreeIRCC table of Nov 3, 2025284 countries

Sources: IRCC, Medical exams for temporary residents (2026-08-04), country table (revised Nov 3, 2025), Medical exams for permanent residents (2026-08-04), verified in September 2026.

The rules

Four checks, one answer.

Permanent residence is simple; temporary residence is a three-part test. Any one check that applies means an exam.

  1. Permanent residence or super visa

    Always an exam

    Every permanent residence applicant and every family member, accompanying or not. Parents and grandparents applying for a super visa always need one too, whatever the country. Express Entry: upfront exam after the invitation. Everyone else: wait for instructions, then 30 days. Results last 12 months.

  2. Stay length

    More than 6 months?

    Temporary residents staying 6 months or less do not need an exam unless their job requires one.

  3. Designated countries

    6 months in a row there?

    Staying more than 6 months and having lived in or visited a designated country for 6 months or more in a row in the past year means an exam. 128 of 284 countries and territories are designated (IRCC table revised November 3, 2025).

  4. Public-health jobs

    Whatever the stay

    Health care, clinical labs, long-term care, schools and child care, domestic work and in-home caregiving always need an exam, whatever the stay or country. Agricultural workers need one after 6 months or more in a designated country in the past year.

The exception: already in Canada

Applicants in Canada with a low- or no-risk exam in the last 5 years may not need a new one. IRCC decides; do not book until asked.

Policy in force untilOct 5, 2029

UpfrontExpress Entry: after the invitation to apply, before you submit.
30 daysEveryone else: wait for IRCC's instructions, then 30 days to complete it.
12 monthsResults are valid for 12 months. Not landed by then? IRCC may ask again.

Only an IRCC-approved panel physician can do the exam. Your family doctor cannot.

A closed blank folder and a red pen on a blue-grey reception counter in a bright clinic corridor with a frosted window
The panel physician sends results to IRCC directly; you get the IME or UMI number for your application.

Questions

Medical exams, answered.

Who needs an immigration medical exam?
Everyone applying for permanent residence, including family members who are not coming to Canada; everyone applying for a parent and grandparent super visa; and temporary residents (visitors, students, workers) who either plan to stay more than 6 months after living in or visiting a designated country for 6 months or more in a row in the past year, or will work in a job where public health must be protected, whatever the stay length or country.
Which jobs always need a medical exam?
Jobs that bring you into close contact with people: workers in health care settings, clinical laboratory workers, patient attendants in nursing and geriatric homes, medical students and electives, physicians on short-term locums, workers in primary or secondary schools and child-care settings, domestic workers, and in-home caregivers to children, the elderly or people with disabilities. Agricultural workers need one if they lived in or visited a designated country for 6 months or more in the year before coming.
Which countries are designated?
IRCC keeps a table of 284 countries and territories; 128 of them currently require an exam for temporary residents. The table was revised on November 3, 2025 (Argentina, Colombia, Uruguay and Venezuela were added; Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iraq, Latvia, Lithuania and Taiwan were removed). Search the list in the checker above.
I am already in Canada and had a medical exam recently. Do I need another?
Possibly not. Under a temporary public policy, extended until October 5, 2029, applicants who are in Canada, are applying for permanent or temporary residence, had an immigration medical exam in the last 5 years and were found to pose no or low risk to public health or safety can be exempted from a new exam. IRCC confirms this when it processes the application; do not book an exam until asked.
When do I take the exam?
Express Entry candidates take an upfront exam after the invitation to apply and before submitting. All other permanent residence applicants, and temporary residents unless told otherwise, wait for IRCC's instructions and then have 30 days to complete the exam. Results are valid for 12 months.
Who can do the exam?
Only a panel physician approved by IRCC. Your family doctor cannot do it. The panel physician sends the results to IRCC directly; you receive a confirmation with the IME or UMI number to enter in your application.

Checked against

Official sources.

AuthorityPageRevision
IRCCMedical exam requirements for temporary residentsupdated 2026-08-04
IRCCFind out if you need a medical exam (country table)revised November 3, 2025
IRCCMedical exam requirements for permanent residentsupdated 2026-08-04

Keep going

Related tools.

Talk to an RCIC

Unexpected exam request?

Booked the wrong exam, or asked for one you did not expect? A licensed RCIC can read the officer's request, confirm whether the five-year exemption applies to you, and respond within the deadline.

Book a consultation →

Next on your path

Keep your file moving.

The checklist, free tools and guides that usually come next.

  1. GuideExpress EntryThe federal PR pool: score, categories and draws.
  2. GuideSuper visaLong stays for parents and grandparents.
  3. GuideStudy permitsGetting in, staying in status, and what comes after.

eligibility review

Find out where you actually stand.

Send a few details. A licensed RCIC reads your profile personally, then replies with the routes that genuinely fit, the ones that do not, and the consultation fee and next available times.

  1. 01Read personally by a CICC-licensed consultant
  2. 02A written shortlist of the programs you qualify for
  3. 03Fee-based; the fee and times come by reply

CHK Immigration Services, Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (CICC). Offices in Brampton and London, Ontario. Submitting this form does not create a client–consultant relationship; IRCC makes all final decisions. Prefer to talk first? Call 647-948-7200 or book a paid consultation.