Do I still need a blood test for a Kurdistan residency permit?

6/1/2016 8:56:23 AM

Yes, it is still required. In addition the the official government source that you provided in your question, the following link should also verify this.

U.S. Government Travel Site (Last updated: Jan 28, 2016)

Blood Test: All visitors and new residents to Iraq, with the exception of those travelling on a tourist visa, must have a blood test for HIV and hepatitis within 10 days of arrival or face a USD $125 fine. The test must then be repeated every 90 days while in Iraq. Guidance on where to go for the blood test is available at the airport upon arrival. In the Kurdistan Region, travelers only need to have this blood test if staying for more than 15 days.

If I find any more info (not that you should need more proof), I will be sure to update this answer.

Gov.uk Foreign travel advice site

All visitors to Iraq, with the exception of those travelling on a tourist visa, must have a blood test for HIV and hepatitis within 10 days of arrival. The test must then be repeated every 90 days while you’re in Iraq. Guidance on where to go for the blood test is available at the airport when you arrive. In the Kurdistan Region, you only need to have this blood test if you’re staying for more than 15 days.

InterNations: Moving to Erbil (seems to be a less-official expat community site)

All visitors to Kurdistan who are staying more than 15 days needs either short or long-term permissions for residency and they are required to have a blood test taken to test for HIV and hepatitis. Information on where to go to receive the test can be found on arrival at the airport.

Kurdistan24 News Website (non explicit, reference to number of tests carried out in last 3 years, obviously implying they are still carried out) (Last updated: Dec 2, 2015)

Rekawt Hama Rasheed, the KRG Minister of Health, stated before that annually, 100,000 precautionary tests have been conducted from 2007 until 2012 while the ministry has dramatically increased this proportion to 200–300 thousand annual tests in the past three years, noting that the test is mostly done for the foreign people entering the Kurdistan Region.

Note: This question and answer only applies for the “temporary”/”short term” and “long term” residency visas, not for tourist visas.

Credit:stackoverflow.com‘

About me

Hello,My name is Aparna Patel,I’m a Travel Blogger and Photographer who travel the world full-time with my hubby.I like to share my travel experience.

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