Understand the Immigration Medical Exam
All refugee claimants must have an Immigration Medical Exam (IME) to ensure that there are no public health or safety concerns about you being in Canada. This medical exam is free. Your medical exam will not affect whether your claim is accepted or not.
Do not delay: you must have this exam before you can get a work permit.
What to take to your medical exam
When you go to your medical exam, take:
- Your Acknowledgement of Claim letter if you have one
- The Medical Report Form
- An identity document, if you have one
- Your eyeglasses or contact lenses, if you wear them
- Any vaccination documents
- Any medical reports or test results about medical conditions (including from the past). You must get these translated into English or French (with a declaration signed by the translator).
Your medical history and exam
You and each family member will have their own medical exam.
At the medical exam the doctor will ask questions about your medical history. Then the doctor:
- weighs you and measures your height
- checks your hearing and vision
- takes your blood pressure and feels your pulse
- listens to your heart and lungs
- feels your abdomen
- checks how your arms and legs move
- looks at your skin
If the doctor needs to examine your breasts, they will explain how and why. You may also need to have chest x-rays and laboratory tests. You can ask to have someone with you during the exam.
The doctor will send the results to IRCC directly.