Travel Issues

Introduction
Entry restrictions
Travelling with medication
Vaccinations
Treatment breaks and travel
Travel insurance
Reciprocal medical care

Introduction

If you are living with HIV, it is likely that you will need to do some detailed research and make careful plans if you are considering travelling to other countries.

This section provides general information about countries that put restrictions on people living with HIV as well as information about travelling with medication and receiving medical treatment away from home, vaccinations and travel insurance.

Entry restrictions

Until recently you could not visit the USA if you are HIV positive, except in very special circumstances. President Obama announced the end of the ban at the end of October 2009 and this came into effect on January 4 2010. HIV-positive UK passport holders can now visit the US by completing a green ’visa waiver’ form that allows routine entry to the US. HIV has also ceased to be a bar for migration to the US.

Other countries also place restrictions on either temporary or long-term visits by HIV positive people. Restrictions are subject to changes, therefore we strongly advise you to contact the embassy or consulate of the country you want to visit to find out if that country places any restrictions on people with HIV. If you do this yourself you should not reveal your name or the fact that you are HIV positive when you make your enquiry. Alternatively, you can ask ACET to do this on your behalf.

Another option is to contact an HIV service organisation in the country you are thinking of visiting and enquire about entry restrictions. NAM’s HIV & AIDS Services Worldwide provides listings of major HIV organisations with contact details. This publication can be consulted at the ACET Jersey offices.

You can find more information about entry and residence regulations for people with HIV in English, French, German and Italian at www.hivtravel.org, an initiative of the Deutsche AIDS-Hilfe, the European AIDS Treatment Group and the International AIDS Society.

Details of individual countries’ policies regarding entry for people with HIV can also be found on NAM’s website at http://namlife.org/cms1255072.aspx but do check when the details were last updated.

If you are a citizen of an EU country, or have the right to live in an EU country, there should be no restrictions on your admittance to another EU member state. However, this does not necessarily mean that you will be entitled to free HIV care and treatment.

If a country you want to travel to does have entry restrictions you must decide if you want to take the risk of travelling. If you are stopped by immigration or customs, and they establish that you are HIV positive, you will probably be refused entry and deported. If you have haemophilia and are travelling with clotting factors or injecting equipment, it is likely that customs officers will question you about your HIV status.

Travelling with medication

If you are taking anti-HIV treatment you will need to take your medication with you, when you travel. You should be aware that customs officials take particular interest in medicines and people have been refused entry into the USA and deported because anti-HIV drugs have been found in their luggage.

Some people try to avoid the risk of travelling with their medication in one of the following ways:

They send their medication in advance. However you should remember that post can be inspected by customs and you have to make sure it has arrived before you travel.
They obtain their medication in the country they want to travel to. However, this may not always be possible and it could be extremely expensive.

If you are travelling with medication you should be aware that customs officers will have seen ant-HIV drugs before and are therefore unlikely to be fooled. It might be helpful to have a letter from your doctor saying the medicines are for the treatment of a chronic medical condition and are for personal use. You should make sure the letter does not mention HIV.

Make sure you take enough of your medicines with you to cover the whole of your trip as it may be difficult to get supplies once you have left home. It is wise to count out your doses and take a few additional doses in case you are delayed.

If you are travelling across international time zones there will be implications for the time you take your medication. Consider these three options:

Continue to take your medicines at your UK time. However this could mean that you have to take your doses at inconvenient times.
Gradually adjust the times you take your medicines, from UK time to the time of the country you are visiting.
Altering you dose time to fit in with the time zone of the country you are visiting. However, this could mean that there are some long intervals between doses as you adjust.

You are advised to discuss your plan with your doctor or pharmacist before you travel. It is also wise to discuss your health with your doctor before you travel as it can be difficult to get specialist medical care away from home and , if you are very ill, some airlines might refuse to carry you.

Vaccinations

Vaccinations are available to protect you from getting infected with hepatitis A and hepatitis B and if you are HIV-positive you are advised to receive these vaccinations as soon as possible. They are safe and effective in people with HIV and available free of charge at your HIV clinic, a sexual health clinic, or you can pay for vaccinations at a GP surgery.

Both vaccinations consist of a course of injections – two for hepatitis A and three or four for hepatitis B –, which are given over a number of months. For the vaccine to be effective, it is very important for you to have all the injections. Regular tests should be performed to see if you need a booster vaccine to continue your protection.

It is important to find out if you need any special vaccinations to protect you from infections in the country you plan to travel to. You should find out from your doctor if it is safe for you to have them. Generally, people with HIV should not be given ’live’ vaccines.

Treatment breaks and travel

You should not take a break from your HIV treatments or any other medicines you have been prescribed without discussing it with your doctor, in advance.

Travel insurance

Travel insurance policies usually exclude cover for pre-existing medical conditions, and some specifically exclude HIV. However you may still want to consider cover for an illness that is unrelated to HIV, or if you have an accident, or lose your luggage or have something stolen.

There are now some insurance companies who are willing to provide cover for people with HIV. ACET Jersey cannot recommend a particular provider of travel insurance. We recommend that you shop around for a range of quotes and choose a provider which best meets your particular needs.

The following providers are a good place to start:

Freedom Travel Insurance
0870 774 3760
www.freedominsure.co.uk

Easy Travel Insurance
0870 345 2222
www.travelinsurance.com

Rothwell and Towler
01404 41234
www.travelfirst.co.uk

Travel Positive
01223 446 910
www.travelpositive.co.uk

Reciprocal medical care

In some countries you can get urgent medical treatment at a lower cost, or even for free. But the range of medical care is often less than you can get in Jersey.

Only urgently needed treatment will be provided. And you will only receive care on the same terms as people who live in that country. This means that if they have to pay for the treatment, so will you. You cannot claim a refund from any Jersey States Department for medical bills from other countries.

You will have to produce a Jersey or UK passport, or a certificate issued by the Jersey Social Security Department to get free or lower cost medical treatment under these agreements. Remember - not all types of treatment will be covered.

Details can be found in The Jersey Traveller’s Guide:

http://www.gov.je/Health/HealthServices/HealthAgreements/Pages/index.aspx

For more details contact:

Social Security Department
Philip Le Feuvre House
La Motte Street
St Helier
Jersey
JE4 8PE

Telephone 445505

Last updated April 2010