The latest edition of a European publication for HIV-positive travelers lists 106 nations which restrict or regulate travel by people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA).

The authors of Quick Reference: travel and residence regulations for people living with HIV and AIDS, published by the European AIDS Treatment Group, noted that, “Being able to stay in foreign countries without restriction is something more or less taken for granted by many people living in Europe today. Yet in the majority of the world’s countries, people with HIV/AIDS are refused that right.”

The publication found that 13 countries block PLWHA from crossing their borders, including Armenia, Brunei, China, Iraq, South Korea, Libya, Russia, Saudi Arabia and the USA; while certain Asian and Middle Eastern countries recorded extremely negative results towards HIV-positive immigrants. In some cases migrants had died in jail due to lack of treatment while waiting to return home.

“Some countries prefer not to have their citizens back if they can avoid it,” the report stated.

PLWHA Victoria president, Brett Hayhoe, urged people to “do a little research before traveling to save themselves any embarrassment.”
A locally-produced travel guide for PLWHA, Up, Up and Away, currently available online, was “currently being revamped and will shortly be republished,” Mr Hayhoe added.

In Australia there are no restrictions on outbound travelers with HIV/AIDS; however immigrants can be denied entry if they test positive to the virus.

“If someone applying for a permanent visa is HIV positive their application could be declined,” a spokesperson for the Department of Immigration and Citizenship told MCV.

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