Medical on arrival

Hi AndrePrevin,

Unless the second blood test is done upon arrival (besides the GAMCA tests done prior to the arrival) the resident card will not be issued. Such is the rule.

It is the same in EVERY GCC country.  You HAVE to do a medical after arrival for issuance of residence visa or card.  The authorities only rely on the in-country medical facilities.  GAMCA is only an initial screening process designed to minimize costs for deportations as well as save time for companies recruiting.

The medical examination was repeated upon arrival in Saudi Arabia too - during my arrival in 2013, I had to repeat the full medical examination similar to the one I did in my home country. It took 3 working days to issue out the report, which was then used for Resident ID issuance.

Slightly different experience here.

Yes, the medical was done on arrival (as well as while renew of Visa and the Resident card). However it wasn't half as elaborate as it was during the GAMCA one in home country.

Over here they just took a blood sample and I had to converse with a doc for 30 seconds or so.

Next day morning the PRO got me the renewed card. According to him, the card can be renewed byn showing the paper confirming medical has been done....(even before the submission of the blood report) - however if something is not in order, they would inform and cancel the card).

Thanks

Yep.  In Bahrain, they give you the residence visa before the medical as well.  If something is discovered then it is cancelled.  In Dubai, medical has to be done before visa is given.

Ahaaa that's good info - but what about if a person is moving between jobs within GCC?

For example a person working in Saudi, and moves to Oman directly for a new job there. In this case, the pre-arrival medical examination (GAMCA) will be done in Saudi and a blood test upon arrival in Oman?

Or would the pre-arrival medical examination (GAMCA) waived and only blood test upon arrival is required?

@XTang, any thoughts on this?

@Modjo, I will give my personal experiences on this.

I moved from UAE to Bahrain.  The pre-employment medical was done but it was done in a private clinic in Dubai.  On arrival, the government medical was done.   Similar approach for going to the UAE from Bahrain was also followed.

I have had friends who have moved to Oman and Qatar and have followed similar approaches.  But a medical has to be done before arrival - only difference is that you can do it in country of residence i.e. where-ever you are without needing to go back home.  If this has changed recently, others are welcome to post and advise.

The ONLY exception to this is Saudi where for most nationalities, you HAVE to go home and do a medical whether GAMCA or otherwise (for non-GAMCA countries).  It used to be that they were flexible in the past and you could go from GCC countries to Saudi directly and complete procedures at the Saudi Embassy in that country but this was discontinued I think in 2013/4 - for many, if not all nationalities.  Now it is unbelievable e.g. we are hiring a Pakistani guy who is based in Singapore for decades and has no roots in his home country but to come to Saudi, he has to go back home and do a medical & procedures there!!.  Sometimes wasta works as in the case of a guy who was hired from Qatar and didn't have to go home for this but most of the times, it doesn't.

Thanks @XTang! Now that, is a quality response. Let me ask around here and double confirm what's the requirements like for pre-arrival medical for employment in Saudi, currently.

Whether they have to go back to their home country to do the pre-arrival medical examination or it can be done in any approved hospitals/clinics.

Well , not an expert on the subject , yet I would venture to say that , whether home country or elsewhere ....as long as the Center is GAMCA approved, you are good. The requirement is to have a Medical report from any GAMCA approved center.

Incidentally, GAMCA tests for the member countries are not same. Based on the country you are applying to ....the centers will guide to respective tests.

Thanks

That is actually the problem.  GAMCA tests back home are exactly the same for each GCC country.   Because GAMCA has been set up after collaboration of all GCC MOHs.  They combine requirements from all countries, over-test and mark accordingly.  You can even see the guidelines of GAMCA on their site - it is exactly the same for ALL GCC countries.

https://gcchmc.org/Images/RulesAndRegul … ov2016.pdf

For example, Hep C is no longer tested in the UAE.  But in other GCC countries it is.  If you are going to the UAE and go to GAMCA in say India, they will test for Hep C as well.  And if you have it, you are still marked as UNFIT.  The only way around that is to come to UAE on a visit visa and do the medical here.

Also GAMCA approved only applies to those countries which are part of the GAMCA testing.  For GCC itself, it has to be registered and recognized medical facilities in the countries.

@XTang ...logically what you say is right ,

However, in India atleast, even the charges could be different for diff countries (indicating that the tests done are not uniform).

Phewwww !!!
While on the subject, tried to google around for the medical charges !
Looks like India is the odd man out . At least a couple of websites that I see ...shows India to be only country with different charges for diff GCC countries .

All other countries looks like have the same charges . This gets more and more confusing ...hence I better do not dig any further http://www.gulffocus.info/gamca-medical … sri-lanka/

I am only stating the official facts as published by GAMCA.   And the evidence through reports i.e. look at the GAMCA certificate which has been issued for FIT/UNFIT - there is a standard format.  And there is a list of tests in it which were done. Compare that to the document link I pasted above and you will see that all the tests in the document vs. the certificate are covered.  I saw some certificates for employees we hired in UAE and Bahrain last year and they were exactly the same.

As far as I know, for fees India is the only exception - and I don't know the reason for that but could be reciprocity on costs.  This fee is apparently the same in Pakistan, Philippines, Nepal and Sri Lanka or was in 2017.

So basically, all the tests are the same and are done.

@XTang, @IndianWanderlust - check this out:

Rules & Regulation for Medical Examination of Expatriates Recruited for work in the GCC States

Which is a link originally from this page:

GAMCA Medical Exam Guidelines

modjo wrote:

@XTang, @IndianWanderlust - check this out:

Rules & Regulation for Medical Examination of Expatriates Recruited for work in the GCC States

Which is a link originally from this page:

GAMCA Medical Exam Guidelines

@Modjo.  Thanks but it exactly the same document as I pasted above.  But from GAMCA site.   I think my link is still under approval so you cant see it

Yes , i have the pdf too. Just that the applications of the rules may not be uniform.

Hi all, coming back to my original query as per this post, today the PRO from my company took me back to the Al Raffah where I did the medical on arrival.
There he spoke to the Al Raffah PRO and then we all went together to another clinic/lab where I had to do a blood test again. This time they took 2 vials instead of 1 like the first time.
Now they say I will have to wait 4 days for the results.

My first question is, what does anyone make of all this?
Secondly, nobody seems to want to tell me exactly what is going on or show me my initial results.
Thirdly, does anybody know the name and contact details of the lab i was taken to? It is situated directly adjacent to the Manpower building/offices. In fact it looks like its part of the same compound.

If possible I would like to phone them myself to follow up on my results.

It seems like that there was an issue in the initial test and they want to do a follow up to make sure.   The issue could be something simple as a contaminated sample not allowing to test properly or something serious which they want to do a confirmatory test on. 

I don't know about Oman but in most GCC countries, they will not release the results to you - these will go directly to immigration and in some cases, your sponsor.  Even if there is no issue in the tests, you will not get a report.  I would assume Oman is the same.  In which case, even if you call them, they will not give you any information.

AndrePrevin,

Suggest, leave it to the PRO to find out for you.
As XTang mentioned, in all probability, they may not entertain you.

Thanks

@AndrePrevin, I admire your drive in taking actions to clear out the doubts.

Could it be that the 1st lab messed-up the test and/or the sample from your initial test? Otherwise, I can't think of any reason for them to withhold the test results. Since your pre-arrival GAMCA test was OK, then there's no reason for them to fail you - unless they don't have any results with them 

@XTang, @IndianWanderlust, yeah I just realized we posted the same thing! Lol. Sorry for the blunder.

@Modjo: Yes

By the way, pre-arrival is not relied on 100% which is why they test again.  Also, some diseases have incubation periods i.e. it takes time for them to be detected (e.g. 3-6 months after exposure).  So it is entirely possible (and it happens) for the GAMCA to be clear and something to be detected in the in-country medical later on.  Not saying that is the case here (hope not) and it could just be a botched sample.

Hey  in Oman medical after arriving to Oman do they do hcv antibodys test for everybody or they do only for some catogerys only.. please reply me

As far as I know, for blood tests and x-ray, they will do the exact same testing as GAMCA does.

So that means there's no any chance to work in Oman person with hcv antibodys.. I heard some says that only 6 catogerys they do check hcv antibodys.. bad luck

The six categories is Hep B and it's for the UAE.  UAE also doesn't test for Hep C.  I think you are confusing the countries.

Hi X Tang, Modjo and Wanderlust,

Very useful information and comments. Just a query along the same lines. To get a pre arrival medical done from Saudi Arabia, what kind of a clinic or hospital should one go to, for Oman? Technically I believe all the clinics are MOH approved and getting the medical done from any of these should be fine, but then again, this is GCC and it's hard to say. Any info on this?

As you said, all of them are MOH approved and either of them should work.  I would personally err on the side of caution and go with bigger hospitals vs. clinics.

Thanks. Makes sense.

Can UAE Visit Visa holder come on Oman Employment/Residence Visa without taking Medical in UAE or does he need to do medical before entering Oman .
Can this be done in UAE or does he need go to Country of Origin in India..
A clear answer with some link can help ..

Hi ksamuel62,

An Asian (besides a few other countries') expatriate employment visa can be issued only after the employee clears the GAMCA medicals.

The GAMCA medical tests can be done at any approved clinics, across Asia.

The forum is loaded with information and details on GAMCA's various processes and procedures. Please help yourself.