Health follow-up handout: HIV infection (for applicant)

Your immigration medical exam for entry to Canada shows that you have evidence of being infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

HIV is a virus transmitted from one individual to another through contact with blood or body fluids. Unprotected sexual contact and the sharing of contaminated needles, especially in intravenous drug use, with seropositive people, can cause HIV transmission. Infected pregnant mothers can transmit the virus to their babies during pregnancy, at birth and while breastfeeding. Being HIV positive means that your own body’s defence system can be weakened because you have been infected by this virus. Eventually, HIV infection may progress into acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and may be complicated by a variety of medical disorders requiring close medical attention. There are now medications to help slow the progression of HIV and reduce the risk of transmission from mother to child.

For your own health and to protect the health of your family members, you are advised to contact a health professional specializing in HIV following your entry into Canada. You will find the telephone numbers you need (to locate a clinic) in the chart below.

In many provinces and territories of Canada, it is mandatory to report HIV. Depending on where you will reside in Canada, a health care provider may wish to communicate with you to offer guidance and support. For that reason, Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will inform the provincial or territorial public health services of your arrival in Canada and share your positive result to HIV testing. This information remains confidential and can be seen only by authorised health employees in the province where you will be residing.

If your first language is not English or French, you may wish to ask someone to help you make this phone call.

Further information can also be found at
Canadian AIDS Society
Toll free: 1-800-499-1986

Canadian AIDS Treatment Information Exchange (CATIE)

Public Health Agency of Canada – HIV
Toll free: 1-800-280-5020