Completing the medical check form used by the vast majority of Chinese employers is one of the most challenging and costly aspects of the entire application process. After years of assisting hundreds of candidates with this we have come up with this guide to make the process as simple and straightforward as possible.
Why do schools want this medical check?
Although not an absolute requirement, the vast majority of schools hiring ESL teachers today still require that their candidates complete a standardised medical form. This ensures that they comply with the medical requirements for the work (Z) visa. This is done as a screening process to candidates to ensure both themselves and the schools that they will pass the visa medical check up in China once they get there. Thus, it avoids any candidates who have already arrived in China from being sent home prior to starting work on medical grounds. This would be a very costly and inconvenient scenario for both teacher and school alike!
What is the name of this medical form?
The form is called the physical examination record form and can be downloaded directly from official Chinese embassy & visa center websites. The above link allows you to download the form from the official visaforchina.org website.
Above is page 1 of the form, below is page 2.
How do I know if I need to complete this form?
If your school has not given you this form or asked for a medical checkup, then it may not require you to complete the form. Some schools use much simpler declarations without the need for the form to be completed. In order to be sure, you can ask your school or your Noon Elite Recruitment agent to clarify whether you need to complete this stage or not. 99% of the time, if the school has not mentioned this to you, then they do not require it.
How do I easily complete the form?
As the form is a standard form it covers many health aspects that are not key points for consideration for a typical healthy candidate to complete. The perfect example of this is Chest X-rays. In China, chest X-rays are easy, simple and very affordable to acquire. In contrast to this, many countries around the world such as the UK do not routinely follow this practice of regular chest X-rays for standard checkups and as such getting them done privately can be very expensive and troublesome. Rather than complete the form fully and pay a large amount of money to complete these, we recommend simply asking your gp to fill in the form as best they can with your medical history records. For the parts that they cannot complete, we recommend the following:
Body parts boxes
In each box for a specific body part E.g Spine, nose, etc assuming there are no problems specific to this have your doctor write something such as ‘fine’ or ‘ok’. This simply confirms that there are no problems.
Chest X-ray
For this box, have your doctor write ‘not necessary’.
ECG
For the ECG box, have your doctor once again write ‘not necessary’.
Suggestion box at the end
In the case that your doctor has deemed you fit and healthy for travel, then the final box labelled ‘suggestion’ should simply contain a sentence from your doctor stating this, such as ‘individual is fit for travel’.
Stamp & Signature
If there is one thing that Chinese official and companies value it is official stamps and seals. Have your medical practice complete the date and use their stamp. Then kindly ask your doctor to sign the signature box to complete the form.
What if I prefer to have a full medical checkup before I go?
If you are unsure about your health or would simply feel better by completing the medical form fully then there are numerous dedicated private clinics all over the world in a city near you. To find these, you can Google ‘China Z visa medical clinic in [your city]’ and you should be able to find a center nearby. These can be costly, however, as they are specialised in performing all tests for these visas they are very efficient and many can often complete all tests required on the form in a single visit. If you choose to do this it is also worth noting that many schools offer to reimburse some or all of this cost. Check your school employment contract or ask your Noon Elite Recruitment agent to clarify this for you.