The NZAF has confirmed that tourists traveling to New Zealand can not be turned away for being HIV positive. Shaun Robinson, Executive Director of NZAF says the recent incident, in which a man was denied entry to Australia because of his HIV positive status, does nothing to help remove the stigma of HIV. The Scandinavian man applied for a tourist visa and was denied on the grounds that his HIV positive status could cause him to need medical assistance while in the country. The man has since been told by officials that there was an “administration error” and an HIV status does not affect travel to Australia. Robinson says, “Fear of being treated badly and unfairly stops people being open about HIV and from testing. Whether this was a mistake or not it simply adds to stigma.” He says tourists who are HIV positive can not be turned away from New Zealand and do not need to undergo medical testing if they are seeking to stay up to a year. “If they are staying more than a year they are tested for 27 different infectious conditions including HIV and are unlikely to be granted a visa if they have any of the listed diseases.” HIV positive New Zealanders who may be worried about traveling abroad should be aware of travel restrictions they may encounter says Robinson. “There are travel restrictions that affect people living with HIV entering a range of countries. Most people with the virus learn about these restrictions prior to travel. In an era when effective treatment reduces most people’s viral load to a point where they are virtually non-infectious. It is time that these policies were reconsidered.”
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Friday, 5th February 2016 - 6:53pm