Do I need a visa medical, a pre-employment medical, or a Health MOT?

An embassy has sent you a form. Or HR has asked you to "get a medical". Or you've simply decided it's time for a proper check-up. Search for any of them and you'll find visa medicals, occupational screening and Health MOTs side by side, all at 117a Harley Street.

They're three different appointments, and the paper in your hand tells you which one you need. A visa medical answers an embassy or a sponsor. An occupational medical answers an employer, with reporting the company has agreed. A Health MOT is a preventative assessment for you.

If you're holding an embassy form, the visa medicals page lists the current countries and fees, and you can book an appointment Monday to Friday. Same-day and last-minute appointments are often available when a deadline is tight.

Which medical do I need?

Start with who issued the paper and what it names. A destination country, a residence permit, a work visa or an embassy form means a visa medical. Fitness to work, a company occupational form or a workforce screening day means occupational health. If nobody issued a form and you'd like a doctor-led look at your own health, that's a Health MOT.

If a recruiter just says "get a medical", ask which organisation will receive the certificate, and get the answer in writing. Each office files the examination it asked for, so that one question settles the booking.

If you're unwell with a new cough, fever or chest pain, see a GP or call NHS 111, and use 999 or A&E in an emergency.

What does a visa medical include?

Each visa medical is built from the embassy form you hold. The clinic carries out every test the form names, and only those. The live list currently includes:

• China: physical examination, chest X-ray, resting ECG, blood group and rhesus, and HIV, syphilis and hepatitis B bloods.
• Saudi Arabia: examination, chest X-ray, urinalysis, HIV, syphilis, hepatitis B and C, liver function, bilharzia antibodies and a monkeypox certificate, with a pregnancy blood test for women as a published extra.
• South Africa: a general health check, chest X-ray with a radiologist report, and an infection-status screen.
• Kuwait: examination, vision and hearing, chest X-ray, HIV, syphilis, hepatitis B and C, malaria and filaria screening, urinalysis, and a pregnancy blood test for women.
• Cayman Islands: examination, chest X-ray, HIV and syphilis bloods, and completion of the medical report.
• Bahrain: examination, chest X-ray, stool microscopy and parasites, HIV, hepatitis B and C, syphilis, and urinalysis.

Package fees for each country are published on the visa medicals page. These are current details from that page, and embassies do update their forms, so email yours after you enquire and the panel can be confirmed before you arrive. If your destination isn't on the list, send the form for a specific quote, rather than borrowing a neighbouring country's panel or a colleague's.

Bring your original passport, because the identity on the certificate has to match the document the embassy will see. Where a chest X-ray is needed, it's done at a partner imaging centre a few minutes' walk from Harley Street. Standard reports are currently finalised within a few working days, with expedited release on request. Put your visa deadline in your first message.

If your letter is about coming into the United Kingdom, check it carefully. Some UK visa applications require a tuberculosis test at a UKVI-approved clinic in the applicant's own country. That's a separate process from a destination-country residency medical done here.

Pre-employment and occupational medicals

When a land employer wants to know you're fit to work, that's a pre-employment medical, from £210. These packages sit on the visa medicals page because some new starters are sent there with a fitness-to-work request, but they're occupational clearance, separate from an embassy certificate.

Larger workforce programmes run through occupational health: employer tiers from £210, at the clinic or on site from five staff. Your individual clinical report comes to you, and the employer receives only a consented summary, whoever pays the invoice. If work is paying, send the employer form when you enquire and say who should receive the summary.

Cruise ship and offshore medicals

Cruise ship medicals (PEME) are available from £350, quoted from the cruise line's form. ENG1 seafarer certificates and OGUK offshore medicals are issued by specialist providers. If you're holding a cruise-line form, mention it when you contact the clinic and send it over for a quote.

A Health MOT is the one you book for yourself

With a Health MOT, the results belong to you and a doctor reviews them with you. Nothing goes to an employer unless you later choose to share it. Pick the tier by the health question you want answered:

• Essential: £495, 45 minutes.
• Advanced: £999.
• Elite: £1,850 for men and £2,095 for women.
• Ultimate: £2,950, or £3,350 with gynaecology, including 3T MRI of the brain, MRA, whole spine and torso.

These prices are separate from visa fees and employer-tier fees, and each package covers its own set of tests. That's worth knowing if a finance team is comparing £210 with £495. Compare the tiers on the Health MOT page, or read what a full body MOT includes.

Holding two forms?

Some people need two medicals. Someone being posted to the Gulf, for example, might hold an employer's occupational form and an embassy pack. Each form needs its own booking, and a Health MOT is a separate appointment again. Send every form when you enquire, along with your deadline.

If your employer booked you in, what employees actually receive from a workplace health screen explains the day. The FAQ answers visa and MOT questions under separate headings. When you're ready, book the medical that matches your form, or call 020 7183 7056.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a visa medical, a pre-employment medical, or a Health MOT?

A visa medical if an embassy or sponsor issued a destination form. A pre-employment or occupational medical if a land employer wants to know you're fit to work. A Health MOT if you'd like a preventative assessment for yourself.

Which countries are on the live visa list?

China, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Kuwait, the Cayman Islands and Bahrain, at the fees published on the visa medicals page. If your country isn't listed, email the form for a quote.

Is a Health MOT accepted as a visa certificate?

Embassies file the examination they asked for, so a visa needs a visa medical built from the embassy's form. A Health MOT is a separate, preventative check for you.

What does the employer receive if work is paying?

On occupational programmes, the employer receives only consented summaries, and your individual clinical report comes to you.

Do you do OGUK medicals?

OGUK offshore medicals are carried out by specialist providers, so that form needs one of them.

I need a seafarer or cruise ship medical. Can you help?

Cruise ship medicals (PEME) are available from £350, quoted from the cruise line's form you send. ENG1 seafarer certificates are issued by specialist providers.

What should I bring to a visa medical?

Your original passport and the embassy or sponsor form. The identity on the certificate has to match the document the embassy will see.

Sources

• UK Home Office. Tuberculosis tests for visa applicants
• NHS. NHS 111
• Health Screening Clinic. Occupational health
• Health Screening Clinic. Health MOTs
• Health Screening Clinic. Visa medicals
• General Medical Council. Medical register, Penelope Sheehan, 6056535
• Care Quality Commission. Find a service

Written By

Stephen Lingam

Managing Director

Managing Director of Medical Express Clinic and the Health Screening Clinic since 1984. Over 40 years of operational experience in private healthcare on Harley Street, overseeing patient care, clinical standards, and service delivery.

Medically Reviewed

Dr Penny Sheehan

MBBS, MRCGP

General Practitioner

GMC: 6056535

Specialising in women's health, hormonal balance, and menopause management within screening contexts.

Last reviewed: 25/09/2026