Prepare for your immigration medical exam — bring these things, we handle the rest.
Once IRCC tells you an immigration medical exam is needed — or you choose to complete one up front — preparing well means one smooth visit of about 1.5 hours.
- Government-issued ID — a valid original passport is preferred (not a photo or an ordinary copy — a certified copy is acceptable). Also accepted:
- National ID card
- Canadian driver’s licence
- Ontario Photo Card
- Refugee protection claimant document
- Refugee travel document
- Acknowledgement of Claim
- Interim Federal Health Certificate
- Your IRCC paperwork — the IMM1017 Medical Report form or Express Entry invitation letter, if you have one (a soft copy is acceptable). Don’t have paperwork yet? You can complete an upfront medical in preparation instead.
- All prescription medications — bottles or packages, or a list.
- Any medical reports or test results for previous or existing conditions.
- Glasses or contact lenses , if you wear them.
Good to know
- The whole visit takes about 1.5 hours.
- No passport photo needed — we take your photo in the office.
- No fasting before the blood test.
- Wear a loose-fitting top for easy arm access.
- Applicants 15 and under must come with a parent or legal guardian.
- You may request a chaperone for the exam.
- Pregnant? You can still proceed — our physicians will guide you.
The tests, by age
- Chest X-ray — ages 11+. Pregnant applicants may defer the X-ray and complete everything else; our panel physicians will counsel you on timing and options.
- Blood test — ages 15+. No fasting required.
- Physician exam — everyone. Medical history, physical exam, vision.
Both tests happen on-site right after your physician visit — one building, one visit.
From booking to submission
- Book an appointment — online at either clinic, or walk in during clinic hours. If you’re completing an upfront medical, an intake form is emailed to you after booking.
- Gather your documents — the checklist above. Ten minutes of preparation prevents a second trip.
- Visit the clinic — physician exam, then bloodwork and chest X-ray in the same building. Payment is on the day: Canadian debit, cash, or credit card (a transaction fee applies to credit and international cards). See pricing.
- We submit to IRCC — electronically via eMedical, and you leave with proof of your medical visit.
Not sure whether your application needs an exam? Check IRCC’s official guidance.
Ready when you are
Book online in a few minutes — or just walk in during clinic hours.
What an immigration medical exam is
An immigration medical exam — IME for short — is a standardized health assessment used in many applications to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. It is not a pass-or-fail test scored at the clinic. A panel physician examines you, documents the findings and submits them to IRCC, which weighs them as one part of your application.
The exam has up to three components — a physician visit, a blood test and a chest X-ray — with the tests depending on your age. Whether your application needs an exam is defined by IRCC's published requirements; we link to the official guidance rather than restate it.
The role of the panel physician
A panel physician is a doctor designated by IRCC to perform immigration medical exams. Only a panel physician can complete an IME — your own family doctor cannot, however thorough their check-up.
Our physicians hold this designation at both Toronto clinics. Their role is strictly medical: examine, document, and submit through eMedical. Decisions about your application rest with IRCC alone.
The IME is also not a substitute for regular healthcare. It screens for specific conditions and records your current health — it does not replace a check-up with your own doctor.
What to expect during your immigration medical exam
The visit begins in conversation, not in a gown. Your panel physician takes a medical history — past illnesses, surgeries, hospitalizations, current medications, and mental health. Answer plainly; the goal is an accurate record.
None of it is designed to catch you out. The components vary with age and history, and your physician explains each one before it happens.
- Medical history — questions about your past and present health. Your medication list and any specialist reports keep this part quick.
- Physical exam — height and weight, heart and lungs, abdomen, limb movement, skin, and a vision check. Similar in scope to a routine physical.
- Blood test — a small sample screens for specific infections, HIV and syphilis among them. No fasting beforehand.
- Chest X-ray — screens for tuberculosis. A few minutes with the technologist, in the same building.
How long the immigration medical exam takes
Plan for about an hour and a half. Individual visits range from roughly thirty minutes to two hours, depending on which components your age requires and whether your history needs extra attention.
The visit stays compact because everything happens on-site. There is no lab requisition to carry across town and no second appointment — you move from the physician's room to bloodwork to the X-ray and leave finished.
Children under 11 usually have the shortest visits, since only the physician exam applies. Applicants 15 and older complete all three components in one sequence.
A few quieter preparations
The checklist above covers what to carry. A few extra preparations make the visit itself easier.
- Arrange an interpreter if you are not comfortable in English. Our staff are multilingual, but the medical history matters — you should understand every question you answer.
- Wear your glasses or bring your contacts. The vision check measures how you actually see, corrected.
- Do not put off booking because of an existing condition. The exam records your health as it is, and recent specialist reports help your panel physician document it fully on the day.
- Completing an upfront medical? Fill in the emailed intake form before you arrive — it shortens registration.
After your immigration medical exam
Your file does not travel by mail. Panel physicians report through eMedical — IRCC's electronic system — so your results go directly to IRCC, and you carry proof of your medical visit out the door.
Sometimes IRCC requests more information after reviewing a file — an extra test or a specialist report, known as a furtherance. It is a request for specific additional information; if one is issued, IRCC contacts you directly with instructions, and the follow-up is completed and submitted the same way as the original exam.
One thing the clinic cannot tell you is what your results mean for your application — that assessment is IRCC's. If you have questions about your file after submission, IRCC is the right place to ask.