2. Have your medical exam

If you’re found eligible to make a refugee claim, you will get a Medical Report form (IMM 1017E) and instructions for getting an Immigration Medical Exam (IME). You must go for your medical exam within 30 days of getting these instructions. The Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP) pays for your first IME.

Your medical exam must be completed by a “panel physician”. A panel physician is a doctor that is approved by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). You can use this list to find a panel physician in your city.

The doctor will do a complete medical exam. They might also send you for chest x-rays and laboratory tests. Once your medical exam is done, the doctor will send the results to the Refugee Board.

What to bring

When you go to your medical exam, you must take:

• your Refugee Protection Claimant Document,
• the Medical Report form IMM 1017E,
• your eye glasses or contact lenses, if you wear them, and
• any medical reports or test results about your previous or existing medical conditions.

If your documents are not in English or French, you must also bring:

• an English or French translation of the document, and
• a declaration or affidavit written and signed by the translator.

You might have to bring four recent photographs of yourself if the doctor does not use eMedical. eMedical is an online tool used to record and send medical exams to IRCC instead of by mail or fax. Contact the doctor before your appointment to find out if you need to bring your photographs.