Working Holiday in Canada (4) Proof of Upfront Medical Exam

In recent years, working holiday programs have become increasingly popular, and some countries require medical exams as part of the visa application process. Working holiday in Canada is one of those countries that requires a medical exam. However, not all hospitals are authorized to conduct the medical exams; only designated hospitals can perform them.

Since I am currently working in Shenzhen, I was planning to do my medical exam there. However, due to my company’s delayed return to work, I ended up staying an extra week in Taiwan. So, I decided to do the medical exam in Taiwan instead.

If you’re not in your home country, you can visit the IRCC-Panel Physician website to find a designated hospital in the nearby country for your medical exam.

First Medical Exam in Taichung – 2020/2/4

There are 3 hospitals in Taiwan where you can do the medical exam for a working holiday in Canada: Taipei Medical University Hospital, Mackay Memorial Hospital, and China Medical University Hospital in Taichung. Since I’m closer to Taichung, I decided to go to China Medical University Hospital for the exam.

Booking Process

The booking process is very simple. I made a reservation by calling the hospital directly. They just asked for basic information like name, date of birth, and phone number, and the appointment was set. If calling is not convenient, China Medical University also offers online appointment options.

🏥 Mackay Memorial Hospital
Address: No. 92, Section 2, Zhongshan North Road, Zhongshan District, Taipei City, Taiwan 10449
Reservations are required; no walk-ins allowed.

🏥 Tai’an Hospital
Address: No. 424, Section 2, Bade Road, Songshan District, Taipei City, Taiwan 105
No reservation required; walk-ins are accepted.

🏥 China Medical University Hospital, Preventive Medicine Center
Address: No. 91, Wuqian Road, North District, Taichung City, Taiwan 404
Reservations can be made online, by phone, or directly at the 6th-floor reception.

Reminder: Before going for the medical exam, make sure to bring your passport, ID, and NT$4000 (cash or credit card).

Go to the hospital for the medical examination

When I arrived at China Medical University Hospital, it took me about 10 minutes to find the Preventive Medicine Center because the hospital grounds are quite large and divided into multiple buildings, which made it a bit tricky to navigate.

Later, I found out on the website that the Preventive Medicine Center has a free parking lot, so I ended up wasting NT$120 parking elsewhere. 😂

Since I had already made a reservation over the phone, I went straight to the 8th floor. If you haven’t made a reservation, you can go to the 6th floor to book one, but I’m not sure about the exact timing for reservations. 😅

Medical Examination Process

After arriving on the 8th floor, I was surprised to see a large crowd for the medical examination. I thought to myself, “Wow, so many people applying for Canada!” Later, I realized that most of them were actually there for the Australian working holiday medical exams…

The nurse then called me to the side to take a photo and fill out some information. Afterward, I was given a payment slip and directed to a nearby self-service machine for payment. The self-service machine accepts both credit cards and cash. After paying NT$4,000, I handed the receipt back to the nurse.

After filling out a bunch of documents and waiting for my name to be called for identity verification, the medical examination began…

The examination included: height and weight measurement, blood pressure check, blood test for HIV, urine test, vision test, chest X-ray, and finally, a consultation with the doctor.

However, because my blood pressure was high, I had to rest on the hospital bed and keep checking my blood pressure. Despite multiple attempts, the reading remained high, so I ended up submitting the first measurement. The nurse was blunt with me, saying that due to my high blood pressure, I might need a reexamination because Canada’s medical requirements are quite strict, and I should prepare for that.

I was devastated 😭 Later, I read other people’s experiences with reexamination and was really scared… At that point, I seriously started considering whether I should abandon my visa application…

After back home, I scanned the documents that the nurse gave me (the one on the right) and uploaded them to IRCC. That’s all.

Reexamination Notification

A week later, just as expected, I received a letter¹ from the China Medical University Hospital informing me that I needed to go to the cardiology department for a reexamination. Upon hearing this, I felt completely frustrated. The reexamination items were exactly as listed online:

1. echocardiography (including ejection fraction)
2. resting ECG
3. exercise ECG test (if indicated)
4. cardiac stress test
5. nuclear stress test

1. Hospitals usually notify by phone, but since I had already returned to Shenzhen, China and couldn’t take the call, the nurse wrote to me directly instead. ↩︎

Second Medical Exam in Guangzhou – 2021/11/12

After that, due to the outbreak of the pandemic all over the world, I never received the reexamination notice from IRCC. Since completing the biometrics in March 2020, my visa process had been completely silent. Later, I inquired about the situation via IRCC Webform, and after 1.5 years, IRCC finally sent me an update on my visa progress.

I was given a deadline of one month to redo the medical examination…

At first, I thought it was just a follow-up exam, but later I found out that since it had been over a year, the previous medical exam was no longer valid. So, I didn’t need to go for a follow-up, but instead, I had to redo the entire medical examination. However, when I received the notification for the exam, I was in Shenzhen, and if I went back to Taiwan, I would have to quarantine for 14 days. The time and financial cost were too high, so I decided to check the IRCC website to see where I could do the medical examination in Shenzhen.

There is only one place in Shenzhen where the examination can be done, but they didn’t respond to my inquiry. I initially thought about going to Hong Kong, but there was quarantine, so I ended up finding a hospital in Guangzhou for the medical exam.

The booking process was the same; I called and made an appointment. When I got there, the process was similar to Taiwan, but the cost in this hospital was higher at 1,200 RMB, and they only accepted cash. After the exam, I just waited for the IRCC’s notification.

Third Medical Exam in Taichung – 2023/1/12

This time, I was about to depart for Canada, and the medical exam I did in Guangzhou had already expired after a year. To be on the safe side, I called the China Medical University Hospital again in Taichung to redo the exam.

The process was exactly the same as before, but the price had increased to NT$4,090. For some reason, my blood pressure kept being high during the exam in Taichung. After several attempts, my blood pressure was still high, so I just let the nurse upload the high blood pressure report. However, I was eventually able to enter Canada and received my working holiday visa.

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