Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

An HIV diagnosis should not affect the conditions of your current (approved) visa. You must update Home Affairs if there are changes in your situation that affect the conditions of your visa, such as your work, study or relationships. If your health affects your visa conditions (for example, you cannot continue to work or study due to illness) you should notify Home Affairs.  

An HIV diagnosis may affect ongoing or future visa applications if the visa contains health criteria related to the cost of healthcare. If your ongoing or future application contains a health assessment or questions about HIV you must disclose or update Home Affairs about your HIV status. See the HIV and Australian visas section of our website for more information about applying for visas with HIV.  

You can bring up to a three-month supply of prescription medication to Australia for personal use under the “traveller’s exemption.” Only bring the medication that you need for the duration of your stay, plus two weeks. You should carry a valid prescription or a letter from your doctor to confirm that the medication is for your personal use and is not a prohibited substance in Australia. If you are staying longer than three months, you can get free or low-cost treatment in Australia. See our section on Access to care, treatment and services migrating to Australia.

Yes, people living with HIV can migrate permanently to Australia. However, health criteria related to the cost of healthcare for most visas means that there are less permanent migration options for people living with HIV. The permanent residency visas available to people living with HIV are those which offer a health waiver or do not have these health criteria.  

For more information about the health criteria, see the HIV and Australian visas section of our website, the HALC Positive Migration Guide or attend our Know Your Rights workshop. You should get advice early from a registered migration agent or lawyer when applying for permanent residency. Please email us for help to see an experienced migration lawyer. 

Depending on how long you stay and other factors you may not be asked about your HIV status. HIV should not be an issue for you to get a short-term (less than 5 year) visa such as a tourist visa. Some visa applications have a medical assessment which will include questions about HIV. Generally, there may be questions about health-related costs. You must declare your HIV status when answering these questions. All questions in a visa application must be answered truthfully. Giving incorrect or misleading answers can have serious consequences, including having your visa refused or cancelled. 

The Australian government provides free or low-cost HIV medication to all people living with HIV, regardless of visa status or eligibility for Medicare, Australia’s universal healthcare scheme. Use this interactive map to find an HIV doctor near you.  

Bring medical documents that describe your HIV history and recent lab results. This will help Australian doctors to tailor your care. It’s best to schedule this within your first month, as doctor appointments can sometimes have wait times. Some costs, such as doctor visits and blood tests may be more expensive if you are not eligible for Medicare. You can email us once you arrive to help you find a nearby health service or government-funded clinic for lower cost treatment and care.  

Most countries let you take a personal supply of medication with you, but restrictions may differ. You should check what restrictions apply in your destination country and transit locations. This information should be available on government websites.  

Some countries limit the number of doses you can bring. Countries with strict drug control may also require medication to be in its original package and that you carry a prescription or letter from your doctor which proves that the medication is for your personal use.  

Bringing HIV treatment with you may indicate that you are living with HIV. You can check Positive Destinations to find out which countries ban people living with HIV on entry or short stays.  

HIV does not prevent you from getting travel health insurance, and you can get insurance that appropriately covers HIV-related issues if you declare it as a pre-existing medical condition. 

If you are on effective treatment with an undetectable viral load often there may only be negligible or even no extra cost to cover HIV-related issues. If you do not declare HIV as a pre-existing medical condition when you purchase insurance you risk not being fully covered for things like medical expenses, even if they seem unrelated to HIV. See our Getting travel insurance section for more information about applying for HIV-related cover.

The HIV Justice Network maintains a global database of HIV-specific restrictions on travel and residence called Positive Destinations.  

In 2025, Positive Destinations counted 50 countries and territories which had some form of HIV-specific travel restriction. These countries were mostly in the Middle East and North Africa but were also in eastern Europe, Asia, and the Pacific, including Australia. It also showed that there we 83 countries with no HIV-specific travel restrictions and 68 countries with no or unclear information about restrictions.  

It is more common for restrictions to be applied to visas for longer term stays and permanent residency, but in some countries there are HIV-related restrictions even for tourists and short-term stays.  

Positive Destinations contains detailed information about HIV travel restrictions in individual countries and allows you to browse based on country or the type of restriction.  

If you lose or run out of your medication it is important to try to get back onto your normal treatment as soon as you can. It is best to be back on treatment within few days but it could be up to a month before your virus reaches unsuppressed levels. You should not take different treatments or alter your dosage if you are running out.  

To get back onto your treatment you could search for a local HIV-specific clinic or doctor specialised in HIV care. You could also approach a local HIV community organisation who may be able to help you find a clinic. Use the Countries pages of the Positive Destinations website to find the names of local organisations and more information about treatment access in different countries.  

It is best to take your medication in your carry-on luggage because checked luggage is often lost or delayed by airlines. If you travel regularly, you can consider long-acting injectable treatments (currently once every month or once every two months in Australia). Speak to your doctor about how to make long acting injectables suit your travel plans.  

You can get travel insurance that appropriately covers issues related to HIV as a pre-existing medical condition, such as the cost to replace lost medication.