USA HIV Travel Ban Goes
posted: 13/01/2010
On 4 January the USA travel ban on people living with HIV was finally ended. Notoriously the Dutchman Hans Paul Verhoff was refused entry into the U.S. in 1989 to speak at a HIV conference in San Francisco. Many people then boycotted the 6th International Conference on AIDS in San Francisco in 1990.
What began first as an administrative ban then became law in 1987 (through action by the homophobic republican Senator Jesse Helms) and this was reinforced in 1993.
The travel ban prevented visits to the USA by people with HIV apart from in exceptional circumstances. Officially people with HIV had to apply for a special permission. It was a difficult and slow process and many were refused. The stigmatising nature of the ban was reinforced because your passport was marked in a way which showed you have HIV.
The ban was widely ignored, but often people with HIV were detected by US immigration staff and then refused entry and deported. Others took risks with their health by interrupting their HIV treatment to enter without HIV being discovered.
Washington 2012 International AIDS Conference confirmed
Now the ban has been lifted the International AIDS Society has confirmed that the 2012 International AIDS Conference will be held in Washington DC. 3 in 100 living in the US capital have HIV, well above the threshold for a severe, generalised epidemic, which is 1%.
UK passport holders with HIV who wish to visit the US can now complete the green 'visa waiver' form that allows routine entry to the USA.
South Korea relaxes rules
The South Korean government has also announced that entry restrictions on people who don’t need a visa to enter were lifted from January 1st.
International HIV travel summary
A list of countries and their entry policies for people with HIV can be in NamLife here.
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