Are embassies required to know an applicants hiv status before approving or rejecting a visa application?
If you’re talking about US visas, as noted immigrant visas require a medical exam which included HIV testing. Although it’s a bar to visa issuance, it is possible to get a waiver, which primarily requires having the petitioner show how they are going to be able to provide proper medical care without relying on government funds. Non-immigrant visa applications have a question which asks if you have any communicable diseases which has to be answered. Under most circumstances, no one will question the answer, unless the interviewing officer has reason to believe the applicant is HIV positive, or infectious TB for that matter, which is considered a greater public health threat. It should be noted though that intentionally lying about HIV status could lead to being permanently barred for misrepresentation and fraud. There are waivers for non-immigrant visas as well, and sometimes blanket waivers are granted to attend international HIV/AIDS events in the US.
