A member asked whether their spouse's TB diagnosis at age 15 would affect their Canada PNP immigration medical exam.
What the thread clarified:- A resolved, dead TB infection generally has no effect. As long as the bacteria is no longer active, prior TB shouldn't be a barrier — full treatment for TB typically takes 6–8 months, and once that treatment phase has been completed and observed, there's no ongoing concern for the medical exam.
- A visible scar on the chest X-ray can trigger an extra step, not a rejection. If the panel physician sees a scar from the earlier TB on the X-ray, they may ask for a follow-up sputum test to confirm there's no active infection. Once that test comes back negative, the file is cleared — it just adds some processing time.
The practical takeaway: fully treated, inactive TB from years ago is not expected to block a PNP or PR medical exam, but budget for the possibility of an additional sputum test if a scar shows up on X-ray, which can add a little time to the medical clearance process.