Visa medical check on Wafid

What is Wafid, and how is it different from GAMCA?

Wafid (وافد) is the platform for the medical examination required before some Saudi work visas, formerly known as GAMCA. So Wafid is not a new, separate scheme: it is the same GCC medical fitness programme people spent years calling GAMCA, now running under one web platform. If a recruitment agent, employer or older forum post talks about a “GAMCA medical”, they mean the exam and the status check that Wafid now hosts.

The exam itself happens at an approved medical centre in your home country, before you travel, not at a hospital inside Saudi Arabia. Wafid’s job on your side is simple: it tells you whether that exam cleared you to receive a visa.

How to check your visa medical report status online

Open the Wafid medical status search page, pick whether you have a passport number or a slip (receipt) number from your medical centre, fill in the matching field, and submit. The result shows as one of a small set of statuses within a few days of your appointment. Here is the exact route.

If you have your passport number:

1. Open the Wafid medical status search using the button below, which opens the official wafid.com site in a new tab.
2. Select the By Passport Number option.
3. Enter your Passport NO exactly as printed, with no spaces.
4. Choose your Nationality from the dropdown list.
5. Select Check and read the status shown for your exam.

If you only have your medical slip:

1. Open the same Wafid status page and select the Wafid slip number option instead.
2. Enter the GCC slip number printed on the receipt your medical centre gave you.
3. Select Check and read the result.

No account or login is needed for this lookup, and nothing you type here reaches us. You enter your passport or slip number directly on the government-linked Wafid site, on that page alone.

Who needs a Wafid medical, by nationality and visa type

Not every visa carries a medical requirement. It mainly attaches to work visas that lead to an iqama (إقامة), the residence permit and national ID number issued to a foreign resident of Saudi Arabia, plus some long-term residency visas. A visit visa (تأشيرة زيارة), a temporary visa allowing a family member or visitor to enter Saudi Arabia for a limited period, does not usually need one. Your own case depends on both your passport and the exact visa you are applying for, so treat this table as the general pattern rather than a final answer.

The list of nationalities that must test changes from time to time and is set by each receiving country, not by Wafid alone. Your recruitment agent, employer or the visa application itself will tell you if it applies to you; we could not verify a single fixed list for this page and would rather send you to your sponsor than guess.

What FIT and UNFIT mean on your report

A Wafid result generally shows as one of three states: still being processed, fit, or unfit. Fit means the exam found nothing that blocks a GCC visa under current entry rules. Unfit means it did, and the visa route stops until that is resolved.

• In process: your samples or X-ray are still being reviewed. Check again after a day or two.
• Fit: cleared to proceed. Your employer or agent can continue the visa application.
• Unfit: the centre flagged a condition, commonly on a chest X-ray, blood test or physical exam, that is not acceptable for entry.

Wafid reports the outcome; it does not explain the medical detail on the status page itself. For that, go back to the medical centre where you were examined.

How long does a Wafid medical report stay valid?

A fit report is not valid indefinitely. It carries a validity window before your visa must be stamped, and that window is printed on your own certificate. We are not going to quote a single number of days here, because it can differ by receiving country and visa category, and we could not confirm one figure that holds in every case.

The safe approach: read the expiry date on your own report the day you receive it, tell your employer or agent that date, and get the visa stamped before it passes. If the window closes first, expect to repeat the exam rather than reuse an expired result.

If your result is unfit, or nothing shows

An unfit result or a missing record both need a human, not another refresh of the status page. Here is what each outcome usually means and who to contact next.

• Unfit: ask the medical centre for the specific reason. Some conditions allow a retest at a later date; others end that visa route. Your recruitment agent or employer handles the next step, not Wafid.
• No record found: the exam may not be logged yet, or a digit in your passport or slip number may be wrong. Recheck the number, then try again after 24 to 48 hours.
• Result looks wrong: contact the medical centre where you tested directly. Wafid displays what the centre submits; it does not adjudicate disputes.

Once your medical is cleared, the rest of a work visa runs through separate portals. See our full walkthrough from block visa to iqama for the steps after a fit result, or start from our which-portal wizard if you are unsure what to check next.

Does a Qatar visa need a Wafid medical check too?

Often, yes. Wafid is not exclusive to Saudi Arabia; it runs the medical fitness scheme for several GCC states, so a Qatar visa medical report check can sit on the same wafid.com system as a Saudi one. Whether it applies to you still depends on your nationality and the visa category Qatar has set, exactly as with Saudi Arabia.

If a Qatari employer or agent has told you to complete a Wafid medical, use the same status search described above. The screens, the passport-or-slip search and the fit, unfit and in-process statuses work the same way regardless of which GCC country the visa is for.