A Layman’s Guide To The Requirements Of Medical Form 4
The Republic of Botswana is a landlocked African nation, enclosed by neighbouring nations, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa. Non-Citizens intending to migrate to Botswana will need to inter alia successfully comply with the requirements of the Immigration Act Medical Form 4, without which an application for a residence permit will probably fail. The requirements of this form are described hereunder.
The overall objective of the Department of Immigration and Citizenship is to facilitate passage of legitimate travelers to and from Botswana and at the same time protect society against entrance, residence and movement, in and out of the Republic of Botswana, of people with undesirable behaviour. It also provides services pertaining to acquisition of Botswana Citizenship and related matters.
- Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Government of the Republic of Botswana
The Requirements of the Form
Applicants to reside in Botswana must be examined by a Medical Practitioner and should be found to be:-
(1) Not suffering from the following disabilities;
(a) Being an Idiot
An idiot - a stupid person; imbecile; fool, (wordsmyth); a person of subnormal intelligence (wordnet).
(b) Being an Imbecile
An imbecile - one whose mental development is above the level of idiocy but still below the norm (wordsmyth).
(c) Being a Feeble-minded Person;
Feeble-minded. Weak in intellectual power; wanting firmness or constancy; irresolute; vacillating; imbecile (web1913).
(d) Being an Epileptic
Epilepsy: a disorder or disease in which the nerves (the central nervous system) are affected. People with epilepsy may have fits or attacks that affect their muscles. The term ‘epilepsy’ is derived from the Greek word ‘epilambanein’, which signifies to grab, to hold, to seize’. The Ancient Greeks thought of an epileptic as someone who was seized by a demon. This was also what people supposed throughout the Middle Ages. But there some who saw an epileptic seizure as a blessing of a God: e.g. the Ancient Greeks.
(e) Having had a Previous Attack of Insanity
The definition given by the Century Dictionary is probably as satisfactory as any: “A seriously impaired condition of the mental functions, involving the intellect, emotions, and will, or one or more of these faculties, exclusive of temporary states produced by and accompanying intoxications or acute febrile diseases.” (The Catholic Encyclopaedia).
See Insanity and The Law
(f) Suffering from Constitutional Psychopathic Inferiority
The United States’ ‘Immigration Act, 1917’ excluded from admission into the United States “persons of constitutional psychopathic inferiority” among others. Likewise, the Canadian ‘Chinese Immigration Act, 1923’ prohibited entry to Canada of Chinese immigrants who were deemed to be persons suffering “constitutional psychopathic inferiority”. It is commonly held that this phrase was a reference to homosexuality.
(g) Suffering from Chronic Alcoholism
1. Chronic alcoholism is the average daily ingestion of 80+ gm of alcohol per day for men and 60+ gm per day for women (source: The Society of Medical Friends of Wine), for a sustained period.
2. Chronic alcoholism is a disease which destroys the afflicted person's willpower to resist the constant, excessive use of alcohol, (2) a chronic alcoholic does not appear in public by his own volition, but under a compulsion symptomatic of the disease of chronic alcoholism, and (3) appellant is a chronic alcoholic who is afflicted by the disease of chronic alcoholism; but ruled as a matter of law that chronic alcoholism was not a defense to the charge. The principal testimony was that of a psychiatrist, who testified that appellant, a man with a long history of arrests for drunkenness, was a "chronic alcoholic" and was subject to a "compulsion" which was "not completely overpowering," but which was "an exceedingly strong influence." (Powell v State of Texas, 1968).
See Alcohol Abuse
(2) Not physically defective except;
The form allows the examining Medical Practitioner (Doctor) to insert any physical defects here, together with an indication of their nature and extent.
(3) Not suffering from;
n.: [L., honeycomb.] (med.) a contagious fungal infection of the scalp; occurs mainly in Africa and the Middle East
n.: [pronounced fram-bee-zhe] (med.) an infectious tropical disease resembling syphilis in its early stages; marked by red skin eruptions and ulcerating lesions. See also Yaws. [Early 19th century. From modern Latin, coined from French framboise “raspberry”; from the shape and color of the sores produced by the disease.][alternative spelling = Frambesia]
n.: Yaws [pronounced yawz] [African yaw, a raspberry, possibly from Caribbean ‘yaya’] (med.) A disease, occurring in the Antilles and in Africa, characterized by yellowish or reddish tumors, of a contagious character, which, in shape and appearance, often resemble currants, strawberries, or raspberries. It mainly affects children and is caused by the bacterium Treponema pertenue. There are several varieties of this disease, variously known as framboesia, pian, verrugas, and crab-yaws. See also Framboesia.
n.: (med.) chronic granulomatous communicable disease occurring in tropical and subtropical regions; characterized by inflamed nodules beneath the skin and wasting of body parts; caused by the bacillus Mycobacterium leprae [syn: Hansen’s disease].
Scabies is a skin disease that can be spread from person to person, and is caused by a small insect or mite known as scabiei hominis. This mite is about the size of a pinhead and can live only 24 hours at room temperature apart from the human body. It burrows into the outer layer of skin and lays eggs, which hatch in 3-5 days. After hatching, the newly formed mites leave the burrow and move to other skin surfaces and repeat the cycle. Scabies is not caused by being dirty. Scabies is highly contagious and is spread by skin-to-skin contact with a person who has the disease. Contaminated articles such as clothing, bed linens and blankets can be the source of infection. (source: McKinley Health Center, University of Illinois) .
Syphillis is a chronic, infectious, sexually transmitted disease. It begins in the mucous membranes and quickly becomes systemic, meaning it spreads in the bloodstream. If untreated it progresses in four stages: Primary, Secondary, Latent, and Late. Incidence of syphillis is on the rise especially between ages 15 and 39, drug users, and people with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. How is it spread? Syphillis is spread primarily through sexual contact and from a mother to her baby during pregnancy. Getting it from a blood transfusion is rare because the bacteria dies after 96 hours in stored blood. (University of Missouri-Rolla) .
Trachoma, which is also called granular conjunctivitis or Egyptian ophthalmia, is a contagious, chronic inflammation of the mucous membranes of the eyes, caused by Chlamydia trachomatis. It is characterized by swelling of the eyelids, sensitivity to light, and eventual scarring of the conjunctivae and corneas of the eyes (source Vhi Healthcare)
n.: (med.) A constitutional disease characterized by the production of tubercles in the internal organs, and especially in the lungs, where it constitutes the most common variety of pulmonary consumption. Infection transmitted by inhalation or ingestion of tubercle bacilli and manifested in fever and small lesions (usually in the lungs but in various other parts of the body in acute stages) .
(i) Any other disease prescribed in terms of section 7(c) of the Immigration Act