International travel has boomed as a result of  opening up of large number of global work, education and tourism opportunities. The most preferred international destinations for North Indians are US, Canada, Australia and Middle East. As a part of their visa process, these places require a battery of tests such as VDRL and TPHA (tests for syphilis). Syphilis is an infection which is transmitted via sexual contact or blood transfusion. It is detected by tests such as Venereal Disease Research Laboratory (VDRL) test and Treponema Pallidum Haemagglutination (TPHA).VDRL test can be false positive due to certain infections, connective tissue disorders or pregnancy. It is best to consult a board certified dermatologist to correctly diagnose and treat the condition. VDRL test should be done in dilutions to get the titre value as low titres could be present in false positive tests. On the other hand, TPHA test is confirmatory for syphilis but it does not translate to active infection every time as ‘once positive, always positive’ holds true for TPHA test.