having a baby in the UK on visitor Visa

[BEDBANDIT]

My thai wife will be having My baby in the UK. she has a 6 month tourist visa which ends 15/11/16 .
The baby is due 20/09/16, I'm a UK national and resident.

We arrived in England last week with no problems, Im aware and prepared for how much money i will/ might have to pay for NHS treatment and im happy with that.

but whats going to happen after the baby is born Visa wise for my thai wife.?

once the baby is born are there different options for visas.?

can she be kicked out of UK without the baby?

(only married in Thailand not uk )

thanks for any advice

[steve187]

Your wife will have to return to Thailand and apply for a settlement visa, ( if thats the route you wanted to take ) there is no way of circumventing this, otherwise everyone will do it, she will have to satisfy all settlement requirements, £18,600 ( no financial requirements for child) English test etc.

with a legal marriage in Thailand you are married everywhere

[7by7]

As said, if you legally married in Thailand, i.e. registered the marriage at an ampur, then you are also legally married in the UK.

However, if you only had the ceremonial marriage as that is not a legal marriage in Thailand it is also not a legal marriage in the UK.

If you did register your marriage at an ampur then when she returns to Thailand she can apply for UK settlement as your spouse.

If you did not register the marriage at an ampur and she wants to apply for UK settlement as your spouse you will have to marry; either in the UK or Thailand. Note that she cannot marry in the UK whilst here with a standard visitor visa.

Also, as said, having a British child does not alter the fact that to live with you in the UK she needs a settlement visa and all the requirements of same have to be met; including the financial requirement.

Given the dates, you and she must have known that she was pregnant when she applied for her visa and from what you have said, it appears that the intention has always been to give birth in the UK.

I trust that she mentioned the pregnancy and intention to give birth whilst in the UK in her visit visa application. If not, then she could be guilty of obtaining a UK visa by deception; which could have serious consequences in any future UK visa application, including settlement.

As a visitor to the UK she is not entitled to any NHS care except initial treatment in an A&E department and a few other emergency scenarios.

Obviously no NHS hospital will turn a woman in labour away. But she will be charged for any non emergency treatment she receives, at a rate of 150% of the cost. Although she will be able to leave the UK without paying, any future UK visa application will be refused until and unless this bill is paid.

[BEDBANDIT]

Yes we registered the marriage at the local ampher , and yes we knew she was pregnant when we submitted the visa application . IF there was a question on the form that asked anything like " do you plan to give birth in the uk " i would of ticked the box, ...i really didt know what to do, so i said nothing

i always knew i would have to pay for NHS treatment, but i decided its a small price to pay to have my child born in the UK,

[7by7]

When starting the application form one of the options given when asked for the reason for the visit is 'private medical treatment' which travelling to the UK to give birth would obviously come under.

I assume you chose 'tourist' or 'visit family' instead.

Of course, had you chosen the correct option you, or rather your wife, would have had to provide the relevent extra documents listed under "Private Medical Treatment (6 and 11 month visa)" in the supporting documents guide.

Also, the form askes for any other relevant information in the additional information box, and your wife will have signed a declaration to say that the information she has given is true and complete.

As the intention all along was to give birth in the UK and as she did not mention this at all in her application she is guilty of making a false declaration.

As said, this could have serious consequences in any future UK visa application; even a settlement one.

It would be very easy for an ECO to conclude that the purpose of this visit was to enter the UK and give birth, preferably for free in an NHS hospital, and then attempt to use the child as an excuse to by pass the settlement rules. This would bring her under Para 320(11)(iv) of the immigration rules. although there do need to be other aggravating circumstances in addition to the deception. Attempting to obtain NHS treatment to which she is not entitled may very well be deemed such an agravationg circumstance.

My advice is to arrange private care for the duration of her pregnancy and the birth; making no attempt to seek NHS treatment for her, even if you do intend to pay for it if asked to do so.

Then, when she has returned to Thailand and makes her settlement application explain that you made a mistake when applying for her visit visa and now know that she should have mentioned her pregnancy and intention to give birth in the UK.

Of course, the ECO may wonder, as do I, that as you say the intention is for you all to live in the UK anyway, why she didn't apply for a settlement visa in the first place!

[bobrussell]

Your wife will still be expected to leave before her visa is due to expire. She will not be entitled to remain just on the grounds of having a British child unless there are medical or similar factors that delay her ability to travel.

The alternative is to apply for discretionary leave which I suspect would be very promptly rejected. If granted, this would act as a major precedent that others are likely to follow. The UK government is not enthusiastic about precedents so you could well end up with a very expensive and probably unsuccessful, journey through the appeals system.

Alternatives would be to travel back to Thailand, apply for settlement and come back in good time for the birth or arranging for the birth in one of the very good Thai hospitals with five star standards. Elsewhere on this forum someone quoted around 80000THB in a good hospital!

Officially it should not be possible to register with a GP on a visit visa so how are you planning pre-natal care?

Sorry to sound so negative but there are rules for a reason and the system has evolved to prevent misuse of the NHS. If rules are followed, you face paying 150% of the rate!

"

People living outside the EEA

People who live outside the EEA, including former UK residents, should now make sure they are covered by personal health insurance, unless an exemption applies to them. Anyone who does not have insurance will be charged at 150% of the NHS national tariff for any care they receive. "

Guide figures:

Maternity care is divided into antenatal care, birth and postnatal care; approximate charges for these services (based on 150% of the National Tariff) are:

• Antenatal care £1590-£4233,
• Birth £2244-£3282 (plus additional payments if you need a long stay in hospital),
• Postnatal care £355.50-£1207.50

Edited June 1, 2016 by bobrussell

[lloydie]

My wife got pregnant while in the UK on a visit visa, we applied for her to stay in UK (altho we knew it would be refused) but I wanted our baby born there.

We knew she would have to return to Thailand to apply for settlement visa which has just been issued and we will to UK this month as a family.

Btw NHS charges were £4200 but that also incuded a C Sec birth