Can a visitor give birth in the UK?
Jul 21, 2015, 8:09 am
#31
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The only children born in the UK who are UK citizens at birth are those born to (a) a Settled person (someone with ILR, someone with Right of Abode, or a citizen of the Irish Republic who is by definition automatically Settled) or (b) a UK citizen. That's it. Nobody else is ever a UK citizen at birth.
Jul 21, 2015, 8:11 am
#32
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What happens, in the unfortunate circumstance, that something goes wrong during the birth and the newborn, mother or both end up in intensive care? It's all well and good to say "Google said it will cost me 5000 pounds to give birth in an NHS hospital" but any complications could double or triple that amount.
Jul 21, 2015, 8:24 am
#33
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Unrestricted? None. Germany, France and the UK have variations of it, the rest of EU doesn't.
So that doesn't appear to be the reason and maybe someone should actually try and answer her question?
A delivery in Sweden could easily run you 10,000GBP for one child. The delivery in itself is pretty decently priced but the care afterwards can be expensive if they need anything since there is a lot of manpower involved.
So that doesn't appear to be the reason and maybe someone should actually try and answer her question?
A delivery in Sweden could easily run you 10,000GBP for one child. The delivery in itself is pretty decently priced but the care afterwards can be expensive if they need anything since there is a lot of manpower involved.
The children of the stateless born in Sweden have a claim to Swedish citizenship via notification at birth when they are Swedish permanent residents (even via birth) and the parents permanently residing in Sweden can't be reasonably expected to make and achieve a successful claim for citizenship of the child in another country.
Jul 21, 2015, 9:11 am
#34
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I saw a lot of Chinese going to the US to give birth to gain US citizenship for their babies. There are tours you can join and the tours help you with all the things you need. This is very organised and those people who arrange it have experience.
I considered doing this when I was giving birth - I wanted to go back to Hong Kong to give birth in order to get my kids PR status (I'm from there and if they were born there then they can get Hong Kong PR).
I talked to Mr. and we decided not to because:
1. Travelling to somewhere far at the last trimester is not nice IMO, it's hard and there could be complication because you don't know when the baby is coming;
2. You need someone to be there for you - you can't do this on your own. Even with family help we chose not to do that.
3. Possible pre/post-natal issues - what if your babies need to be in the oxygen box for a long period of time - in your case, you will have to find somewhere to stay and the UK is not a cheap place to live. My first one was born yellow and she needed to be under the light for 5 days.
4. Paper work - that will take you sometime to sort out before being able to take the babies back home.
I don't believe you can't find a hospital that is catered for expats. Turkey is not the worst place on earth. You may want to ask in the Turkey forum to see if there are any FTer there that could help you.
Good luck!
I considered doing this when I was giving birth - I wanted to go back to Hong Kong to give birth in order to get my kids PR status (I'm from there and if they were born there then they can get Hong Kong PR).
I talked to Mr. and we decided not to because:
1. Travelling to somewhere far at the last trimester is not nice IMO, it's hard and there could be complication because you don't know when the baby is coming;
2. You need someone to be there for you - you can't do this on your own. Even with family help we chose not to do that.
3. Possible pre/post-natal issues - what if your babies need to be in the oxygen box for a long period of time - in your case, you will have to find somewhere to stay and the UK is not a cheap place to live. My first one was born yellow and she needed to be under the light for 5 days.
4. Paper work - that will take you sometime to sort out before being able to take the babies back home.
I don't believe you can't find a hospital that is catered for expats. Turkey is not the worst place on earth. You may want to ask in the Turkey forum to see if there are any FTer there that could help you.
Good luck!
Jul 21, 2015, 1:36 pm
#35
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Our insurance provided a list of places that would cater to us with partial cover. Thanks for all your responses.
Our embassy in the UK will also assist with processing citizenship and passports.
Our embassy in the UK will also assist with processing citizenship and passports.
Last edited by Rea; Jul 21, 2015 at 1:43 pm
Jul 21, 2015, 2:05 pm
#36
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Bingo.
Jul 21, 2015, 4:56 pm
#37
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You know, this thread got me thinking.
Since the OP is gonna be flying halfway around the world anyway, why not go give birth in a country with 'free citizenship' e.g. US or canada?
2 for the price of 1, so to speak.
OR, if a free extra citizenship is of no concern, why not pick a cheaper country to give birth than the UK? e.g. india, nepal, thailand. As I mentioned before, these countries have specialised surrogacy clinics for foreigners. I am sure there are clinics for births as well.
Since the OP is gonna be flying halfway around the world anyway, why not go give birth in a country with 'free citizenship' e.g. US or canada?
2 for the price of 1, so to speak.
OR, if a free extra citizenship is of no concern, why not pick a cheaper country to give birth than the UK? e.g. india, nepal, thailand. As I mentioned before, these countries have specialised surrogacy clinics for foreigners. I am sure there are clinics for births as well.
Jul 21, 2015, 5:25 pm
#38
Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 2,443
No EU countries now confer citizenship solely on the basis of birth in the territory, and many never did. The only "western"-style countries that I know of that do now are the USA and Canada. Australia, New Zealand, and the UK, Ireland and the other EU countries do not. In some cases at least one parent must be a citizen or a permanent resident; in other countries a permanent resident parent is not enough. Ajax has outlined above the situation in the UK.
Jul 21, 2015, 9:43 pm
#39
Join Date: Jul 2011
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One thing to be aware of is the amount of paperwork and waiting involved in getting a passport for the newborn(s), so as to be able to take them home
A few years ago, a friend of mine's husband was over in Switzerland around the time of the birth of their first child. They had a chat with the hospital near where he was living, and with the one where she lived in the UK, and decided on Switzerland. After filling out some forms, her local NHS trust agreed to cover the costs of her giving birth in Switzerland, and she flew out to Zurich (burning nearly the last of her BMI points in BA!) about 2 months in advance of the birth. She'd been expecting to be able to return to the UK fairly soon after, to see family, but the process of getting a British passport for a baby born to 1+ British parents in Switzerland took nearly two months! Luckily avios redemptions are refundable until 24 hours before travel, so they weren't out any money, but they ended up spending a lot more time in Switzerland without their families than they're originally envisaged...
A few years ago, a friend of mine's husband was over in Switzerland around the time of the birth of their first child. They had a chat with the hospital near where he was living, and with the one where she lived in the UK, and decided on Switzerland. After filling out some forms, her local NHS trust agreed to cover the costs of her giving birth in Switzerland, and she flew out to Zurich (burning nearly the last of her BMI points in BA!) about 2 months in advance of the birth. She'd been expecting to be able to return to the UK fairly soon after, to see family, but the process of getting a British passport for a baby born to 1+ British parents in Switzerland took nearly two months! Luckily avios redemptions are refundable until 24 hours before travel, so they weren't out any money, but they ended up spending a lot more time in Switzerland without their families than they're originally envisaged...
Jul 22, 2015, 4:59 am
#40
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2015
Posts: 18
One thing to be aware of is the amount of paperwork and waiting involved in getting a passport for the newborn(s), so as to be able to take them home
A few years ago, a friend of mine's husband was over in Switzerland around the time of the birth of their first child. They had a chat with the hospital near where he was living, and with the one where she lived in the UK, and decided on Switzerland. After filling out some forms, her local NHS trust agreed to cover the costs of her giving birth in Switzerland, and she flew out to Zurich (burning nearly the last of her BMI points in BA!) about 2 months in advance of the birth. She'd been expecting to be able to return to the UK fairly soon after, to see family, but the process of getting a British passport for a baby born to 1+ British parents in Switzerland took nearly two months! Luckily avios redemptions are refundable until 24 hours before travel, so they weren't out any money, but they ended up spending a lot more time in Switzerland without their families than they're originally envisaged...
A few years ago, a friend of mine's husband was over in Switzerland around the time of the birth of their first child. They had a chat with the hospital near where he was living, and with the one where she lived in the UK, and decided on Switzerland. After filling out some forms, her local NHS trust agreed to cover the costs of her giving birth in Switzerland, and she flew out to Zurich (burning nearly the last of her BMI points in BA!) about 2 months in advance of the birth. She'd been expecting to be able to return to the UK fairly soon after, to see family, but the process of getting a British passport for a baby born to 1+ British parents in Switzerland took nearly two months! Luckily avios redemptions are refundable until 24 hours before travel, so they weren't out any money, but they ended up spending a lot more time in Switzerland without their families than they're originally envisaged...
Jul 22, 2015, 10:07 am
#41
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No EU countries now confer citizenship solely on the basis of birth in the territory, and many never did. The only "western"-style countries that I know of that do now are the USA and Canada. Australia, New Zealand, and the UK, Ireland and the other EU countries do not. In some cases at least one parent must be a citizen or a permanent resident; in other countries a permanent resident parent is not enough. Ajax has outlined above the situation in the UK.
"Foundlings" of sorts and others covered by Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness may have EU/EU national citizenship regardless of parental citizenship and/or residency status. The UK has signed and ratified this Convention, and abiding to Article 1 of the Convention is a UK legal obligation -- whether or not a governmental party to civilized rule of law wants to behave in an illegal manner or not.
Jul 22, 2015, 10:32 am
#42
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That seems a little harsh to me. Wouldn't it be fairer to collect billing details from them, give them a bill when they're leaving, and only contact embassies etc if they haven't paid after some time? Writing straight to an embassy before you've even offered them a chance to pay doesn't seem very fair to me...
Mothers who've given birth and are probably leaving the country shortly I would have thought were high risk of not paying. They should be paying before they leave the hospital. My garage expects me to pay for my car service before I leave the showroom.
Jul 22, 2015, 11:10 am
#43
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We're not looking for new citizenship for our little ones. This is just a case of medical tourism. If the mods permit I can post all the reccomendations we got from our insurance. @:-)
Jul 22, 2015, 11:29 am
#44
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Don't take it personally - these are issues that are very sensitive in the UK at the moment being stirred up by certain pressure groups / political parties and newspapers...not nice. If you believe what you read you'd think everyone visiting this country intends to stay here, live on welfare, rob you, beg on your doorstep, take your job
Jul 22, 2015, 1:00 pm
#45
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Coming back to this
You will have a number of issues including
1. Any airline worth it's salt won't fly a heavily pregnant woman except in the most extreme circumstances. BA for example won't fly you if you are only expecting one baby after 36 weeks or after 32 weeks if it's twins. They require medical clearance for flying after 28 weeks. As you are expecting twins the 32 week limit applies.
Similarly on Turkish Airlines the latest they will fly you expecting twins is within 31 weeks.
2. This means you will be in the UK for at least 2 months and closer to 3 before you give birth. Have you given consideration about where you will stay for that period? Would your insurance cover those living costs? A hotel would be pretty expensive and TBH probably not all that comfortable for that length of time. Plus then you will have time post birth. It appears from a google search that most airlines won't fly a new born within 2 weeks of birth and longer if the baby was premature (they would count that 2 weeks from the due not actual delivery date) and 6 if via a caesarian (which would also be an issue for your fitness to fly should you be unfortunate enough to need one)
3. Please don't use the term 'medical tourism'. Whilst the UK has a thriving and profitable private medical sector (including some NHS hospitals who offer private care - and I used to work for one which had and still does have significant income from overseas private patients) the term medical tourism is essentially used for people who come to the UK for treatment and then go back home without paying for it. I now see this if not what you intend. Even if you give birth in an NHS hospital they are likely to charge you the private and not the NHS rate.
You will have a number of issues including
1. Any airline worth it's salt won't fly a heavily pregnant woman except in the most extreme circumstances. BA for example won't fly you if you are only expecting one baby after 36 weeks or after 32 weeks if it's twins. They require medical clearance for flying after 28 weeks. As you are expecting twins the 32 week limit applies.
Similarly on Turkish Airlines the latest they will fly you expecting twins is within 31 weeks.
2. This means you will be in the UK for at least 2 months and closer to 3 before you give birth. Have you given consideration about where you will stay for that period? Would your insurance cover those living costs? A hotel would be pretty expensive and TBH probably not all that comfortable for that length of time. Plus then you will have time post birth. It appears from a google search that most airlines won't fly a new born within 2 weeks of birth and longer if the baby was premature (they would count that 2 weeks from the due not actual delivery date) and 6 if via a caesarian (which would also be an issue for your fitness to fly should you be unfortunate enough to need one)
3. Please don't use the term 'medical tourism'. Whilst the UK has a thriving and profitable private medical sector (including some NHS hospitals who offer private care - and I used to work for one which had and still does have significant income from overseas private patients) the term medical tourism is essentially used for people who come to the UK for treatment and then go back home without paying for it. I now see this if not what you intend. Even if you give birth in an NHS hospital they are likely to charge you the private and not the NHS rate.