Originally Posted by
satchuk
Thanks a lot for the quick response.
I do understand she, as an individual, is not eligible for free care. I'm assuming that she and the baby will have free care because the baby is mine.
So from what you're saying, can it be understood that once we get back and I register/pay the NHS surcharge, then she+the baby will be eligible for free NHS?
No, that's not at all what's been said. Mate, it's time for a little reality check, and your issues go WAY beyond who's paying (and how much) for the birth:
- You're not married.
- Even if you were, the only way she's allowed into the UK is as a tourist or with the appropriate visa, which may or may not be granted.
- If she rocks up at LHR immigration with a tourist visa and looks pregnant, she may be denied entry. That a British citizen is the father is neither here nor there.
- She's not entitled to free NHS care, given that she's not "ordinarily resident" in the UK. Again, you being the father don't enter into it.
- As a British citizen, you can become "ordinarily resident" by simply returning so that you are normally residing in the UK (apart from temporary or occasional absences), and your residence there is adopted voluntarily and for settled purposes as part of the regular order of your life for the time being, whether for short or long duration (official NHS guidance). She can't do that, as she has to obtain a proper immigration visa first.
Get things sorted NOW and talk to an immigration lawyer.