# Moving with Pregnant Wife



## ashwinbittu (Oct 6, 2012)

Hi Guys,

My Wife and I are working in Singapore now, we both have Australian PR to work in Melbourne.

My wife and I did our first entry in the beginning of this month (Sep 2013) and both of our PRs are active now.

Yesterday only I found out that my wife is pregnant and our plan was always to deliver the baby in Melbourne. 

Now I am worried on how to plan this, when we were in Melbourne we didn't register with Health Services or Medicare. also I don't have a job in Melbourne, I work in Singapore. We want to have the child delivered in Melbourne but I am so confused on how to plan this as I might have to plan when to go there may be after 3-4 months, then I also have to arrange a Hospital and also have to find a flat/house nearby the Hospital. If I am working in Singapore how would I support my wife.

Could anybody kindly help/advise me on how should I move forward, should I immediately register with Health Services or Medicare but I am not sure whether its possible as I don't have an address in Melbourne as of now.

Kindly advise on what should I do. Really appreciate your valuable suggestions here.

Thanks,

Ashwin


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## espresso (Nov 2, 2012)

Hi Ashwin, 

registering with Medicare is easy and can be done within a couple of days after arrival. They will first issue her a temporary card (just a paper skip really) and the real card will be sent to your home address - that's why you need an Australian address. Do you have friends in Melbourne who's address you could use. She still has to show up at one of the Medicare service desks in person, though. 

Getting a hospital and making arrangements is going to be more of a hassle. There are waiting lists for public hospitals as far as I remember. 

Your wife is probably not to far along in her pregnancy yet. I'm just thinking out loud here, but can't you quit your job within the next couple of months and just move to Australia as a couple? Or do you at least have close friends/family where she could stay prior to and after delivery? If you are planning to stay in Singapore for a while yet, she could also deliver there and you could apply for a child visa after the baby is born. S/he won't get citizenship straightaway that way but you could stay together as a family and move without stress when you are all ready. I'd really base it on the support network you can provide for your wife, whether in Singapore, India or Australia . 

A few threads that may help you: 
http://www.expatforum.com/expats/au...890-healthcare-cover-google-page-ranking.html
http://www.expatforum.com/expats/au...1-indian-citizenship-baby-born-australia.html
http://www.expatforum.com/expats/platypus-den/189074-questions-regarding-centrelink.html (Good thread about moving while pregnant, but got a bit heated in certain stages)

Cheers,
Monika


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## ashwinbittu (Oct 6, 2012)

Hi Monika,

Many Thanks for putting time and energy to send such a quick reply . Really appreciate the effort here.

I am not sure whether I can get a job so quickly in Melbourne, If I had a good bank balance then we would have moved without even having a job .

Unfortunately I don't have any friends or family in Melbourne to help me out also.

We just found out that she is pregnant so I am guessing that we might have at least 7 to 9 months for the actually delivery, we would know after the first appointment with the Doctor which is in October second week.

So In order to carry out this plan:

1. First I must have an address, just to even get registered to Medicare. Now as you said that there is a big waiting period for the hospital, what time would you recommend us to register with Medicare so that we can get the facilities at the correct time, I am talking about the monthly or weekly visits to Doctor as well. Should we come to Melbourne with all the reports that we may get from SG Doctors by Jan/feb/Mar 2014 that is after 3-5 months and then register with Medicare.

2. How would the Doctors be assigned to us, is it assigned by the Medicare people or we choose or some other dept chooses it, the reason I am asking this is I can try to get a flat/house near the Doctors residence or the Hospital where the Doctor is working.

Kindly let me know your suggestions and advise.

Thanks,

Ashwin


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## espresso (Nov 2, 2012)

Hi Ashwin, 

I don't have kids, so I can not give you first-hand experience. Medicare is a co-paying system. While the delivery in a public hospital shouldn't cost you anything, prenatal (ultrasound etc.) and postnatal care can cost quite a bit (depending on how much your wife wants/needs). Use the forum search function and select the "advanced" search option to search for "pregnant" and "child delivery costs" in the thread titles. You should get quite a few results. 

I posted a link to a long documents which details costs for child delivery in this post. 

By the way, Melbourne is not a cheap place to live in. You will have to rent an apartment for her and find somebody to take her to the hospital before the delivery. Since you probably don't want your pregnant wife to share accommodation with people she does not know well, the rental costs for a tiny apartment per week(!) should be at least 300AUD, plus costs for food, public transport etc. If costs are an issue I would recommend to let her have the baby in Singapore (while you are around) or in India, while staying with friends and family. Getting a child visa may take a couple of months after the birth, but then you could maybe move a couple of weeks ahead and organize everything (flat etc.) to make the transition smooth. Or you take your time and move together. But that's just my opinion, feel free to disagree . 

Cheers, 
Monika


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## ashwinbittu (Oct 6, 2012)

Hi Monika,

Thanks for the valuable suggestions.

I would like to ask another question here:

Suppose I am able to get a job or a transfer to Melbourne in next 4 to 5 months and We come there and settle in a place. 

Is there anyway to bring my wife's Mother and Brother on a long term Tourist Visa or some similar kind of Visa, because with her mother will be a good help to us during this pregnancy period as she would take care of her.

Kindly advise on the Visa part.

Thanks,

Ashwin


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## girlaussie (Nov 21, 2012)

Hi,

First of all congratulations on your wife's pregnancy.

I can answer your questions briefly, you may need more advise but this is my personal experience.

1. First I must have an address, just to even get registered to Medicare. Now as you said that there is a big waiting period for the hospital, what time would you recommend us to register with Medicare so that we can get the facilities at the correct time, I am talking about the monthly or weekly visits to Doctor as well. Should we come to Melbourne with all the reports that we may get from SG Doctors by Jan/feb/Mar 2014 that is after 3-5 months and then register with Medicare.

First after your arrival you & your wife will get register with Medicare, (Medicare will issue a card in less than a month) once registered she can visit any nearest Medical centre and choose GP of her choice-it's not free. GP will then ask for further test-test + next GP appointment will take about roughly 15 days, now GP will see all result and refer your wife to the nearest Public Hospital whichever it may be. If you wish to opt Private please check the procedure as I am not aware of it. Your wife will call that Hospital Antenatal department, they will call her back and give her an appointment, mind you this process has a long wait, I waited for about a month. Now on the day they will examine all your test, mother, if there is no complex/issue like high BP/diabetics etc they may register her for the delivery otherwise refer her to other hospital, no DOCTOR going to examine you if you are Normal Expectant Mother and only a Mid-wife will be assigned to your wife, she will available 24/7 on her mobile, Mid-wife will ask her for regular checkup as the pregnancy progress like 20, 24,28 week etc...it's all free of cost.


2. How would the Doctors be assigned to us, is it assigned by the Medicare people or we choose or some other dept chooses it, the reason I am asking this is I can try to get a flat/house near the Doctors residence or the Hospital where the Doctor is working.

In Public Hospital you can't choose Doctor/midwife of your choice, you will be assigned whoever best available, you may change only if you have some kind of problem with them like communication etc.

Ideally your wife should arrive by/before 4-5month pregnancy time, a: she will get all the examination from the beginning b: she will register baby early as there is a long waiting time.

Please note this is my personal experience here in Australia-NSW, it may differ in other states which obviously me not aware of.

Hope this info helps.

Best,

Aussie Girl



ashwinbittu said:


> Hi Monika,
> 
> Many Thanks for putting time and energy to send such a quick reply . Really appreciate the effort here.
> 
> ...


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## ashwinbittu (Oct 6, 2012)

Many Thanks Girlaussie for the valuable suggestions and advises.

I would like to ask another question here:

Is there anyway to bring my wife's Mother and Brother on a long term Tourist Visa or some similar kind of Visa, because with her mother will be a good help to us during this pregnancy period as she would take care of her.

Kindly advise on this part if possible.

Thanks,

Ashwin


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## girlaussie (Nov 21, 2012)

Sorry I don't know about any long term visa, but you can apply for tourist or family sponsored visitor visa. 

good luck!

Girl Aussie



ashwinbittu said:


> Many Thanks Girlaussie for the valuable suggestions and advises.
> 
> I would like to ask another question here:
> 
> ...


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## espresso (Nov 2, 2012)

Hi Ashwin, 

check out the information for the various Visitor visa (subclass 600) streams. They could come via the standard "Tourist Stream" for up to 3 months. Since you have PR your wife's mom may be able to stay for longer periods - read the section on _"Visitor visas for parents of Australians"_. I would suggest to collect evidence that your wife's mom has a strong incentive (underage children at home, property, job in India etc.) to return home before her visa expires. The decision if/how long she may be able to stay with her daughter is up to the case officer and decided on a case-by-case basis. You may also have to provide a bond that will be refunded if she complies with the visa conditions and leaves on time. 

All the best, 
Monika


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## ashwinbittu (Oct 6, 2012)

Thanks Monika for the valuable suggestion. I will go through them and see which one I could use.


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## ashwinbittu (Oct 6, 2012)

Hi 

Had a doubt on the following Medicare:


We reached Melbourne this month and as my wife is going to have twins we thought of seeing a private Doctor and we did see one and she referred us to Royal Women's Hospital, on the same day we applied for Medicare card itself, it was on 17th Jan 2014 (We didn't get any paper slip or receipt after Medicare Registration). In next two days, the Royal Women's Hospital called us and said that they have booked two appointments on 28th Jan 2014 for ultrasound and on 31st Jan 2014 for Doctor's Appointment. Yesterday we went there for ultrasound and we didn't have a medicare card as we applied it on 17th Jan 2014, we paid for the ultrasound and we also asked if we can claim this when we get our Medicare card but the hospital people were not sure. Today I called the Medicare support and they are saying that they don't even have a record of our medicare and there is something to do with eligibility. Both my Wife and I are Australians PRs, I am really confused now, I am really having a doubt whether I would be even getting a Medicare card. The support guy also is not sure on whether I can claim any of these bills or what is happening to my Medicare registration or when would I be getting it. I heard that while registering they issues a slip or paper which will have a card no but we didn't get any of them. Kindly advise on what should I do.

Thanks,

Ashwin


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## espresso (Nov 2, 2012)

Hi Ashwin, 

if you are a permanent resident you have access to Medicare. They should have given you a paper slip with your number after registration, though. It can take a while for the actual Medicare cards to arrive. I'd recommend to drop by at the local Medicare service center or call them to get this figured out. You should be able to lodge a claim for the appointments but I'd make sure nonetheless.

We got a confirmation slip with our number when we registered and were told that we could start using it straight-away. 

Cheers and all the best for the late stage of pregnancy - twins are going to keep you busy , 
Monika


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## ashwinbittu (Oct 6, 2012)

Thanks Monika,

I called the Medicare support no again and now they gave me the no. A doubt though can I just quote this no at the hospital desk for appointments, that is what the customer support person said, as I don't have printed slip just the no. Kindly advise.


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