# Pregnant Portuguese national moving to the UK



## Nalwoir (Mar 27, 2012)

Hello, 

I am a British national who has been residing in South Korea for a year on a 1 year working contract. While here, I have married an American woman who is now pregnant. Her father was Portuguese so we have recently applied for her Portuguese passport so that she is free to enter and remain in the UK without restriction (rather than fulfill the rather weighty spouse visa requirements). 

My questions is, when we return to the UK in August, she will be heavily pregnant. I understand that the NHS will have to assess her case and review whether she intends to remain in the UK as an ordinary resident to be eligible for free healthcare. However, would she have any difficulty entering the country on her Portuguese passport? Would her pregnancy be considered a pre existing condition or be grounds to refuse her admission?

In short, as an American with a Portuguese passport and pregnant, is it possible that she will have difficulties being admitted to the country to give birth? 

Thank you for your help. 

Nalwoir.


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

Nalwoir said:


> Hello,
> 
> I am a British national who has been residing in South Korea for a year on a 1 year working contract. While here, I have married an American woman who is now pregnant. Her father was Portuguese so we have recently applied for her Portuguese passport so that she is free to enter and remain in the UK without restriction (rather than fulfill the rather weighty spouse visa requirements).
> 
> ...


There should be no problem entering UK on her Portuguese passport - she has EU treaty rights to be in UK. 
Just watch out for airline restriction on flying when pregnant. Each airline has its own requirement, about how far advanced in pregnancy they will agree to carry a passenger, and whether medical report/letter is necessary.

As for accessing NHS pre-natal, birth and post-natal care (up to 15 weeks), the rules are complicated. For an EEA national, it depends on your intention (have you come specifically to give birth?), residence (are you intending to stay more than 6 months?) and whether you hold EHIC (European Health Insurance Card) or another proof of having paid contributions in another EEA country. 
See http://www.maternityaction.org.uk/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/entitlementtonhscareinfo.pdf. So you should make an enquiry with the hospital where she hopes to give birth.

I'd imagine most will only agree to cover for emergencies, just the bare minimum care not to put your heath in danger, but you will probably have to pay for any non-essential and ongoing treatment and care. Does she have an international medical insurance covering maternity?


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## Nalwoir (Mar 27, 2012)

Thank you Joppa, your replies are always swift and informative.

Ok, so I have read through that, and it seems to imply the two things stopping admission would be proving settled status and ordinarily residency.

Ordinarily resident is defined as "Individuals who are considered to be 
‘ordinarily resident’ in the UK are entitled to 
free NHS care. To be ‘ordinarily resident’, 
you must be living lawfully in the UK and be 
‘settled’ in the UK. 
You are considered to be living lawfully in 
the UK if you have permission from the UK 
Government to live here. For example, you 
have a UK or EU passport, "

So holding the EU passport should tick that box. Secondarily, proving settled status would be the next step. 

To do so, one must "have been living here lawfully for six 
months or more and plan to stay longer. 
You may be considered to be ‘settled’ in the 
UK if you have lived here for less than six 
months but can show that you are intending 
to stay for longer than 6 months. For 
example, you have taken a job here, your 
children have started school here, or you 
have taken out a lease on your 
accommodation. "

This could be slightly trickier, as we intend to initially move to the UK, take up residence with family (we have a large house) and then I will look for work while she takes care of the baby. I could take out a lease on accommodation with our savings, and then we could use that to show we intend on remaining in the UK, but optimally I would prefer to wait a few months, as then I would be taking out the lease once I have secured work...

She does not have an EEA insurance card, but I thought this was only required if you plan on staying in the UK for less than 6 months. As we intend on staying for life, shouldn't we be able to obtain cover as an intending settled resident?

I also remember reading that as my spouse, she is entitled to free medical care as long as she has the right to remain in the UK... As she is my spouse, and is coming to take up residence with me, shouldn't she be entitled under this provision?

I am just wondering how we might be able to prove that we intend to remain in the country , as she will not be settled in advance...


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

The thing is, while the Dept of Health lays down rules, it's the individual hospital (NHS Hospital Trust) that admisters them and rule on individual cases. It's possible that different hospitals may reach different conclusions. So I suggest you contact the hospital where you hope the birth will take place, give your background and ask for a ruling. This will avoid possible problems later.
I must say that with a great squeeze on public finance, hospitals are likely to be more restrictive and interpret the rules exactly.


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## Nalwoir (Mar 27, 2012)

Thank you so much Joppa. I have drafted an email to the hospital local to where I come from in the UK with some questions regarding my problem. If anyone else reads this thread and has any suggestions, please feel free to comment.


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