Having a Baby in the UK on US Passport Alone

Hello! I'm hoping I posted this in the right area, but please let me know if I didn't.

My husband and I are planning on moving to the UK with him as a Tier 2 (Minister of Religion) and me on a Tier 2 Spouse visa. However, our Sponsor (a church in Wales) is still waiting on final approval to get their Sponsor status. We are hoping to hear back any day now, but wanted to have a backup plan in case they do not receive it in the next five weeks.

The reason? I'm pregnant, and due on December 25th. I can fly up until November 13th, but if for some reason we are unable to get our visas in time, our backup plan is to go ahead on just our US passports, with return tickets for March (a five month timeframe). This will give us time to get the sponsor status settled, so we can apply for our visas when we come back to the States in March (as well as give our families a chance to visit with the baby).

So here's my question -- from what I can tell, in order to get through immigration, I'll probably need to show 1) that a GP will treat me and what the cost will be and 2) that I have the funds to cover the costs. I'm working on getting these two things, but is there anything I'm not considering? I also am having a really hard time finding an actual average "cost" for birth (I'd like to have a homebirth and am low risk), since most people don't pay out of pocket.

FInally, since I'm already pregnant, are there any options with purchasing private health care in the UK? I know in the US you typically can't buy maternity coverage once you're already pregnant.

Any advice/info that you can give would be wonderful. I know it might seem crazy not to just stay here in the States, but we do not have maternity coverage here either, and have already moved out of our house, need to begin training (in the UK), etc. It would be much more complicated (logistically) to try and move everything with a newborn, rather than while I'm pregnant. Thanks!

I think this is a pretty risky plan.  If I were an immigration officer and was presented with a very pregnant woman and her husband who want to be let in as tourists for five months, I'd be pretty unlikely to let them in.  Think about it...in their eyes, there is a very high risk that you will not return to the US to obtain the proper visa.  You have no ties to the US - no home, no jobs, nothing! And you want to have a baby in the UK?  Your likelihood of returning home is very low.  I just don't see this as a very smart way of going about things.  Sorry not to be more encouraging.

I definitely understand that we wouldn't be able to waltz right through immigration, which is why we are trying to have as much documentation as possible to show we would be returning: return plane tickets, proof that we will pay for the birth, letter from the church saying that we are there for a certain amount of training. This is certainly not our ideal situation, but if there is anything additional we can show/give them, I would love to know what it might be. We will be returning to the US in order to get our full visas, and know that we cannot stay past 6 months without them.

You are unable to do any work, including training and volunteering, on a visitor's visa.

Unfortunately happyinlondon is right - entering as a tourist your husband would not be able to do any training so that backup plan is a no-go

I had heard mixed things on that so wasn't sure what volunteering was considered. Would it them make more sense for my husband to apply for a Business Visitor Visa (http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/visas-immigration/visiting/business/requirements/ [nofollow] ) and for me to apply for a Private Medical Visitor visa (http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/visas-immigration/visiting/medical/requirements/ [nofollow] )? I just heard from an Independent midwife who said she would be available to care for me and could provide a letter saying so. 

Unfortunately, I don't know anything about the medical visa but for the business visitor you would need to be employed in the US visiting a branch, client, etc. In the UK. It doesn't seem like that would apply from what you said.

That makes sense...it seems like there a no "volunteer" type visas other than Tier 5, which we would need our sponsor for. I'm going to keep investigating. Again--this is not our ideal choice, but it is taking forever for our sponsor to be approved and I'm just trying to see if we have any sort of alternative. Definitely feeling the pressure of that "no flying after 34 weeks" cutoff date!

Granted, this was a while ago so my info/question may be out of date.  But, tourist visa issues aside, can you begin work in a position before the visa has been issued?  I was told no, but that was in 2006.

Another thing you will need to factor in is your access to the nhs if you merely just come as a visitor--you will have to pay out of pocket to have your baby in the UK.

Granted, this was a while ago so my info/question may be out of date.  But, tourist visa issues aside, can you begin work in a position before the visa has been issued?  I was told no, but that was in 2006.

No, you can't. 

My husband and I have talked and looked into it more and decided that going on tourist visas is just too risky at this point. We're hoping by some miracle the UKBA will get their act together in the next five weeks and we'll still be able to get our visas, but if not we'll have the birth here. I appreciate the reality check from you guys -- even though we're super anxious to be over there, the risks are definitely too high.

Can't say I'm super stoked about getting a passport/visa for a one and a half month old, not to mention all the logistics of moving being much more complicated with a baby in tow, but I guess that's for another thread.

And just another small detail- you'll have to get a visa for the baby, too.

Hope things work out in your favor soon!