Coming to UK to give birth then going back to US?

Hi!
I am considering coming to England (I'm a UK citizen) to give birth. My hubby (US citizen) and I plan to move to England in the next few years and we'd like our child to be born there. Why? I really like the idea of the mother-centered birth experience plus the sentiment of having my child being born in England.
I would take an extended vacation, stay with family over there, give birth, then return to the US.
Is this a silly idea? Will the midwives/GPs/NHS flip out? I know people go to England to give birth so that their child is a UK citizen but mine would be anyway (by ancestry).
How would I go about getting prenatal care in my last trimester there? Register for a hospital? Get through immigration (I travel on my UK passport)?
Thanks
Belinda

As a UK national, you are entitled to give birth here under NHS treatment.  No one will 'flip out' for that. 

Why don't you talk to your family about getting registered w/their nearest surgery?  That would be a good place to start.  Your local surgery will usually have community midwives attached to it who will treat you during pregnancy and birth. 

Where you give birth - which hospital - depends on your location.  In mine, Edinburgh, for example, there is only hospital w/i the city limits in which to give birth:  Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.  But you can also opt to go to a nearby town, Livingston, and give birth there. 

As a UK passport holder, you have no immigration issues.  You simply enter the UK on your UK passport.

As your child will be born in Britain to a British mother, he/she will also be a UK national.  Being born on UK soil does NOT guarantee a person UK nationality.  Your child will derive his/her nationality from having a British mother.

Before returning to the US, you will need to get him/her a UK passport, as a British person must enter and leave the UK on their British passport. 

I know people go to England to give birth so that their child is a UK citizen but mine would be anyway (by ancestry).

This is not true anymore, a child born in the UK is not automatically a UK citizen by birth.  It is based on the nationality of the parents.  Though this point would be moot in your case as you are a UK citizen.

bvamin

What if one parent is a UK national and one parent is a US national? 

What if one parent is a UK national and one parent is a US national? 

Then the child would be a dual UK/US citizen.  The US national parent would need to register the birth with the American Embassy in London.

bvamin

What if one parent is a UK national and one parent is a US national? 

That depends.  If the UK national is the father, and the mother does not have ILR to remain in the UK, the parents must be married in order for the child to claim UK nationality.  If the UK national is the mother, the baby can claim UK nationality once born in the UK regardless of the parents' marital status.  


I did not have ILR when our daughter was born here.  She got a British passport through her father's nationality.

Then the child would be a dual UK/US citizen.  The US national parent would need to register the birth with the American Embassy in London.

bvamin

Not necessarily, unfortunately.

A child born abroad to an American mother is eligible for US citizenship if the mother has lived in the US for a total of 5 years, some of which must have been when she was about the age of 14.  If born abroad to an American father the same rule applies, but there are rules regarding his marital status to the mother which must be met for the child to be eligible for US citizenship. 

Anyone know whether or not a child born in the US to a UK mother and Indian father is automatically a US citizen?

Anyone know whether or not a child born in the US to a UK mother and Indian father is automatically a US citizen?

Yes.  US citizenship is automatic if a child is born in the US regardless of its parents' nationality. 

Not necessarily, unfortunately.

A child born abroad to an American mother is eligible for US citizenship if the mother has lived in the US for a total of 5 years, some of which must have been when she was about the age of 14.  If born abroad to an American father the same rule applies, but there are rules regarding his marital status to the mother which must be met for the child to be eligible for US citizenship. 

I see, didn't know that.

bvamin

I see, didn't know that.

bvamin

I read about it in the info pack the US Consulate sent to me when our daughter was born.  It tells you about the requirements and includes forms to the child to get a birth certificate, passport and social security card.  When Aillidh was born, you didn't use to have to bring the baby into the Consulate/Embassy to register his/her birth.  You just made an appointment and came on in w/the appropriate documents, photos, etc.  Now, however, you must bring the child to the application. 

Wow! I've learned so much! Thanks everyone!
I guess the citizenship issue is complicated since hubby and I are different nationalities. If my child is a UK citizen, does he/she get to reside in the US since I'm a resident alien here and hubby's American?

I'm relieved to hear that NHS won't kick up a fuss about me using their services...although I'm still considering a private birth center. I thought about registering with the local surgery when I visited my grandmother this past June but didn't know how to go about it, and wasn't sure if that was the way to go. Wouldn't I need a UK address?

My nan and my cousin live in rural Oxfordshire (near Witney) and their local hospital was quite nice. The staff were just lovely (Nan broke her pelvis so I went over to help keep her spirits up while she was in hospital).

Any ideas on how long it would take to get the baby a passport? There's a limit to how long my family will put up with living with a newborn!
 
Thanks again,
Belinda

Here's the hitch - as your daughter's father is a US citizen and she has a right to a US passport, she will NEED to have one in order for you to bring her back to the US after she is born.  Which means staying here in the UK long enough to get one, which as Expat already explained a bit, involves taking the child in person to the American Embassy.

She HAS to enter the US on a US passport if she is entitled to one.  It's the law.

Here's the hitch - as your daughter's father is a US citizen and she has a right to a US passport, she will NEED to have one in order for you to bring her back to the US after she is born.  Which means staying here in the UK long enough to get one, which as Expat already explained a bit, involves taking the child in person to the American Embassy.

She HAS to enter the US on a US passport if she is entitled to one.  It's the law.

And, as US passports have to be created in the US, after taking the child in person to the Embassy - by appointment only so they will give you a time and date - you get to sit back and wait.  I believe it can be expedited, but as it is not an emergency it won't be a matter of days but weeks. 

Also, airlines may have restrictions on how old a baby needs to be before it can fly.  Something about their tiny ears. 

So the child will need a British passport to exit the UK, and a US one to enter the US.  You'll need time to get both of these processed as well as complying with any restrictions the airline has about the infant flying.  You will also need to have your photo for the baby's passport in addition to the baby's, and it will need to be countersigned by someone who's known you for 2+ years and is qualified to countersign. 

Talk to the midwife as well.  Giving birth can make a woman more prone to clots for several weeks after, and clots and long-distance flights aren't a good mix.

I'm pretty sure babies can't fly for at least six weeks after they are born, and some pediatricians recommend not flying for three months.  As expat said, their little ears aren't done forming when they're born and the pressure in the plane can cause the eardrum to rupture.  Not a nice thing at all!!