Visa Denial Question

Thank you, ksand24.

My entire pregnancy and birth was covered by the NHS, no outstanding medical bills. My reference to medical insurance was what I previously had in the US. My situation is/was a bit unusual. Everything was truthfully told on the visa application and the Health Surcharge was paid. If they want more money we will pay it but as of now there are no outstanding bills from the NHS. Since I will be an immigrant in England, if I ever get back there, I’ll have to graciously accept the double payment to the NHS.  They deserve it since I’ve already used it!

Thank you, ksand24.

My entire pregnancy and birth was covered by the NHS, no outstanding medical bills. My reference to medical insurance was what I previously had in the US. My situation is/was a bit unusual. Everything was truthfully told on the visa application and the Health Surcharge was paid. If they want more money we will pay it but as of now there are no outstanding bills from the NHS. Since I will be an immigrant in England, if I ever get back there, I’ll have to graciously accept the double payment to the NHS.  They deserve it since I’ve already used it!

Okay, so if you were in the UK as a visitor, you were NOT covered to give birth on the NHS, and you should have made sure they gave you a bill for the birth, and that you paid it.

Even if the hospital told you you didn't have to pay, it's your responsibility to make them bill you and to pay the balance.

How long ago did you give birth?

Under current rules (in place for the last year or two), if you have travel/health insurance in the UK, you pay 100% of the full price of the treatment and if you do not have travel/health insurance, you will be charged 150% of the treatment price.

See: https://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/AboutNHSservices/uk-visitors/visiting-england/Pages/visitors-from-outside-the-eea.aspx

If you declared that you gave birth in the UK as a visitor and you didn't provide receipts to show you paid for that birth, unfortunately, your visa will be refused (because giving birth in the UK costs a lot more than £500)

I used the NHS to see my GP on a few occasions when I was living in the U.K. on my student and then spousal visas. I paid for all of my prescriptions and disclosed this on my application. I never had any procedures done. Just the odd winter colds, stomach bugs, and such that required a prescription which we paid.

Should I be concerned?

I used the NHS to see my GP on a few occasions when I was living in the U.K. on my student and then spousal visas. I paid for all of my prescriptions and disclosed this on my application. I never had any procedures done. Just the odd winter colds, stomach bugs, and such that required a prescription which we paid.

Should I be concerned?

No, because student and spousal visas allow full, free use of the NHS, and so you didn't need to pay for NHS treatment anyway (other than the normal NHS prescription fees).

The issue with NHS debt is when someone has received NHS treatment while in the UK on a visa that does not allow free NHS treatment (visitor visa, fiance visa, another visa valid less than 6 months), and they did not pay for their treatment.

No, because student and spousal visas allow full, free use of the NHS, and so you didn't need to pay for NHS treatment anyway (other than the normal NHS prescription fees).

The issue with NHS debt is when someone has received NHS treatment while in the UK on a visa that does not allow free NHS treatment (visitor visa, fiance visa, another visa valid less than 6 months), and they did not pay for their treatment.

Thanks for explaining ksand. So did I not need to disclose this on my application? Wanting to be completely truthful,  I did explain it similar to how I outlined above, but I did say I didn’t pay for the visits (only meds) because I was on my previous visas.

Thanks for explaining ksand. So did I not need to disclose this on my application? Wanting to be completely truthful,  I did explain it similar to how I outlined above, but I did say I didn’t pay for the visits (only meds) because I was on my previous visas.

No, you did need to disclose it... otherwise you would be lying, because you did receive NHS treatment.

You don't need to give big explanations though, you just state that you saw your GP a few times and received a couple of prescriptions while you were living in the UK on your Tier 4/spousal visa(s).

Okay, so if you were in the UK as a visitor, you were NOT covered to give birth on the NHS, and you should have made sure they gave you a bill for the birth, and that you paid it.

Even if the hospital told you you didn't have to pay, it's your responsibility to make them bill you and to pay the balance.

How long ago did you give birth?

Under current rules (in place for the last year or two), if you have travel/health insurance in the UK, you pay 100% of the full price of the treatment and if you do not have travel/health insurance, you will be charged 150% of the treatment price.

See: https://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/AboutNHSservices/uk-visitors/visiting-england/Pages/visitors-from-outside-the-eea.aspx

If you declared that you gave birth in the UK as a visitor and you didn't provide receipts to show you paid for that birth, unfortunately, your visa will be refused (because giving birth in the UK costs a lot more than £500)

My situation is a bit unusual and so far has fallen into a gray area. There has never been a bill. And yes, it costs more than £500 to give birth in England. I can’t pay what hasn’t been billed. That’s the problem with the current system. Visitors can come in and receive healthcare and that’s part of the reason the NHS is underfunded.  I could not safely fly back to the US to give birth. According to every doctor I’ve spoken to the birth was being covered by the NHS to their knowledge. If my applying for a spousal visa triggers them to bill me so be it. We will some how pay. It may be in the rules but it’s not enforced. I’m paying my health surcharge fees and my husband has been paying into the NHS his entire working life. The birth of our daughter to our knowledge was covered by the NHS. Should it have been? If I just went to England to give birth and leave? Absolutely not. It’s a grey area and so far we’ve done everything we have been told to do.

My situation is a bit unusual and so far has fallen into a gray area. There has never been a bill. And yes, it costs more than £500 to give birth in England. I can’t pay what hasn’t been billed. That’s the problem with the current system. Visitors can come in and receive healthcare and that’s part of the reason the NHS is underfunded.  I could not safely fly back to the US to give birth. According to every doctor I’ve spoken to the birth was being covered by the NHS to their knowledge. If my applying for a spousal visa triggers them to bill me so be it. We will some how pay. It may be in the rules but it’s not enforced. I’m paying my health surcharge fees and my husband has been paying into the NHS his entire working life. The birth of our daughter to our knowledge was covered by the NHS. Should it have been? If I just went to England to give birth and leave? Absolutely not. It’s a grey area and so far we’ve done everything we have been told to do.

I'm so sorry. No one is saying it's your fault but it is not a grey area. It's poorly managed, absolutely but the rules are clear. 

Everyone thinks their situation is special, but it's really not . There have been people in the past who have had children in the UK whilst on visitor visas and they have ended up with refused visas and lots of headaches. Because the NHS is free at the point of service, they are not set up to bill people. The burden is on you to be aware of the requirements of your situation and pursue them to send you a bill. Basically, they gave you the care because they'd hardly refuse a pregnant woman, but you weren't entitled to that care for free. Best to be proactive on this, don't wait to be refused. That would be much, much harder to deal with than just making sure your ducks are in a row before you begin.

I'm so sorry. No one is saying it's your fault but it is not a grey area. It's poorly managed, absolutely but the rules are clear. 

The rules are clear but they aren’t implemented. That’s my point. I’ve been truthful throughout the entire process but cannot pay something that does not exist. The rules aren’t gray but my personal situation is a bit different than the majority of people on here. I appreciate the advice. I just don’t know how else we could have done things. If the visa is denied due to the use of the NHS we will cross that bridge. I’m just not sure how we could have handled it differently. Even the attorneys I spoke to had no alternative answers.

Everyone thinks their situation is special, but it's really not . There have been people in the past who have had children in the UK whilst on visitor visas and they have ended up with refused visas and lots of headaches. Because the NHS is free at the point of service, they are not set up to bill people. The burden is on you to be aware of the requirements of your situation and pursue them to send you a bill. Basically, they gave you the care because they'd hardly refuse a pregnant woman, but you weren't entitled to that care for free. Best to be proactive on this, don't wait to be refused. That would be much, much harder to deal with than just making sure your ducks are in a row before you begin.

This is extremely distressing. Thanks for the response. I’m sure what to do at this point....

The rules are clear but they aren’t implemented. That’s my point. I’ve been truthful throughout the entire process but cannot pay something that does not exist. The rules aren’t gray but my personal situation is a bit different than the majority of people on here. I appreciate the advice. I just don’t know how else we could have done things. If the visa is denied due to the use of the NHS we will cross that bridge. I’m just not sure how we could have handled it differently. Even the attorneys I spoke to had no alternative answers.

Unfortunately the onus is on the consumer to insist on a bill. I'm not saying it's right but we have many members who had to work really hard to get various NHS bills produced so that the services they had received could be paid for.

This is extremely distressing. Thanks for the response. I’m sure what to do at this point....

I'd start by contacting the NHS trust which provided the services.

You said you had planned to do a fiance visa but then got pregnant. Does that mean you were in the UK for the whole 9 months of your pregnancy?

Start by contacting the hospital where you gave birth. Write them a letter explaining your situation and stressing that it is extremely important that they send you a bill. Emphasise that your future in the UK could be jeopardised if they don't. Chase them up. They need to provide you with SOMETHING that you can submit to UKVI.

Unfortunately the onus is on the consumer to insist on a bill. I'm not saying it's right but we have many members who had to work really hard to get various NHS bills produced and paid for.

What should I do? I’m so upset with this system. I take it I’ll be denied? Should I hire an immigration attorney?