ghurst

Hi there,

A friend of mine is pregant and is currently is Germany after previously being in Japan. She cannot get medical insurance in Germany because of certain history and has now been told she cant have the baby in the UK on nhs as she has been out of the country for more than 5 years! does anybody know any thing about this or had a similar experience? I dont know all her details so may not be able to expand on the story too much.

thanks all

mikelincs

If she is a British citizen, and moves permanently back to the UK, she is entitled to NHS treatment from day 1

ghurst

this is the problem. her job is in germany indefinitely but she cant health insurance there so wants to come back here to have the baby.

Pollyana

From previous posts on here, she would need to demonstrate her intent to live in the UK again in order to qualify for NHS.

Gems

This is a tricky one.

2 half years ago, a friend of ours was working in Europe for over 5 year.

They wanted to give birth back in the UK, with their family. Their gp was ok, but when they got to the hospital for an appointment they had too see someone from accounts. Who told them as they had been out of the country for 5 years they were not entitled to free maternity/birth care!

This person was honest and admitted they had been working in Europe. But as they were using their mums home they thought they would be ok.
They were shocked when they were told by accounts they would have to pay.

In the end the person went back to Europe and delivered there as it worked out cheaper. Was not what they wanted but when your 4 months pregnant you dont really want to go through the hassle of arguing with NHS red tape.

Id check this out very thoroughly. Its not as clear cut as just arriving back.

The above is true as we knew the lady very well.

Good Luck
Gems

MartynK

This main criterion is habitual residence. British Citizens are entitled to various state benefits, including the NHS, as soon as they return to the UK with the intention of resuming full time residence in this country. British Citizens who are only visiting are entitled to emergency care, but not elective treatment AFAIK.

There seems to be a bit of inconsistency about the application of these rules, and people have posted varying experiences on these forums. It seems to depend on the medical practice/hospital to some extent. Some people say they didn't have any problems at all, even after many years, and others reported that they had to fill in questionnaires and produce documentary evidence of habitual residence (utility bills and so on) even though they had kept their house and bank accounts.

hereandthere

I suppose the greatest irony here is that illegal immigrants get free healthcare but being British there is no way the OP could ever be an illegal immigrant unless she renounced her citizenship, took that of another non-EU country and then sneaked into Kent in the back of a Macedonian truck.

More seriosuly, I am certain there must be a blag past this problem.

BAY

Why does she need insurance to have the baby in Germany ? Doesn't Germany have the equivalent of the NHS ?

hereandthere

She might not have been in the Fatherland long enough to qualify, in which case she really is in between a rock and a hard place. If all she has to do is prove that she is in the UK for an indefinite period can't she just get a PT job organised, move in with her parents and use that as her main address, have the NHS care for the pregnancy, quit job, return to Germany? Or is she very far into the pregnancy and work's a no no?

moneypenny20

How expensive is it to have a baby in Germany? Out of interest, how much would it cost in the UK? Only ever had babies on the NSH so no idea how much we'd be talking about between the two.

BAY

...this is the problem. her job is in germany indefinitely but she cant health insurance there so wants to come back here to have the baby.

So she wants to be a Health Tourist , get free medical care curtesy of UK tax payer, despite having paid no taxes for at least five years, and then go back to Germany where she has a job and lives.

If everyone did this the NHS would be bankrupt.

hereandthere

The NHS would be none the wiser if she got a job in the UK. Also, she is not a health tourist - she is British and has worked in Britain and paid lots of tax in Britain for just this occasion (I presume - if not then she is pulling a bit of a fast one). An illegal immigrant would get the free care and so should she - she hasn't even left the EU where half Britain's tax revenue ends up anyway.

BAY

But she hasn't lived in the UK for at least the last 5 years so that would make her a health tourist. Thats why there is the 5 year rule ! She has chosen to leave the UK so has to accept the concequencies.

The issue of illegal immigrants is another issue. Don't get me started :curse:

moneypenny20

She is a health tourist. She's not paid UK taxes for over five years, so she's not entitled to any benefits pertaining to those taxes. That's the way it is.

luvwelly

If Germany is like some other EU countries I could think of, having health care cover is compulsory and to work there and not have it breaks the law.
I'd be amazed if there is not some basic policy for which no-one can be turned down for whatever their pre-existing conditions but I could be wrong as I haven't been there for ages.
There must also be some kind of reciprocal position which covers her here...just as a pregnant German tourist wouldn't be turned away from UK...admittedly it could still result in a bill at the end of the process..but in neither country would she be turned away when in labour.

Thus kind of situation makes a nonsense of the socalled 'free movement of labour' within the EU..as if the language barrier weren't enough to keep most Brits away from work in the wider EU arena.