DIMA policy on pregnancy

[Rocker]

Hi,

I have lodged my application couple of weeks back under subclass 175. In case my wife gets pregnant, do I have to inform DIMA about this????

Secondly, I have checked Singapore Airline's site and it says"

For uncomplicated single pregnancies, SIA restricts expectant mothers from travelling beyond the 35th week of pregnancy.

Is there any policy defined by DIMA for the time a pregnant woman can enter to Australia???

Thanks...

[northernbird]

Yes you will need to notify DIAC of the pregnancy, particularly when it comes to medical time. I can't see them having a policy about entering when pregnant but all airlines will have policies regarding carrying pregnant women.

[Gollywobbler]

Hi Rocker

Welcome to Poms in Oz.

DIAC's only policy is that Mum must undergo meds and x-rays like all other applicants, and if Baby is born before you get to Oz then Baby will need meds as well.

Apparently it is possible for a lady who is pregnant to have a chest x-ray - they cover the bump with lead-lined sheets or something. However, DIAC's line on this is that if Mum prefers to defer her meds and x-rays till after Baby is born, they will just put the visa application on "hold" until you notify them that Baby has been born and you add Baby to the visa application. They will then wait whilst you get a passport for Baby and all have your meds done. You should be guided by your own doctors about the desirability or otherwise of an x-ray whilst your wife is pregnant.

Let us say that your wife becomes pregnant not long before the visa is granted, so she can still fly to Oz etc. Baby can be born in Oz if you wish and since you would be Permanent Residents - because of your 175 visa - Baby would automatically be an Australian Citizen by birth, plus you would get the $4,000 Baby Bonus from the Federal Government.

If your wife becomes pregnant prior to the grant of the visa, you have a choice - ask them to put the visa application on "hold" until Baby can be added to it, or ask them to go ahead and grant the visa and then you apply for a Child Visa for Baby once Baby is born. It is cheaper to add Baby to your own application but Child Visas are processed very quickly anyway.

Best wishes

Gill

[Rocker]

Hi,

thanks for the reply guys... especially Gill for the detailed reply.

Actully we have already done our meds right after we lodge our application. And as far as i know, it is valid for 12 months. So x-ray is not a question here..

Things are quite clear from Gill's reply. Just one quick question, in case my wife gets pregnant and we plan to have our child in oz, do we still have to inform DIMA that at the time i lodge my application, the time meds were done, my wife was not pregnant but now she is??

do we have to inform them and redo the meds???

thanks again guys...

[Gollywobbler]

Hi Rocker

Now that the meds and x-rays are out of the way, your wife would not be asked for further meds if she has a normal pregnancy.

It is an implied term of the visa process that you will notify DIAC of any material change in your circumstances prior to the point when you validate the visas. A visa does not "crystallise" until it is validated via making your Initial Entry to Oz using the new visa.

Whether or not a change is "material" is a matter of common-sense. If you become aware that your wife is pregnant before she validates her visa you should complete Form 1022 and send it in. Please see here:

http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/pdf/1022.pdf

It would be prudent to disclose the pregnancy because you could get a situation where your visa is granted, you plan that Baby will be born in Australia but then Mum develops high blood pressure and the doctors ground her until after Baby is born. In those circumstances you would need a Child Visa for Baby and there would be questions about why the pregnancy was not disclosed.

However if it is normal, healthy pregnancy the Medical Officer of the Commonwealth would be unlikely to want any further medical examinations etc. I would simply get a letter from the doctor managing your wife's pregancy confirming that all is well and I would expect to hear no more about it. They might be interested if she turns out to be carrying twins and probably would be interested if it is triplets, but only in as much as doctors worry more if there is more than one baby invlved.

It is equally possible though that your wife might be so newly pregnant by the time she travels to Oz that she would not be aware that she is pregnant till after she arrives in Oz. The run-up to the Big Move is alsways so hectic that early hints of pregnancy could easily be mistaken for being the symptoms of stress. I'm sure that happens frequently.

This is one of the situations which it is best not to try to lprepare for and just deal with it if and when it happens because it is impossible to predict exactly when your wife might become pregnant and therefore it is impossible to make viable plans about in in advance.

Unless......!!!

Do you have reason to suspect that your wife is pregnant?

Best wishes

Gill

[Rocker]

Thanks again Gill.... I have got the answer.

Actually we are trying for a baby and I dont want us to stop trying because of the immigration thingi... As you said it is impossible to predict, so we cannot predict about the immigration. and dont want us to stop trying for the baby.

I just wanted to know if she conceives should i inform DIAC or not. And i think I should inform DIAC.

again thanks alot for the detail explanation :)

cheers...

[Gollywobbler]

Hi Rocker

I definitely wouldn't put trying for a baby on "hold" just because of the immigration process. If Baby comes along, Baby can be worked into the plan depending on the point at which Baby is born.

I'm no expert on pregnancy, never having been pregnant myself. I vaguely understand that people tend to keep it quiet for about 3 months until the risk of early miscarriage has passed? Vis a vis DIAC, I'd do whatever is normal with friends, family and employers. There is no point in sending Form 1022 within a couple of weeks only to have to send another a couple of months later telling them something else.

Cheers

Gill

[Rocker]

Hi Gill,

I totally agree with your point of view. 80% of the miscarriage happens in first 3 months. So I think lets be quite for a while and wait for the CO to be assigned. And all of this can be communicated to him. Although they are also human beings and they underdstand stuff like that.... Well I hope so :D


thanks again.
Cheers.