Babies, babies, babies! Australian Filipina couple and she’s pregnant? NOT an exceptional circumstance, we find. Down Under Visa clients seem to be a remarkably fertile lot. Australian men, as we all know, are a fairly enthusiastic lot. And the ladies of the Philippines? I suspect they could get pregnant if you even looked at them the wrong way! 

So yes, we get a lot of applicants….both at the enquiry stage, before we’ve lodged a visa application, or just after a visa application has been lodged, all saying “Well, my fiancee is pregnant!”

Pregnant Visa Applicants

Here at Down Under Visa we seem to end up with a lot of pregnant clients. Is it the solid family-guy values set by Jeff and Mila? Or just a whole lot o’ love, as Led Zeppelin would say? I think it might be love. Love and babies tend to go together, and these are lovely ladies. Right fellahs?

So what it means is we end up with lots of pregnant visa applicants. Sometimes with plenty of time, and sometimes they tell us when mum-to-be is 6 – 7 months down the path. And this can cause issues.

All joking aside, we care deeply for our clients. Preggie mums and babies? We have a soft spot and a protective streak as any decent people do. It’s a VERY delicate time, for mums and babies but also dads who want to be there. I explained it bluntly to a new client the other week, and I really hope I managed to delay nature for just a little while!

Issues with Pregnancy and Visas

Visas and Citizenship issues! Bureaucracy in Philippines AND in Australia! These things have their own processes and agendas and are painfully inflexible. Yes, sometimes they may be pushed and budged when truly exceptional circumstances exist, but guess what? Pregnancy is NOT an exceptional circumstance!

Again! Pregnancy is NOT an exceptional circumstance!

No, pretty common as I explained above. They will not ignore rules, regulations and laws because your wife or fiancee is pregnant! And they will not push your application further up the queue because baby is on the way! Many years ago I used to ask. Now I don’t, because it’s a waste of time! I touched on this a few weeks ago, but it’s a big enough issue to deserve its own article.

Airlines

Most airlines won’t let a pregnant lady fly after about 7 months!

This differs between airlines (do your research!). Some may be earlier and some may be later, and others may require a medical certificate stating that mum-to-be is safe to travel without health issues. Even if she has a visa, she can’t get to Australia if the plane won’t take her!

Birth Certificates

Baby needs a birth certificate before anything may happen! Passports and visas? These won’t happen without a birth certificate. Birth certificates in Philippines may take 3 – 4 months after the birth. 

In Australia, I gather about a month after the birth. Not something that comes up so often to us, so I’m not an expert.

Passports

As stated above, a passport won’t happen without a birth certificate. And you can expect about 3 weeks to get one, whether inside or outside Australia.

Philippines passports? About one month. Mind you, this fluctuates. At times it’s taken 4 – 5 months! 

Visas to Australia

Baby can only travel to Australia with a visa or Australian Citizenship! Australian Citizenship By Descent is a wonderful option, as long as you have time to do it. And it STILL needs birth certificates and will need an Australian passport. Click the link and read about it if you do have time! If not, please read on.

So if mum misses the flight because she can’t travel, she gives birth in Philippines and it may be 4 – 5 months before she can even apply for a visa for baby! And that may take 2 – 4 weeks to be processed by the Embassy in Manila. 

Tragic Consequences 

Yes, when pregnancies are not planned and realities hit home!

Practical Issues with Pregnancies

Baby born in Philippines. 3 – 4 months for a birth certificate. Then a month to get a passport. THEN a visa application! And in the meantime, mum and dad want to be together in Australia! And it won’t happen! 

And what if mum’s Partner Visa or Prospective Marriage Visa is granted? Usually these have a date to enter Australia by. If visa is granted before baby can be added (because of lack of birth certificate, passport etc), then baby has no visa! Mum does. Baby doesn’t! And mum has to leave due to visa conditions! Yes, we’ve always been successful when we’ve asked the Embassy to be nice and to waive or extend the time…..however…..they don’t have to do this!

And even baby born in Australia there can be issues. Imagine if mum’s tourist visa runs out and she hasn’t been able to lodge a further application? Not ready for a partner visa application, and maybe can’t get a further onshore tourist visa due to spending too much time in Australia. Visa expires, and there’s week-old baby with no travel documents! I think you can see what could happen!

And you will also have the issue of paying for hospital bills at full-fee. You could be up for AUD$15K+!

End result? Seriously breach visa conditions, or mum says goodbye to tiny baby for a while! Can you imagine many situations much worse than that? Yes, I’ve seen the Manila Embassy show some remarkable compassion and willingness to rush through Citizenship applications for kids, etc, however there are limits to their powers. They have to act within the law!

Emotional Factors in Pregnancy

Have any of you been pregnant before? Or had a pregnant wife or fiancee before? My goodness! Is this ever the wrong time to be unstable! 

Pregnancy brings out primal stuff in people. Mums-to-be become emotional and vulnerable, even the toughest and most capable of ladies. Tears at the drop of a hat. Logical thought processes out the window. Coupled with this, the swollen legs and feet, aching backs and loss of bladder control. Everything crying out for stability and certainty.

And dads become protective, and often pretty emotional too. I remember reading a written history years ago from a former client (now with big and healthy Aussie kids) writing about how he was following the birth of his daughter via the phone! Felt so sorry for him not being able to be there with them, as all of them obviously wanted. Couldn’t share the moment physically with his wife, and couldn’t bond with his new daughter.

Yes, I know that nature has a mind of her own, and here I am saying “Control your urges!” I know! But please consider some precautions and some planning, so you can bring all these wonderful children into the world and into your life under the most ideal conditions! And remember! Jeff is a wonderful name for babies…..even girl babies!       

Jeff Harvie is a Registered Migration Agent from Australia, but resident in Philippines since 2010 with his Filipina wife Mila and large extended family. Experienced with the Philippines culture, cross-cultural relationships and bureaucracy as well as Australian visas and Australian Migration Law, he writes with authority and fortunately with enough informality and humour that the average Aussie gets it!