Birth in Australia Questions

Justyboy · #1 (**permalink**) 03-08-2013, 07:16 AM

Hiya Guys

Have got a few questions on having a baby born here in Australia...

My partner is Thai and we have been living together in Thailand since June 2012 until we came home to Brisbane on January 18th.

She is on a Visitor Visa for 3 months with NFS. (approved in 6 days thanks to BKK VFS )...

We recently have been blessed with pregnancy and she is a few months in as it turns out.

We would very much like to have our baby born here in Australia but are not sure of possibility or processes involved.

1. Is it possible to get another visitor visa or apply for a spousal visa to facilitate this?

2. Will it serve us better to get married?

3. Any idea of medical costs as we have no insurance for birth here.

4. Will Immigration even allow us to do this?

5. What will be the status of the baby born to a foreigner in Australia with Australian born father?

6. If birth is not possible here in Oz and is baby is born in Thailand, what happens as far as birthright? can I register with consulate and claim Australian citizenship for our child or is it a long hard process?

I hope these are not stupid questions, but read a few threads and it seems like a great forum to get info from.

Thanks in advance, any and all info will be greatly appreciated.

JJ

Nelly87 · #2 (**permalink**) 03-09-2013, 01:51 AM

Welcome to the forum!

It would be wise to consult an immigration lawyer or agent about this. Since this will immediately affect your unborn child in many ways it is essential that you gather professional advice above anything else.

I also want to advise you to use the search function on the forum - you can find it above amongst the black menu buttons. That is not to be mean, but I have simply noticed there have been relatively many questions about this situation recently.

Justyboy · #3 (**permalink**) 03-09-2013, 02:52 AM

Thanks Nelly87... will have a look around

MarkNortham · #4 (**permalink**) 03-09-2013, 05:23 AM

Hi Justyboy -

Based on the amount of time you've been living together, if you have evidence to prove that, you may be a good candidate for a partner visa application. Unfortunately with the No Further Stay condition, she isn't able to apply for any further visas onshore unless you can get a waiver (very difficult) which would require a major change in her circumstances beyond her control that happened after the visitor visa was granted. Pregnancy, unfortunately, isn't considered "beyond her control".

So that leaves you with, most likely, an offshore partner visa application. It is often possible to get a tourist visa to allow a visit to Australia (usually 3 months, sometimes 6) while a partner visa application is processing.

If you are an Australian citizen, then the baby will be will be eligible to apply for citizenship by descent regardless of where the baby is born. You can apply for a citizenship certificate at an Australian embassy, then use that to lodge a passport application - the entire process will likely take 4 - 8 weeks.

I'd be happy to offer you a no-cost consultation by phone or Skype to discuss options in more detail - I know that sometimes discussing these types of topics publicly can be a bit uncomfortable - you can reach me at mark@mnvisa.com if you'd like to follow up.

Best,

Mark Northam