Mainland Mum in Hong Kong with No ID (yet)

H

HG19

Registered User
My Wife and I are about 8 weeks pregnant, I (UK father) have a HK ID card as am working here, my work permit needs to be renewed in Jan where my wife (Mainland mum) can also renew here right to remain visa and then apply for ID, perhaps 2-3 months before the birth.

We have concerns that we cannot see a doctor now as we both don’t have ID

That we cannot register for public hospital because we both don’t have ID

Does anyone have any experience of this as we are keen to get on the public hospital list as we cannot afford to go private and if we wait until we both have ID cards will we be too late to get into a public hospital , they are already showing as all full now !

We feel we are in a situation where bad timing is against us.

Does anyone know any doctors that we can go and see to start the discussions about this with them .

We live in Yau Tong.

Any help would be appreciated, thanks in advance.
 
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You do not need an ID to see Doctor nor do you require one to give birth here - however, your fees will be determined by your status and whether your wife is "eligible person" or not.

http://www.ha.org.hk/visitor/ha_visitor_index.asp?Parent_ID=10044&Content_ID=10045&Ver=HTML

Those charges are for public hospitals; private hospitals have their own fee schedules and you should check with them individually.

Bottom line : You can go see any doctor you like, public or private, as long as you are prepared to pay for their fees accordingly.
 
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Thank you for your reply.

I think the public costs are ok but private might not be an option .

The main thing is how do we approach a hospital so we know we will be able to use that hospital when the time comes, it seems all the information online is against using public services , all is full and without ID starting the ball rolling is very challenging.
 
Public hospitals are obliged to deliver your wife if she has a HKID no matter how late in the piece she turns up and no matter how full they are. However if you are the one with the HKID and she doesn't have then I think you are in some strife.

The private hospitals can accept your wife on the condition she pays their fees.
The private part of the public hospital can accept your wife on the condition she pays their fees and they have vacant spots.
The public hospitals do not have to accept your wife as a patient if she has no HKID unless they have vacant spots, and even if they do have vacant spots you will be up for fees equivalent and at times higher than that imposed by the cheaper private hospitals.

You best bet is to apply for a HKID for you wife as a spouse using your existing work visa, then renew it once you have your new contract in place or negotiate with work to have your visa extended and apply for your wife's HKID ASAP.

One other thing, you may have to contact an immigration lawyer as mainland wives are treated a little differently with regards to ability to gain a HKID (if they have a local husband anyway but I'm not too sure what happens if the husband is form overseas). It may be the case that your wife might still not be eligible for the HKID despite your visa as she is from the mainland. Best to get that straight from an immigration officer or lawyer, because if that is the case, none of the abovee scenarios apply as from my understanding in 2013 no mainland mums are allowed to give birth in HK any longer privately or otherwise.

Good luck and God bless
 
Thank you for your reply.

She is eligible for HK ID but I have to prove that my work permit is for 6 months or more, at the moment it runs out in 4 months but will be able to renew, then she can get ID , her spouse visa is only valid all the time my one is but to get ID need to show 6 months in advance, if we had done all this 3 months ago no problem but life does not always plan out that way.

Maybe I need to start training myself for a home birth, im joking but that is seeming easier at the moment.
 
Couldn't they start the renewal of the work visa now instead of waiting 4 months? Is there a limit on how early you can renew? If he renewed immediately than they could move to the HKID phase for the wife in a few weeks.
 
If I were you, I would go to my employer and request that they write you an "intention to renew" letter stating that your contract will be renewed and from which date. I would make an appointment online and bring all of my paperwork to immigration as if I was going to apply for a HKID right then and there and then discuss my situation with the officer in person.

As I understand it, without a HKID card, your wife will have to pay private fees, even in the public hospital. It doesn't matter if the father has HKID or not. There has been a lot of things going on with the influx of Mainland women into HK to give birth and the hospitals this year signed a petition to set a quota for the number of Mainland women allowed to give birth here simply because they are overwhelming the system. I'm sure that since this is a "Dragon Year" the quota, if it has been set, is full or nearly full.

You will need to go see a private doctor probably for your first appointment here in HK. Mainland women who give birth here must show documentation that they've had prenatal care throughout their pregnancy. Go to the doctor for an appointment (probably between 300-500 HKD for a consultation with a local doctor) and get the pregnancy confirmed and request a letter of referral for the public hospital. The doctor can advise you as to what catchment area you fall in for a public hospital and how to register.

Sorry, I'm not much help in the way of recommending an doctor but I'm sure if you make another post specifically asking for local doctors in the Yau Tong area, you'll get some replies.

Upon registration you will need to bring along a "proof of address" which must be something like a utilities bill from where you live. You will also need your wife's HKID card and/or passport. Better to have the HKID as then you will pay local fees rather than private. Not sure if you can change this later on if she first registers with her passport and then changes to a HKID. In that way you'll be "in the system" for a birth.

You can get free legal advise from the government on this matter if you need it.
http://www.dutylawyer.org.hk/en/free/legal.asp
 
(Husband) Can I just say a big thank you to everyone that has contributed to this thread, it’s the first time we have used the forum and very good advice.

We are now facing an impossible situation it seems where we could really do with some advice, we are being told that we simply cannot under any circumstances deliver the baby in Hong Kong, we have a doctor and have been through the referral process to a hospital and have so far been refused.

My wife (mainland Chinese) is 5 months pregnant and is on a right to remain visa . (we married in HK)

I am from Uk working in Hong Kong, have work permit and HK ID Card (not permanent)

We are now facing a situation where we might have to have the baby in China which we really don’t want to do as we plan to stay in Hk permanently.

Really hope we can find a way to make this happen, any advice is very welcome.

Thank you .
 
Moving back to Uk is an option that im trying to explore but even mainland Chinese going to Uk is not an easy option, a very last option but we are looking at all options at the moment with the focus begin trying to fight or battle in HK first as i work here, have apartment here etc etc . going back to Uk would be a complete start again.

thank you .
 
You *can* give birth in hk - if your wife turns up at a&e in labour, they *have* to take her - ID or no ID. But don't expect a warm welcome and they won't release the birth certificate until you've paid up ($90,000 I believe at the mo). You won't get prenatal care on the public system before the birth though so you'll have to pay privately for that too (unless you have insurance). I think you either do that or plan to give birth in china. I sure as hell wouldn't want the stress of this kind of battle with IMMD going on whilst I was pregnant. They are extremely inflexible.
 
Thanks for the feedback , we are going to private antenatal care at the moment, we will continue this battle until we are forced to make a choice.

It should be clearly stated on my employment contract to say. o by the way you can come and live here and be apart of the tax system but if you want to have a family you will have to go home and do it.

thanks
 
yeah, see... that's not accurate. there are are separate rules for mainlanders. whether you like it or not, they exist and are not hidden in any way, shape or form. if you still choose to make hk your home, then you need to play by their rules.

it's not that i'm unsympathetic, i am very much so... but like i said, these rules are there and they are not hidden.
 
I am sure I read a poster while waiting for my appointment at United Christian that if non residents wished to deliver there they had to pay hk$32,000 deposit for registering with them.

I think your wife can give birth in HK, but you will have to pay.
 
United Christian (along with some) other public hospitals won't accept ANY non resident bookings anymore. Zero. The a&e will take you in an emergency, but you can't 'register' with them if you're not a local mum. I think some other hospitals will take a small quota of nonresident mums, but that quota will have been filled months ago. The reality is hk hospitals don't have the capacity to deal with so many mainland mums coming here to give birth. The rules they have imposed seem harsh in some circumstances, but until they change the rules about getting permanent residency, prioritising local residents seems to be the fairest solution.
 
We know we will need to pay, the hospital that our doctor said we can go to wanted 55.000 which is fine and then we waited for the phone call that said now they will not accept us because we are not permanent residents.

carang is right im afraid, however our doctor 2 months ago told us she can put us forward so we thought it was all fine but the hospital has refused us, im not sure if a different doctor and different hospital will provide a different solution.

even we can pay it seems we are not allowed even if there was space ?
 
it has nothing to do with being permanent residents.... it has to do with the fact that your wife is not resident (ie she doesn't hold a HKID). it also has to do with the repercussions down the road... because of the chinese-ness of your wife, it means that your child will have ROA, which means that the gov't is liable for education and health care for your child for life....
 
But she will have HKID in January but a little late, I understand your point but surly they have allowed us to be here, work here and are offering us the opportunity to stay here for life which is what we intend to do so why would allowing my child health and schooling opportunities be a problem especially when the reason they allow me to stay is because i am contributing to and supporting the economy, the tax i pay is what supports the education and health system so what is the problem.
 
Redestiny. thank you very much this looks promising , i will call them first thing Monday and make an inquiry , i will let you know how it goes, there might be hope....
 
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