The Home Office has been blamed for NHS bills paid by mothers stuck in Britain during a pandemic

Dozens of women who were stranded in Britain and gave birth there during the Covid pandemic have been saddled with expensive maternity care bills after the Home Office delayed processing their visas.

Visitors to Britain, some on temporary visas such as a fiancée visa, were unable to leave the country after the pandemic broke out in March 2020.

Some were already pregnant and planned to return to their home countries to give birth, but were unable to do so due to travel restrictions. Others became pregnant while staying in Britain for longer than expected.

The women say that A rack A statement from then Immigration Minister Kevin Foster on March 23, 2020 indicated that they would not be punished. But the Interior Ministry says the statement was not intended to cover all possible situations.

Foster said at the time that the government acknowledged travel plans had been disrupted and was taking “a pragmatic approach to ensure individuals are not penalized as a result of issues arising from the Covid-19 pandemic that are beyond their control”.

However, the women say the time it took for the Home Office to process their visas to stay in Britain due to travel restrictions led to them having to collect charges from NHS trusts after giving birth. This happened despite the fact that they had paid the immigration healthcare surcharge to cover the NHS treatment they may need when they applied for the visas.

Ros Bragg, the director of Maternity Action, said the charity had dealt with 37 cases where women were faced with maternity care bills running into tens of thousands of pounds.

Bragg said: “This policy has caused huge problems for women stuck in Britain during the pandemic and has left many with debts that they will struggle to pay. We know that women have avoided maternity care for fear of large debts, which would put their lives and the lives of their babies at risk.

“This is an ill-conceived policy that has only exacerbated the difficulties pregnant women face during the pandemic. We need the government to focus on protecting the health and wellbeing of mothers and babies, rather than on short-term cost savings.”

Fang Li, a 29-year-old Taiwanese woman, came to visit her British boyfriend Jamie Shields in Britain in December 2019. She planned to return to Taiwan because she had secured a place on the ballot for her country’s youth mobility visa, and had to submit her application there.

However, when the pandemic broke out, she was unable to travel home. Then she discovered she was pregnant. She consulted a lawyer and was advised to apply for a residence permit in Britain, which she did on April 17, 2020. She paid the application fee and the immigration health surcharge.

She received antenatal care from the NHS and gave birth to her daughter Jessie Li Shields on January 1, 2021. She was surprised when the NHS trust sent her a bill for £7,919.41, which she has been contesting without success for the past three years.

Although the normal processing time for the type of visa Li is applying for is eight weeks – with the option to apply for a more expensive expedited decision within 24 hours – it took the Ministry of Interior almost a year and a half to decide her to accept. application. She argued that it was only because of the lengthy delay in the Home Office processing the visa that she had to pay NHS charges at all.

Her lawyer, Nath Gbikpi of Leigh Day, complained in a letter to the Home Office: “We argue that Ms Li would not have incurred such debts if the Home Office had kept the promises made during the Covid-19 pandemic were done.”

Home Office officials responded that the delays were “an unfortunate consequence” of the pandemic that was beyond their control.

“We do not accept that the exceptional measures were intended as a comprehensive solution to all unexpected circumstances that customers found themselves in at the time,” officials wrote.

Li said: “We have been fighting this for three years and we are mentally and physically exhausted. I feel like I have no control over the whole situation. I was shocked that the maternity care allowance was so high, because I had already paid the care allowance. It feels like this policy is trying to rob normal people.”

A government spokesperson said: “During the Covid-19 pandemic, significant public health restrictions meant we were unable to process applications for leave to stay cases as quickly. This meant that some individuals were unable to use NHS services while their claim was still being assessed.

“These cases have been resolved in the quickest time possible and individuals can request a review of their case if they wish.”