₦airaland Forum

gaeul:
Good evening House, so after applying for student visa, that same month, I found out I was few weeks pregnant, so I informed IRCC that I can't complete my upfront medicals (had some medical delays) because I was pregnant and I couldn't do x-ray with my baby. I also sent scan documents etc but I was surprised that my medicals was updated to pass and I got my approval same day my medical was updated. My passport have also been stamped. Now my question is, can I travel with my pregnancy since I informed IRCC or will I have issues with immigration because I hate stress of any kind. I don't just want any back and forth with immigration. Please advice needed. Between am in my 5th month. Thanks

Kaycherry:
In My Opinion...I think you can still travel....you may need to have evidence with u that you informed IRCC about the pregnancy and also update your POF to show you can pay for the delivery, also get a doctors appointment and above all...Pray to God.
Wish you best of luck.

Nikky14:
Please can you confirm if they came through for you... i am thinking of using them also and dont want stories that touch. I wont mind recommendation for credible agency in Nigeria

makylove101:
BIRTH STORY..Long Post alert:

VISA HISTORY:

My hubby and I got our TRV from VFS Abuja office via online application in 2019(4yrs and 10yrs visas respectively due to the validity of our passports). I posted about documents submitted and timeline in the Canada TRV thread. I wasn’t pregnant back then and had planned to use it for tourism in 2020 but then I lost my mum feb 2020 and COVID hit.

POE EXPERIENCE:

Got pregnant early this year and decided to give birth in Canada (we had our first son in the United States in 2018. We tried but couldn’t get a visa appointment date to renew our US visas which expired last year).

I am fully vaccinated so I travelled with my vaccination card and didn’t encounter any issues (From Sept 7th, foreign nationals are allowed to enter Canada if fully vaccinated and aren’t expected to quarantine either). I did my Covid test at Medicaid (N35k) and filled the Arrivecan form via the app 48hrs before my trip.

I landed in Toronto Pearson Airport, Canada from Abuja via British Airways on the 4th of Oct at exactly 32wks plus 6 days pregnant while visibly showing. Proceeded to fill the automated entry kiosk (filled in no of days to stay in Canada,Food items I came with etc) and then headed to immigration.
First officer asked my reason for being there, I told her that I came to give birth and for vacation. The immigration officer didn’t seem to know the questions to ask me and I was sent for secondary inspection.

The interview went like this;

Officer: Why are you here?

Me: For childbirth and vacation. Proceeds to give him my email appointment confirmation with a family doctor.

Officer: why would you risk traveling especially since blood clot at this stage of your pregnancy can kill you?. I know this cause my wife is pregnant and our doctor told her not to think of any long distance traveling as she is prone to having blood clots at this stage of her pregnancy.

Me: Well I have no history of blood clots during pregnancy and my doctor wasn’t worried about that being a problem for me hence my “fit to fly” letter

Officer: I am aware you have a fit to fly letter obviously cause you wouldn’t have been able to travel otherwise but still “blood clot” is a general thing for all pregnant women. Everyone knows this.

Me: I still insist it isn’t a problem for me. I am here and no issues obviously as you can see.

Officer: Okay so why give birth in Canada, why not in Nigeria?

Me: Better healthcare for baby and I and also cause I can afford it. Given how long it took me to have my first baby, I make it a point to get the best in terms of healthcare to avoid any stories.

Officer: But there is good healthcare in Nigeria too. Once you have money you should be able to get good healthcare.

Me: Sorry Sir, have you been to Nigeria before?

Officer: I have been to India and it’s the same thing with Nigeria. Same criteria applies to healthcare if you have money.

Me: India is not the same with Nigeria. Again I ask, have you been to Nigeria Sir?

Officer: I don’t have to be in Nigeria to know. It’s the same thing with India

Me: Yeah but the question is have you been to Nigeria?

Officer: * Pauses for a bit* Ok, so how much do you have with you?

Me: I came in with 9k US dollars cash. Do you want to see?

Officer: No, it’s fine. Generally it costs about 10k CAD to give birth in Canada but you are atleast expected to have minimum of 20k CAD in case of an emergency with the baby (not that we are praying for one)

Me: The estimate I was given is definitely less than 20k CAD. However, we are prepared in case of an emergency

Officer: Do you have proof of other funds just in case of an emergency?

Me: Yes. Logged into my USD domiciliary account in Naija and also showed him my husband’s BOA account statement.

Officer: Ok, I can see you have the funds in case of an emergency but do you have other funds or you are using all your savings for this childbirth?

Me: Yeah ofcourse. My husband and I work and earn monthly plus I have funds in money market investment and my hubby also has other savings. Do you want to see?

Officer; Yes please.

Me: Proceeds to login to my money market investment mobile app. He sees the amount in Naira and does a quick conversion.

Officer: OK, I see you have more than enough. Where will you be staying in Canada?

Me: Proceeds to give him the letter from my host with her phone no and the address I will be staying in and also stating that I paid her for a full basement apartment for a period of 2 months.

Officer: How did you get this apartment?

Me: It was a referral from a contact in Nigeria

Officer: Ok. Do have a lovely time in Canada, I wish you all the best and pray there is no complications with the baby. Congratulations in advance. Stamps me in.

Me: Thank you very much.

ACCOMODATION:

I got a two bedroom basement apartment to stay in for 62 days at Brampton Ontario. (I used a birth service company for this). Hired them to help with accommodation and doctor’s appointment but I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THEM. Crappy service to say the least!. Canada is a new turf for us and we barely have family or friends here. I was just tired after trying AirBnB and seeing some crazy rates. Our rent was a bit expensive ($1,900 per month plus cleaning fee $100 but better than what I got from Airbnb) plus the apartment was great and well situated. Most stores were within a walking distance so we were really good.

I bought my SIM card from Chatr mobile. See the link below for their data plans. It’s advisable to get one cause you will need to make calls, book appointments, use Uber etc.

https://www.chatrwireless.com/web/chatr.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=PlanBrowse

*My hubby and son joined me in Canada on the 5th of Nov, exactly one month after. Hubby stated that he was coming in to welcome his new baby as wifey was in Canada to give birth when asked at POE.

HOSPITAL:

My first appointment was at Humber River Hospital with Dr Ted on the 19th of Oct at exactly 35 weeks. I eventually found out I didn’t need a referral from a family doctor to see him even though I could have gotten one from my appointment with a family doctor if they wanted.
Dr Ted was super nice, I liked him right away and he is quite familiar with Nigerian patients.

First Appointment fee: 120 CAD
Subsequent(went twice again): 60 CAD per visit. Overall total 240 CAD
Doctor: 2,500 CAD
Assistant: 500 CAD
Hospital (mum & baby): 0 CAD. Apparently due to COVID 19, some hospitals here in Ontario is free for all patients till the end of Nov 2021. I tried but they aren’t accepting payments even for Intl patients.
Peadetrician: 500 CAD
Epidural: 1,000 CAD
Lab: 99.03 CAD (I used Dyna care, it was just a walking distance from where I stayed in Brampton)
Scan: 82 CAD
Pediatric visit: 100 CAD (We used Dr Wise. subsequent visit 50 CAD. We went twice so a total of 150 CAD)

Ps: I am a CS mama.

*Baby boy was born on the 10th of Nov. I stayed at the hospital for about 36hrs before I was discharged.

Circumcision: We will be doing this in Naija as we did for our first son.

BABY DOCUMENTATION:

Birth certificate (Long & short): 60 CAD
We requested and registered baby’s birth online and paid for birth certificate on the 13th of Nov. It took 7 working days to arrive.
Baby’s Passport photo (4 copies): 33 CAD.
Intl Passport: 107 CAD. It took two days before we could pick up
Visa on arrival: $195 and N30k processing fee. It took two days.
BA ticket for baby: 355 CAD


SUMMARY:

Accommodation for Two months: 3,900 CAD
Doctor’s Appointment fee: 240CAD
Doctor’s fee: 3,000 CAD
Hospital Peadetrician: 500 CAD
Hospital fee: 0 CAD
Scan: 82 CAD
Lab: 99.03 CAD
Epidural: 1000 CAD
Pediatric visit: 150 CAD
Long & short Birth certificate: 60 CAD
Passport Photo for baby: 30 CAD
Intl passport (expedited): 107 CAD
Visa on Arrival: $195 and N30k processing fee
BA ticket for baby: 355 CAD

We are leaving for Abuja in 5 days time.

Ps: Please note that this is exclusive of money spent shopping for food, Uber and other essentials. We used a lot of Uber rides which didn’t come cheap. Hubby tried to rent a car but they kept insisting on a Canadian driving license and a Canadian credit card so it was Uber all the way for transportation.

I hope this helps someone...the thread has been quite dry for a long while.

It’s a shame that there is a ban against Nigeria due to the new covid 19 variant but hopefully that changes soon enough.

KC23:
Thanks for sharing your experience and I hope your son is going great. Could you please share more details how you were able to book an appointment with Dr Ted before your arrival in Canada? Any contact details for his office? Please help as we are due to arrival in Canada in 2 weeks.

Anyone with past experience in this area can also share info. Thanks at lot.

makylove101:
No, I didn’t book an appointment with Dr Ted till I got to Canada. Prior appointment I got was with a family doctor (You need a family doctor to refer you to an OBGYN). Though, I eventually didn’t need the referral to see Dr Ted when I arrived.

tracy0803409:
Good day house, my sister just found out that she's pregnant and she's to resume in September as an international student in Canada, pls would she be allowed to enter Canada with her pregnancy by September, must she contact a Doctor ion Canada before travelling?

Piepiehoney:
Hello everyone, I applied for visitors visa with the sole purpose of giving birth in Canada and I also applied for B2 visa to give birth in US. I got the US visa yesterday. I am thinking of withdrawing my application since it's for same reason, I hope this won't be an issue in any way.

Candybright:
You should withdraw the Canada application since you won't be needing the visa for the stated purpose. If you don't want to withdraw, you can send a web form to notify them. I doubt if they give refund after withdrawal. Shaa withdraw before they will Sama you with refusal. Better to still have a clean record with them. My opinion

Yes I did. I got a mail from them yesterday that if I will get a refund, it will be processed in 16 weeks. I am not interested in the refund biko. I just want to have a clean slate, when I am back from the States I will apply for visitors visa with my valid US visa.

Hotstepper:
That is not true. People who weren't allowed inside are those that lied and it also happens in the US as well. A family friend of mine I helped just came in yesterday with her hubby nd even da customs officer told dem he's happy they said the truth cuz a lot of Nigerians will come and lie when it is obvious why they came. It is not illegal to have a baby in Canada just have ur money, paid accommodation nd doctors appointment nd you are good to go. My family friend applied in Jan nd was given 4 yrs visiting visa. She was asked if the embassy in Nigeria knew she was preggy when she applied nd she said no cuz it was an online application and nowhere to input it. The key is to be truthful cuz ur visa application is in their system nd they will pull it is once they swip your passport. At 7monthd plus, r u sure any airline would agree to take u?

Hotstepper:
Hello everyone

Happy New Year. Hope everyone is doing well. I have few thingw to say

1. If you decide to come to Canada to have your baby, have an open mind.

2. Budget over whatever u read here or people have told you as each case diff.

3. If you are going to be needing accomodation, its not cheap in this part of the world.

4. You will porbably be using taxi for ur appointment so budget that as well esp if you are coming in winter .

Good luck

makylove101:
I was a first time applicant and so was hubby. The information you have is false.

beebeeA:
Hello people. Good to see this thread still on. I'm in Canada and torn between using Dr Ted and RVH. I have an appointment with Dr. Ted next week. My challenge is accomodation and support system. I have friends in Milton and Mississauga but Humber River is some distance away. 48 minutes away. Wondering if I can cope alone in the hospital if labour starts on a day that my friends are at work.

Any advice will be appreciated or any one who knows anyone who can render support services for a token will go a long way

Hotstepper:
Hello everyone

Happy New Year. Hope everyone is doing well. I have few thingw to say

1. If you decide to come to Canada to have your baby, have an open mind.

2. Budget over whatever u read here or people have told you as each case diff.

3. If you are going to be needing accomodation, its not cheap in this part of the world.

4. You will porbably be using taxi for ur appointment so budget that as well esp if you are coming in winter .

Good luck

beebeeA:
Hello people. Good to see this thread still on. I'm in Canada and torn between using Dr Ted and RVH. I have an appointment with Dr. Ted next week. My challenge is accomodation and support system. I have friends in Milton and Mississauga but Humber River is some distance away. 48 minutes away. Wondering if I can cope alone in the hospital if labour starts on a day that my friends are at work.

Any advice will be appreciated or any one who knows anyone who can render support services for a token will go a long way