Tier 4 Status questionable due to Pregnancy during placement

Hi All,

My wife is in Tier 4 and she is doing her MSc with industrial placement. She is done with her academic courses and started her placement recently[50 weeks placement]. She is 23 weeks pregnant this week and will need Maternity related absence from placement as due date is in the mid of February. I am on tier 4 dependent and working as an Electronic Test engineer. we have visa valid till January 2017. She informed her placement office yesterday about the pregnancy and asked for their advise. They didn't say anything clearly yet as the lady in the placement office wasn't sure about the immigration rulings related to this case so am I. But she said we might have to go back to our home country to have the delivery as soon as she stop the placement because the interruption in the placement means end of studentship. She also advised us to contact university visa office which we will do on Monday. in the mean time I am trying to find out more information about this issue. She wants to come back after giving birth to the child to complete her placement as it is very important for her career.

[*] What is the maximum length of break she can have from her employer while maintaining her current immigration status.
[*]Has anyone been in the same situation?
[*]Do you know the immigration rules regarding pregnancy during placement for international student.
[*]Shall I consult with a lawyer? If so, anyone in your mind?

thanks in advance for reading this post now shed some knowledge here please....

From UKCISA

If you are a Tier 4 migrant and you are pregnant, it is very important that you talk to an immigration adviser as soon as possible. If you find you need to interrupt your studies due to pregnancy, you and any dependants will normally need to leave the UK, then apply for new Tier 4 entry clearance in order to return to the UK and resume studies.

Why have a child if the placement is so important?

Mahmud_eng wrote:[*] What is the maximum length of break she can have from her employer while maintaining her current immigration status.
[*]Do you know the immigration rules regarding pregnancy during placement for international student.

She needs to speak to her Tier 4 sponsor urgently. They will explain what is the maximum break she can take without interrupting her studies. If she does need to interrupt her studies, the sponsor will stop sponsoring her, and she and her dependants will need to leave the UK. When she is ready to resume studies, the sponsor will issue a new CAS for her to apply for a new Tier 4 visa.

Given her pregnancy, perhaps it will be best to interrupt now, and then resume the placement this time next year?

May I ask if she made her pregnancy aware to the placement team before starting the placement? Sponsors I am aware of have re-scheduled the Placement if the student will be giving birth in the sponsors 'holiday period'. Just curious if your university were aware and what contingencies they made.

Wanderer wrote:
Why have a child if the placement is so important?

very stupid question... :@

sah10406 wrote:

Mahmud_eng wrote:[*] What is the maximum length of break she can have from her employer while maintaining her current immigration status.
[*]Do you know the immigration rules regarding pregnancy during placement for international student.

She needs to speak to her Tier 4 sponsor urgently. They will explain what is the maximum break she can take without interrupting her studies. If she does need to interrupt her studies, the sponsor will stop sponsoring her, and she and her dependants will need to leave the UK. When she is ready to resume studies, the sponsor will issue a new CAS for her to apply for a new Tier 4 visa.

Given her pregnancy, perhaps it will be best to interrupt now, and then resume the placement this time next year?

Thank you for your advice. She will speak with the visa advisor from her university soon. Let's see what they suggest.

Mahmud_eng wrote:

Wanderer wrote:
Why have a child if the placement is so important?

very good question... :@

FTFY....

keysersoze22 wrote:May I ask if she made her pregnancy aware to the placement team before starting the placement? Sponsors I am aware of have re-scheduled the Placement if the student will be giving birth in the sponsors 'holiday period'. Just curious if your university were aware and what contingencies they made.

No. She didn't inform the placement team until last week. She will speak to the relevant departments this week. I will keep updating our status.

She really needs to be prepared for having to interrupt her studies, and hence her placement too, probably for a year, and leaving the UK for the duration of the interruption.

Her placement provider may permit notional "maternity leave" from the placement, but her Tier 4 sponsor will certainly not permit "maternity leave" from participation on her course/placement under their sponsorship, unless it literally a few weeks that do not affect her overall schedule.

Wanderer wrote:

Mahmud_eng wrote:

Wanderer wrote:
Why have a child if the placement is so important?

very good question... :@

You must have had a bad upbringing. At-least your manner of questioning says that. now would you please stop making further comments here ??

Mahmud_eng wrote:
You must have had a bad upbringing. At-least your manner of questioning says that. now would you please stop making further comments here ??

Public forum but I'll see how I feel.

I agree with Wanderer...

Sometimes being a woman just plain sucks - it would be great for our careers if men could have the babies instead! Timing pregnancy in a modern world is tricky, but very possible!