Denied round of IVF because my husband is foreign

[mayiaskyouaquestion]

Hi all, I was wondering if anybody has had any experience with this and could share some light or offer a hand hold.

I am British, born and bred, and my DH is Kuwaiti. He is here on a spouse visa, and has lived here since 2019. We've been married for 5 years.

We have been struggling to conceive for almost three years now; I have endo tissue on my ovaries and a low egg count. I first saw the doctor about a year ago and we started the process going towards IVF.

At my latest appointment I have been told that we are not eligible for a free round of IVF because my DH is a foreign national! I am devastated, and very angry that it has taken that long to be told as I feel like it could have been brought up at my first appointment, or whenever they realised my DH was Kuwaiti. It will be a couple of years before he can apply for permanent residency, and he'll have to give up his KW citizenship if he wants to get British citizenship. By the time this happens I'll be in my late thirties and it'll be even harder to conceive.

I can't find anything about it online, all it says is that to qualify for IVF you need to be lower than 30BMI, non-smoker, no previous children, etc etc. We definitely can't afford private treatment.

Does anybody know where I can find the information on visa status and IVF? I wouldn't want to miss out on treatment because a doctor got their visa-related facts wrong.

Many thanks in advance.

This is on the Gov site

www.gov.uk/guidance/nhs-entitlements-migrant-health-guide
To be ordinarily resident in the UK, people from countries outside the European Economic Area (EEA) who are subject to immigration control need to also have the immigration status of ‘indefinite leave to remain’

The National Health Service (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 2015 and government guidance on overseas visitors hospital charging regulations outline the NHS services that are currently free of charge irrespective of an overseas visitor’s country of normal residence (as long as they have not travelled to the UK for the purpose of seeking that treatment). These services are:
…
family planning services (does not include termination of pregnancy or infertility treatment)

Thanks, I had seen that, but it's a little ambiguous; does it mean as a couple? A woman? A man?

I should have posed my question slightly differently; I am British and female. As far as I can tell, my DH just has to produce a fresh sperm sample and they give it a good wash to select the strongest ones. It's me who has to go through everything else.

He's already been tested for sperm count etc, so I am amazed this wasn't brought up earlier. I feel like I've been set up to be shot down. If I wanted to use donor sperm then that wouldn't be a problem!

If you're getting nowhere with the NHS then I would recommend contacting your local MP.

Your husbands nationality wouldn't really come into it though OP in the early stages of fertility investigations and he certainly wouldn't be asked about it at an early stage whilst they are just running tests etc? It's only when it comes to applying for the funding that it becomes relevant

IVF can be affordable - there are plenty of finance agreements, refund programmes,l etc available these days

I'd be inclined to save what you would either lose income wise by being a STAHP or have to pay out on childcare and over 12 months you should be able to save over £12k and you can get 3 rounds of IVF at certain clinics for that

...he certainly wouldn't be asked about it at an early stage whilst they are just running tests etc? It's only when it comes to applying for the funding that it becomes relevant
Maybe you're right, I just feel so frustrated that not even a heads up was given. It's taken so much time, effort, waiting and anxiety on both our parts to get to this stage and only now it's pointed out we're not eligible, even though I'm British. It's so heartbreaking.

We were saving each month but now that everything has gone up in price we're scrounging to get by. As for childcare, my mum has stepped in as full time c; she did the same for my sister until my niece was 3yo).

I'm going to write to my MP and local councillor. Not sure if it'll help, but you never know.

If egg count is an issue, you could also look at egg freezing just now, with a view to fertilising them with your DH's sperm at a later date? I'm not sure if the NHS would do it or if you'd need to go private for it, but that could buy you some time...

There are also finance packages available for IVF with private clinics, if that could become an option?

You need absolute clarity, since you are the patient. The best advocate for you is you, contact Fertility Network or similar.

We ought to have received additional IVF funding (nothing to do with nationality), found out after spending £40k.

Good luck OP.

I just think OP that whether it was me or my husband who was the foreign national I would never have assumed that I qualified in the first place and it does say it on the visa information about fertility treatment because I've seen people query this a few times on other boards so I don't think it's something that necessarily should be taken to your MP?

I don't think you've necessarily wasted/lost anything? All the tests you've had done free** both you and your husband - a private clinic will generally accept so you don't have to have them done again and so will have saved you some money

You may have never assumed but when you're told you're in the position to have one free round but you need to do xyz to get there, only to be told a year later that you're not, it's very upsetting. I also don't think an assumption is unwarranted in my case.

Thanks for your suggestion, @HeyMona. That sounds very rough.

We've had a look at finance packages but it does seem a bit much for us at the moment. I'm starting to feel defeated.

@mayiaskyouaquestion sorry you're going through this. I recently did IVF with ABC Fertility. They are a low cost option (I think the treatment plus meds cost us less then £3,000). I appreciate that this is still a lot of money, but it's much cheaper than "regular" clinics. They do have strict criteria that must be met to be accepted as a patient but if you meet that criteria, it may worth taking a look.

OP could you contact your CCG if you know which one it is to find out what the rules are?

OP I found ABC the most affordable private clinic, I had my first cycle with them and it cost about £3000 all in…we have complex fertility issues so it didn’t work but their care was fantastic. I think there are options abroad too, I don’t know much about these though but I’m sure others on here do. Good luck

I’m sorry you are going through this stress in addition to the infertility