Please read... I need help with this ASAP!!! Thank you

I knew a midwife in Abu Dhabi, who said that she stopped working at the hospitals because she couldn't bear it when an unmarried mother had to come in to the hospital - she would be chained to the bed (even in labour) so that she couldn't do a runner, and then taken into custody once recovered from the birth. You really don't want to risk that. And Abu Dhabi is far more progressive and liberal than Doha. They really frown upon babies outside of marriage here.

I'm assuming that as the OP's husband is Irish he needs a divorce in Ireland. These take a *long* time - as I recall there is no ability to do it except by several years separation. You can only get married under Shariah law if the groom is muslim! I know of an unmarried couple who lived here and did visa runs. The issue for me is actually the pregnancy and medical care. [edited to say: I mean I know of an unmarried couple with a child who lived here... Obviously know several unmarried couples without children, that's not that uncommon!'> <em>edited by lalala on 23/04/2012</em>

Is it possible to arrive here, check into different hotel rooms and get married under Sharia law ASAP? You wouldn't need a divorce for that and could have a proper home wedding later. Might take way too much organising and bureaucracy (doesn't everything in Doha?) and could be a sleldghammer to crack a nut. I think the risk of needing a hospital during a pregnancy as an unmarried woman is just too great to take though.

Very tricky, since I'm guessing you mean to move here and then do visa runs etc, it will become difficult if you need medical treatment here, scans etc and you def don't want to be giving birth here as an unmarried woman. You will need Drs notes to fly later on in the pregnancy (pretty much from as soon as you start to show, even as early as 25 weeks). I do know of a couple who did live here with their child and were unmarried so yep it is possible (not legal) , its more the while you are pregnant thing I would worry about. You have to consider you could go into labour prematurely etc..sorry can't help more, any way to speed up his divorce??

Gee, too bad your partner can't marry you anyway with divorce pending and all; after all, it is legal here for a man to have more than one wife; surely doesn't apply to Westerners, though. Best of luck to you with this situation; hope you find a solution.

Also keep in mind that the airlines have different cut off points, and realistically you won't want to fly after 28 weeks, so you and your partner will be separated for quite a long time... It then takes time to get a baby's passport, and I wouldn't want to take a newborn on a germy plane unless I absolutely had to... I would also be wary of being pregnant and something going wrong where you need medical treatment - as Lalala says you will get treatment but there would be repercussions...

Lalala is right . I went to both Al Ahli and Doha Clinic ( private hospitals ) when I moved her pregnant and both asked for marriage certificates before registering me . Even a unmarried couple spending a night together is illegal in Doha . You probably will never have a problem but there has been western teachers kicked out of the country for living in an unmarried relationship when the school got whiff of it .

I don't want to frighten you and there may be other members who have experience at complicated family matters in Qatar but from my knowledge it is going to be tricky for you . As a tourist you and your baby probably won't be be bothered but when it comes to longer stays you could run into trouble . Qatar is very bureaucratic and where you will encounter problems will be with your husbands employer , especially if they are a local company .Your situation could very well jepodize his job and I think it is very unlikely they would sponser a child without a marriage certificate . My friend had her first child as an unmarried woman , married the father 2 years on and moved from UK to UAE and had 2 subsequent children in Dubai no questions asked . When he was transferred to Qatar the company ( goverment ) could not sponser the eldest because she was born before the wedding . So this meant everyone went back to the UK because she couldn't enrol her in school or get medical care without the girl having a residents permit . So if he takes the job you need to get your partner to pay out the ex and tie the knot before the baby pops . There are many a pregnant bride in the Middle East who have had to do the same .

You're not going to get much help from the British Embassy. Most unhelpful embassy in Doha sadly. I have spoken about unmarried pregnancies with a qatari lawyer in the past. His view is that 'relations' outside of marriage are illegal in Doha. Doesn't matter that they're legal in the place where you got pregnant, the Doha authorities would still consider you have committed a crime to be pregnant outside of marriage. This was a theoretical discussion and as far as I know no one has ever been prosectuted for these exact circumstances. From a practical point of view, no one is going to ask you for your marriage certificate if you come in on a tourist visa whilst pregnant. However, if you have any serious medical problems that necessitate you going to the government hospital (which is the best equipped in Qatar) they will ask for a marriage certificate before they treat you. The private hospitals may not but only Hamad is equipped to deal with major major issues (eg a seriously premature child). If you're unmarried, you will get treatment but you will also face reprecussions. I am not sure exactly what will happen as I don't actually know of anyone who has been in this situation. The fact that you're British *may* make things easier. I don't think anyone's going to question you bringing babba in on a tourist visa once born. There are lots of women who have come in with children on tourist visas so someone will be along to help on this one. He *may* be able to sponsor the child after he/she is born but this will be a lengthy protracted process with lots of questions being asked. I know of single mothers who have sponsored children born outside of marriage here but it was hard and the father wasn't around. I think in these circumstances (where it's clear baby has been born after he started work in Doha) it's unlikely.