A couple planning a home birth will now have to do it without the midwife they hired.

The woman was brought in two weeks before the baby's due date by Conscious Birth Bermuda, who anticipated her work permit would be approved in time. However the midwife has since been forced to leave the Island and the couple are now due to give birth on their own.

Chief Immigration Officer Rozy Azhar said it's a well-established policy that people cannot be on the Island while their permit application is being processed.

"Reasons for this policy include that firstly, there is no expectation that a work permit will be granted until permission has, in fact, been received; and secondly, to ensure that persons are not tempted to work until they actually receive a work permit. "In this case, the applicant in question admitted to an Immigration officer that she had been present at the birth of one of the company's clients in contravention of her status as a bona fide visitor."

Conscious Birth owner Sophia Cannonier told The Royal Gazette she thought she was following proper procedure.

"My problem is that I was not very clear about how the midwives needed to come in and [apply for their permit and] leave again and had I known that we would not have done it this way. We would have made a plan to get the midwife to come in much earlier."

She described the situation a "big misunderstanding".

Ms Azhar said the midwife had overstayed the "period granted" when she arrived at L.F. Wade International Airport.

"We expect all employers to adhere to the Bermuda Immigration and Protection Act and its related policies," she added.

The couple, who asked not to be named, are one of a dozen or so families who choose to give birth at home each year, with the assistance of Conscious Birth.

Ms Cannonier said she now has a "very clear" understanding of the Department of Immigration's expectations.

But she insisted that the future of home birth on the Island could be in jeopardy as couples hoping to utilise a midwife will have to finance multiple flights to comply with the permit regulations. It would mean that women could lose their "human right" to choose where they deliver their baby, Ms Cannonier said.

She said more couples are opting to give birth at home instead of King Edward VII Memorial Hospital because it ensured privacy and unrestricted visiting hours. Women were also doing their research about methods like water birth and realising home birth was a safe method of delivery, she said.

Ms Cannonier is hoping to get the situation sorted out so there can be a smooth entrance for midwives coming into Bermuda.

"I know this is larger than me and bigger than one couple. This is about choice, a woman's human right and I feel that if I do not do this no one else is going to do this. I am more determined to just make it right."

She added: "I need the public to know it's not an easy road and people that want home birth need to be really vested in it because it's hard work to get a midwife through to come and support women. We are not giving up."