Another pregnant woman on a visitor's permit has been ordered to leave the country by Immigration <?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = YGG />New Zealand.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

Yesterday it was reported that Korean student, Sung Won Kim, 31, would be kicked out of New Zealand after being refused a student visa because she was pregnant.

Ms Kim and her partner arrived on visitors' permits in March.

In April, she applied for a student permit which was declined because she was pregnant, Immigration Minister Jonathan Coleman said.

Today, The New Zealand Herald reported that a heavily pregnant Lithuanian tourist was also being asked to leave the country.

Jurga Skiauteris, 29, arrived in January with her husband Robertas, 34, and their six-year-old son, Leonardo. She had been bed-ridden most of the time because of complications found in her pregnancy during a routine check in March.

The family became overstayers when their permits expired on April 2, and Immigration NZ had rejected two appeals from Mr Skiauteris.

Mr Skiauteris told Immigration NZ that doctors at North Shore Hospital had advised his wife that any travel could harm her and her child.

The "unexpected change in health conditions means any travel would put my partner and baby in danger", Mr Skiauteris said.

The family had insurance cover for medical and hospital expenses, he said.

In the family's application to Immigration NZ, North Shore Hospital doctor Alex Ivancevic said Mrs Skiauteris' pregnancy was "high risk".

But Immigration NZ said it would not extend Mrs Skiauteris' permit because she was "not of an acceptable standard of health" and would require high-cost pharmaceuticals and hospital care during her stay in New Zealand.

Mr Coleman said yesterday that New Zealand "simply does not have the healthcare resources to offer maternity services to visitors" even if they were prepared to pay.

The Department of Labour, which oversees immigration, said even if applicants offered to pay their own maternity costs, they still added to the demand for services.