How can Goans living abroad plan IVF or gynae surgery in Goa?
Medically reviewed by our consultant obstetrician & gynaecologist (MBBS, MS OBG). Last reviewed: 9 November 2026.
Goans living abroad can plan IVF or gynae surgery in Goa around their leave. Start with a phone or WhatsApp consultation and send your reports. A fresh IVF cycle keeps the wife here for about three weeks; most keyhole operations need one or two nights in hospital. Pai Hospital is at Vaddem, Vasco, about 4 km from Dabolim airport.
Many Goan couples work abroad and wait until work allows before trying for a baby. By then leave is short and age matters. This guide by the Pai Hospital Team shows how to plan from abroad.
Who is this guide for?
It is for Goans and their families in the Gulf (Kuwait, the UAE, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia), the UK (London, Swindon and beyond), Portugal (mostly Lisbon), and at sea: seafarers and cruise crew home between contracts.
A 2021 estimate put the number of Goans living and working abroad at about three lakh (Khaleej Times). The Goa Migration Survey (2008) found that most households with a member abroad are in Salcete, Bardez and Tiswadi.
What can you do from abroad before you book a flight?
- Talk to us first. Call or WhatsApp about IVF, IUI, freezing or an operation.
- Send your reports by WhatsApp. Scans, blood tests or an operation note from abroad are reviewed before you come, so fewer tests are repeated.
- Do some tests near home. Some baseline tests can be done where you live, if the doctor agrees.
- Agree the dates. The doctor then gives you a realistic schedule for your employer or shipping company.
A phone consultation shows whether treatment looks feasible. It cannot replace an examination, and no treatment or medicines are given over the phone.
What is the time difference between Goa and where you live?
| Where you live | Goa is ahead by |
|---|---|
| UAE, Oman | 1 h 30 min |
| Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia | 2 h 30 min |
| UK and mainland Portugal, winter | 5 h 30 min |
| UK and mainland Portugal, summer | 4 h 30 min |
| On a ship | Changes as the ship moves |
India does not move its clocks, so the UK and Portugal gap shrinks by an hour in their summer. Write on WhatsApp at any hour, and we reply in our working day.
Which Goa airport should you fly into?
Dabolim (GOI) is about 4 km from the hospital at Vaddem. Mopa (GOX), in North Goa, is about 65 km away, roughly an hour and a half by road.
- From the Gulf: several Gulf–Goa services were suspended or withdrawn in 2026. Expect direct or one stop: check current flights before you book.
- From the UK and Portugal: most people change once, at a Gulf airport or in an Indian city such as Mumbai or Delhi. The scheduled direct London–Goa service was withdrawn, and UK holiday charters to Goa fly only in some winters, so check the current season.
- From a ship: you fly home from wherever you sign off. Mormugao port is in Vasco, the same town as the hospital.
In Goa, the hospital's own car collects you from either airport or your family home and takes you back: patient transport at zero cost to the patient, on the Goa side only.
How long should you plan to stay in Goa?
The usual patterns are below; your doctor confirms your own dates.
- IVF, fresh cycle: a first consultation and tests, a baseline scan on day two of your period, about 8 to 12 days of injections with short scan visits, then egg collection and, a few days later, the embryo transfer. Plan for about three weeks, plus a spare day before the flight, and land a few days before your period is due. The pregnancy blood test, about two weeks after the transfer, often falls after you fly back: agree with the doctor before you leave where to have it, and send the report by WhatsApp. See our IVF centre in Goa.
- IVF over two trips: the embryos are made and frozen while the husband is here. A frozen embryo transfer follows on a later trip, after about two weeks of lining preparation with tablets and scans.
- IUI: a handful of scan visits and a procedure of a few minutes, in one cycle. It suits a wife living in Goa, with her husband's frozen sample if he is away (IUI treatment in Goa).
- Freezing: sperm freezing for husbands who work away fits into a short leave. Egg freezing follows the first part of an IVF cycle.
- Gynae surgery: diagnostic hysteroscopy is usually day-care, and most laparoscopic operations here are a one- or two-night stay. Ask the surgeon how many days to stay before a long flight, so you book leave once. See laparoscopic surgery in Goa and hysteroscopy.
Where do patients from abroad stay?
Many patients from abroad stay with family in Goa, and the car collects them from there. Without a home in Goa, you can stay in a hotel or guest house in Vasco, near Dabolim and the hospital. IVF scan visits are short, and most women carry on with their day; take the egg collection day off.
Why do Goans abroad come home for fertility care or surgery?
Each country has its own rules, waits and costs. Some published facts:
| Where you live | What has been published |
|---|---|
| England | 29 of the 42 NHS integrated care boards pay for only one IVF cycle (Progress Educational Trust, February 2026). Across the UK, more than 760,000 women were on gynaecology waiting lists in 2024 (Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists). |
| Portugal | Patients who need donor eggs or donor sperm waited about three and a half years on average for public treatment in 2024, and anyone who reaches 40 before her turn is excluded from the list (Portugal's national fertility council, CNPMA). |
| UAE | A Dubai insurance broker notes that health plans there generally do not cover IVF as routine; some plans offer it as an add-on. |
| Kuwait | A worker earning under KD 800 a month usually cannot sponsor his wife to live with him there (Gulf News), so many couples meet only during his leave. |
| On a ship | Crew are away for months on each contract, so plans for a baby wait for the next sign-off. |
These facts are about access and cost, not the quality of care there. Home also brings family support, and for elders our doctor explains IVF and IUI in fertility videos in Konkani.
Which documents should you carry?
| Your passport | What you need for India |
|---|---|
| Indian passport | Your valid Indian passport is enough to enter India. |
| Portuguese, British or other foreign passport | That passport together with your OCI card, or with a valid Indian visa. Visa rules change, so confirm them on the official Government of India visa site before you book. |
Also carry your reports, operation notes and a list of your medicines and allergies. Consent forms are signed at the hospital; ask which need both of you, and plan them into the husband's leave.
How do you know the cost before you travel?
Fertility fees are listed on our IVF cost in Goa page. An operation is priced once a consultation and scan show which one you need (what affects the cost of laparoscopic surgery). You get your IVF plan and price, or a written estimate for surgery, before anything is scheduled. The IVF fee includes embryo freezing for up to six months, so plan a later transfer trip inside that time, or ask about longer freezing, quoted separately.
EMI available, including 0% EMI for eligible couples*
*Pai Hospital does not lend money or process EMI. EMI is arranged through our banking and finance partners. Their finance team checks your credit (including CIBIL score) with your consent and decides whether you get 0% EMI, EMI at an interest rate, or no EMI. Any processing fee or charges will be told to you by the partner before you sign. Ask our billing desk to connect you.
Which page covers your country?
From another Gulf country, Portugal or a ship, the steps above apply too.
To begin, send a WhatsApp message to +91 95185 02773 with your reports and the dates you can be in Goa, or call our reception on +91 95459 20817. Consultations are by appointment.
Written and reviewed by the Pai Hospital Team.
Can a short home leave be used just for tests?
Yes. One short leave covers the first consultation and the tests for the two of you: a scan, an AMH blood test, a semen analysis and basic blood tests. His semen can also be frozen during that leave, and treatment can follow on a later trip.
We stay in Salcete when we are home. Must every visit be in Vasco?
No. A fertility consultation can be held by appointment in Margao, Panjim, Mapusa or Vasco. Treatment-day scans, egg collection, laboratory work and operations are at the hospital at Vaddem, Vasco, and the hospital car can bring you from home and back.
Will the hospital car collect us from our family home in Goa?
Yes, for visits to the hospital: from anywhere in Goa or from either airport, and back again, at zero cost to the patient. There is no pickup for appointments at the Mapusa clinic.
Can I have keyhole surgery in Goa during my leave from abroad?
Often, yes. Send your scan report first, so the surgeon can say which operation you need and give you a written estimate. Many operations are day-care or a one- or two-night stay.
My husband is at sea for months. Can we still plan IVF?
Yes. His tests and sperm freezing fit into his shore leave, and your cycle can go ahead when the timing suits you. Or the embryos are made and frozen while he is home, and transferred later.
Or call +91 95185 02773
This page is for general education and is not personal medical advice. Treatment depends on your own examination and reports, so please speak to a doctor about your situation. We do not carry out or offer sex determination of any kind.