Surrogacy

Couples struggling to achieve parenthood can look to international surrogacy to achieve their dream. Our family lawyers advise on international surrogacy arrangements, provide preliminary advice on matters to consider before embarking on international surrogacy, and represent parents in parental order applications. Call Evolve Family Law or complete our online enquiry form for international surrogacy advice. International surrogacy and the law Under UK law, a surrogate mother is the legal mother of a child born through surrogacy. That is the case even where there is a genetic link between the baby and the intended mother or father. This UK law applies even if the baby is born through international surrogacy. International surrogacy can throw up complicated family law issues as well as immigration and nationality issues for the baby. However, many families still opt to use international surrogacy because: The availability of overseas surrogates compared to the UK. Heritage reasons, as one or both parents originated from the surrogate's country of birth. Intended parents don’t realise how complicated international surrogacy and immigration law is. Often, intended parents choose international surrogacy for a combination of all three reasons. At Evolve Family Law, our specialist surrogacy solicitors provide expert international surrogacy advice so parents have a clearer understanding of the legal requirements and the timescale to return to the UK with their child. International surrogacy contracts In the UK, surrogacy arrangements are not enforceable as a contract between the surrogate mother and the intended parents. Different laws apply to surrogacy agreements in other countries. However, even if a surrogacy agreement is legally enforceable in the country where the surrogate mother lives, the intended parents cannot bring court proceedings to enforce it in the UK. International surrogacy and immigration     If a child is born to a surrogate mother who is not a British citizen, then complex surrogacy and immigration law will determine the nationality of the child. Those rules will also determine if and how the child can enter the UK. The child’s nationality and immigration status may depend on whether the intended father is genetically linked to the child and whether the surrogate mother is legally married or not. If you are contemplating international surrogacy, it is vital that you take expert legal advice from children and surrogacy law solicitors, as well as advice from immigration law experts. [related_posts] International surrogacy and parental orders Under UK children law, a child born to a surrogate mother is the legal child of the surrogate mother. Intended parents can apply to the family court for a parental order. This order extinguishes the legal rights of the surrogate mother and makes the intended parents the child’s legal parents. Once the parental order is made, the intended parents have parental responsibility for the child. Requirements for a parental order The Human Fertilisation & Embryology Act 2008 sets out the requirements for a parental order: The child must be carried by a surrogate who is not an intended parent. The surrogate (and her spouse, where relevant) must consent to the order. The consent must be unconditional and given at least six weeks after the child’s birth. The surrogate can only have received reasonable expenses for acting as a surrogate. At least one of the intended parents must have a genetic link to the child. The parental order applicants must be at least 18 years old. The application must be made within six months of the child’s birth. The child must have a home with the applicants at the time of the parental order application. One or both applicants must be UK domiciled. The law now says that applicants for a parental order can be single or couples. Joint applicants must be married, in a civil partnership, or in an enduring family relationship. The court defines enduring relationships broadly. Questions about parental order requirements Many intended parents have questions about the parental order requirements, such as: Can I be domiciled in the UK if I am not a British citizen? Can I apply for a parental order in the UK if I have Indefinite Leave to Remain or settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme? Can parental consent be dispensed with? When is a surrogate mother’s spouse’s consent required for the making of a parental order? What does the child having a home with the parental order applicants mean? How does that apply to situations where the baby has been living overseas and is awaiting UK entry clearance? What happens if the baby is over six months old at the parental order application date? What are reasonable expenses for a surrogate? What happens if the court thinks the payments made to the surrogate were excessive? Our UK surrogacy lawyers can answer your questions on surrogacy law and parental order requirements. Although the Act sets out the requirements, our family solicitors' advice is based on extensive caselaw, where family judges have widely interpreted the meaning of a home or enduring family relationship or dispensed with the requirement that the baby must be under the age of six months at the date of the application. Reasonable expenses have also been the subject of judicial caselaw. Expenses can include loss of earnings during the surrogate’s pregnancy, medical costs, pregnancy-related purchases, and expenditures related to the pregnancy, such as extra travel or dietary costs. Call Evolve Family Law or complete our online enquiry form for international surrogacy advice. Special considerations in international surrogacy arrangements There have been several parental order applications that have come before the court, where it has been evident to the family judge that the applicants had not taken expert advice before going ahead with the surrogacy arrangement. This led to all sorts of complexities with surrogacy law in the overseas country, the nationality of the baby, entry clearance and British nationality for the child, as well as the process taking substantially longer and being more complicated than the intended parents had contemplated. Concerns about intended parents not realising what they are getting themselves into have led to judges in three court cases drawing up a list of things for intended parents to consider when contemplating international surrogacy. The fact that the list now runs to 21 points emphasises how many issues there are for intended parents to consider when contemplating international surrogacy. The simplified 21 points from the three court cases are: What is the relevant legal framework in the country where the surrogacy arrangement is due to take place and where the child is to be born? Is surrogacy legal in the overseas country? When the child is born, will the intended parents be recognised as parents in the overseas country? Is that through the law in the country, or will the intended parents need to take legal steps before or after the child's birth? What is the surrogate mother’s legal status to the child at birth? If the surrogate is married at the time of the embryo transfer and/or when the child is born, what is her spouse’s legal status in relation to the child? If an agency is involved, what role will it play in matching the surrogate with the intended parents? What information, preparation or support has the surrogate had about the proposed surrogacy arrangement? Does the surrogate speak or read English? If not, what arrangements are in place to enable her to understand the surrogacy agreement? Will the intended parents and the surrogate have contact before deciding whether to proceed with a surrogacy arrangement? When will the agreement between the intended parents and surrogate be made, before or after the embryo transfer, and what are the reasons for it being at that time? What arrangements are proposed for contact between the intended parents and the surrogate during the pregnancy and/or after the birth? Which jurisdiction will the embryo transfer occur in, and which jurisdiction will the surrogate live in during pregnancy? Can the jurisdiction where the child is to be born be changed at any stage? If so, by whom and in what circumstances? What nationality will the child have at birth? What steps will need to be taken for the child to travel to the UK? What travel paperwork will be required, and how long will it take to get it? Do the intended parents need immigration advice on getting UK entry clearance for the child so the baby can enter the UK? What is the child’s immigration status after arriving in the UK? Will the intended parents keep a diary of chronological events and relevant documents to help with the parental order application and provide information about the child’s background and identity? Will discussions need to take place with departments such as the Home Department (HD), Department of Education (DfE) and/or Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC)? If proceedings are issued in the family court, should the HD, DfE, and/or DHSC be added as a party to the parental order application? What estate planning steps have been taken by the intended parents (before and after a parental order is made) regarding the child's future welfare? What steps have been taken by the intended parents regarding future care and financial arrangements for the child in the event of the incapacity of one (or both) of the intended parents? What steps have been taken by the intended parents in respect of future care and financial arrangements for the child in the event of the death of one (or both) of the intended parents? You may think that the final three questions about international surrogacy jar with the first 18 questions. That’s because those final three points were raised in the case of K & Anor v Z & Anor [2025], where estate planning and the child’s future care were welfare issues for consideration as the applicants were 72 years of age when applying for a parental order following a Californian surrogacy arrangement. If you want to read all three court cases and the full judicial wording of the 21 issues for consideration, the court cases are: Re Z (Foreign Surrogacy) [2024] EWFC 304 and Re Z (Unlawful Foreign Surrogacy: Adoption) [2025] EWHC 339 (Fam) K & Anor v Z & Anor [2025] EWHC 927 (Fam) (16 April 2025) Evolve Family Law Evolve Family Law is a niche firm of family law solicitors with substantial expertise in children and surrogacy law. If you are contemplating a surrogacy arrangement, either in the UK or abroad, our experts can advise you on your options and help you apply for a parental order. Call Evolve Family Law or complete our online enquiry form for international surrogacy advice.