In response to the war in Ukraine, our team has been working to support British parents with or expecting babies through surrogacy. If you are need our help, please contact us at hello@ngalaw.co.uk.
What we are doing to support surrogacy families
With 42 British babies due from the start of the war until November 2022, we have been helping all the affected British families with:
– campaigning to win coordinated government assistance for affected families, and subsequently coordinating with officials at the Foreign Office, Home Office and Passport Office throughout the war,
– campaigning to secure (and then applying for) special visas to enable pregnant surrogates and their families to come to the UK,
– support with emergency passport applications for babies born in Ukraine and other countries through surrogacy, and
– coordinating with all affected families to provide guidance, reassurance and help.
Practical and legal advice on travel documents for babies
Read our free guidance for intended parents expecting children through surrogacy in Ukraine, including information on the process for getting emergency travel documents and good sources of practical information. Contact us if you need help with rescuing your child from Ukraine.
Help from the UK government
We are keeping the UK Foreign Office informed of the details of all British parents we are aware of who need their help. If you want to be added to the list to ensure you get the support you need, contact us.
We received a personal letter from Foreign Secretary Liz Truss assuring us of the government’s commitment to help.
Visas for pregnant surrogates
Following a letter written by Natalie (working with leading immigration lawyer Barry O’Leary), the Home Secretary has agreed to issue special visas to pregnant surrogates carrying babies for British parents (and their immediate families). If your surrogate wishes to come to the UK let us know and we can help you with the application.
We received a personal letter from Priti Patel assuring us of the Home Secretary’s support.
Read our separate blog about the decision to issue visas.
Media coverage on the crisis and what we are doing to help
We campaigned in the media to win help for affected families. Read more about the media coverage on this issue.
Why is Ukraine such a hub for surrogacy?
Ukraine is a popular destination for surrogacy given the outdated laws in the UK and the shortage of UK surrogates. It is one of the few countries around the world which has a legal framework which recognises the intended parents as the legal parents of their children from birth, and a place intended parents look to if they are unable to carry a child (often following years of failed IVF, baby loss, cancer or other difficult journeys). In normal times, we know that the UK family court makes around 40 parental orders (the UK court orders which confirm parenthood in surrogacy cases) each year in Ukraine surrogacy cases.
The parents we are working with all conceived their long-wanted children before the war in Ukraine, and are heartbroken and distressed about what has happened in Ukraine, as well as desperately worried about the prospect of their babies being born, and their surrogates being pregnant and unsupported, in a warzone. We will continue to do all we can to support them all, and won’t stop until we have got everyone to safety.
The UK’s leading surrogacy lawyers
Find out more about how we support families through surrogacy
