The Home Secretary Priti Patel will issue special discretionary visas to any pregnant Ukraine surrogates carrying British children who wish to come to the UK. Writing personally to Natalie and immigration lawyer Barry O’Leary who has supported us this week, the Home Secretary has confirmed that visas will be issued on an urgent basis, separately from any wider Ukraine refugee scheme.
Our team is now processing the very first visa applications for surrogates and their dependents who want to come to the UK, and we can see what a lifeline this is for these women and their families.
The visas give three year residency in the UK, with full entitlement to benefits and NHS care, and they include not just surrogates but also their children and any other dependents.
Thank you to supportive MPs
We are enormously grateful for the assistance given by various MPs (including Theresa May, Yvette Cooper, Jeremy Corbyn, Andrew Percy from the APPG on Surrogacy, Ruth Cabdury and Kevin Brennan, who raised a Parliamentary question in the House of Commons last week).
We are supporting British families with free emergency legal support
This is part of the free emergency legal support we are giving to British families expecting babies through surrogacy in Ukraine. Find out more.
Media coverage
The Big Issue – Priti Patel authorises three year visas for Ukrainian surrogates
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