Surrogacy in Ukraine and Georgia
Guidance, law and latest news for British parents having children through surrogacy in Ukraine and Georgia
– from the UK’s leading surrogacy lawyers
Explore our Ukraine and Georgia surrogacy hub
Ukraine and Georgia have legal frameworks supporting surrogacy for heterosexual couples.
Until 2022, Ukraine was the second most popular international surrogacy destination for UK parents after the US, with many agencies offering surrogacy and egg donation services for married couples. Since Russia invaded in February 2022, the UK Foreign Office has advised UK parents not to engage in surrogacy in Ukraine, and there are significant risks associated with conceiving a child in a warzone.
Georgia has legislation which explicitly supports surrogacy for heterosexual parents, although there are fewer surrogacy agencies in Georgia and the war in Ukraine has placed considerable strain on the system. Care is needed to follow the Georgian legal requirements carefully, and to navigate surrogacy safely and ethically.
Our Ukraine and Georgia surrogacy content hub gives free information and resources on UK legal issues for intended parents conceiving children through surrogacy in Ukraine or Georgia.
What’s the UK legal process for surrogacy in Ukraine or Georgia?
International surrogacy and UK law
Why do you need to think about UK law if you are going to Ukraine or Georgia for surrogacy? Find out what to ask at the planning stages, how to bring your baby home and what you need to do to become a family under UK law
Parental orders
UK parents who have a child through surrogacy in Ukraine or Georgia are expected to apply for a UK parental order after their child is born. Find out why you need one, what the court is assessing and how the process works
Latest news about surrogacy in Ukraine and Georgia
Travelling home with your baby born through international surrogacy – the options
UK immigration law around surrogacy is complex. There’s no single process that fits all, and the best route home will depend on your personal situation and the country where your baby is born.
NGA Law quoted in The I Paper – ‘people need to realise the lengths we’ll go to’
The I Paper has featured a story about British parents Amita and Sham whose twin boys Rey and Ryo were born through surrogacy in Ukraine in July this year. As the headline says, the story reflects the lengths intended parents will go to to have a...
Kelly Blaxall speaks at the Third International Congress on Reproductive Law in Ukraine
Kelly was delighted to speak at the Third International Congress on Reproductive Law in Ukraine on Friday 8 November 2024 by Zoom.
NGA Law quoted in The Times – We will be trapped in a war zone: couple face months in Kyiv to claim their baby
NGA has been quoted in a piece in The Times newspaper about a British couple’s surrogacy journey in Ukraine.
Numbers talk – NGA Law and statistics on international surrogacy
CAFCASS data reveals the evolving landscape of surrogacy for UK parents, highlighting the popularity of the US as a destination and the ethical considerations involved. With over a decade of insights, NGA Law provides expert guidance on navigating surrogacy both domestically and internationally.
Concerning shifts in the shrinking world of global surrogacy – Article published in Bionews
Kelly has written a comment piece in this week’s Bionews about the changing landscape of international surrogacy as a result of the war in Ukraine, the announcement that surrogacy is to be prohibited in Georgia, and the recent scandal involving a clinic in Greece. ...
UK government withdraws emergency passport scheme for surrogate babies born in Ukraine
NGA Law has been notified that emergency travel documents will no longer be issued routinely for British surrogate babies born in Ukraine. We understand that the Foreign Office and HM Passport Office have made a joint decision to withdraw the emergency scheme - put in...
Georgian Prime Minister announces surrogacy ban for foreigners from 1 January 2024
We look at the announcement that the country of Georgia is implementing surrogacy ban for foreigners from 1 January 2024.
NGA quoted in the Observer – The Baby Broker project: inside the world’s leading low-cost surrogacy agency
NGA has been quoted in a long piece in today's Observer about a surrogacy agency operating in Georgia as well as various other unregulated destinations (including Mexico and historically India, Thailand, Nepal and Cambodia). The piece raises concerns about ethical...
Media coverage of our work to support Ukraine surrogacy families
We have been speaking to the media about what help we need from the UK government to support British parents with or expecting babies through surrogacy in Ukraine following Russia's invasion . The Times (6 March 2022) writes: Desperate British families are asking the...
Our legal services for surrogacy in Ukraine or Georgia
Advice for those planning surrogacy
With decades of experience, we routinely advise intended parents planning surrogacy to help them weigh the risks, timescales, costs and ethics of the different international surrogacy options they may be considering, including surrogacy in Ukraine and Georgia.
Top tier legal representation
We support intended parents living in the UK and overseas to navigate UK law successfully, including applications for British nationality and UK passports for surrogate babies, High Court parental order (or other family law) applications, wills and more.
Our pioneering work on Ukraine and Georgia surrogacy
2022
Supporting the whole community of UK intended parents expecting babies
We worked pro bono with every single UK parent expecting a baby through surrogacy when Russia invaded. We lobbied Parliament, liaised personally with the Home Secretary and Foreign Secretary, secured a process for granting emergency travel documents quickly (both for surrogates and babies), and worked over the next 9 months to successfully rescue every one of the British babies born in Ukraine. In total, we helped get 46 British babies to safety.
2020
Solving international surrogacy challenges during the pandemic
We successfully lobbied the UK government to create a new emergency passport process for standard surrogate babies in April 2020, and in October 2020 persuaded the HFEA to permit the export of eggs, sperm andd embryos overseas for surrogacy to enable intended parents to conceive. With Ukraine airspace closed in the first half of 2020, we even helped a group of intended parents to pool their resources to hire a private jet to get to their babies’ births.
2008
The UK’s first international surrogacy case
Our founder Natalie represented the very first UK parents to be granted a parental order after international surrogacy. In a then-landmark High Court decision, the court granted legal parenthood to a British couple with twins through surrogacy in Ukraine who had, as the judge said, been ‘marooned stateless and parentless’ because of the conflict between UK and Ukraine law.
Still have questions?
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