5 things you should think about when planning international surrogacy

If you are planning to grow your family through surrogacy overseas, it’s so important to do your research and to get things right in the planning stages, so you have a clear understanding of your options before you decide to go down a certain route.

Here are 5 things that you should think about when you are planning your international surrogacy journey:

• The destination: do plenty of research into each possible destination for surrogacy before deciding the best possible option for you. Things to consider include: is surrogacy legal and if so how is it regulated in the destination? Which agencies are available to you and how will you and your surrogate be supported throughout the whole process? What is the legal status of your surrogacy arrangement in your destination country?
• Your budget: your costs will vary depending on where your child is born, and also which agency you choose. It’s crucial that you have a clear picture of the total cost involved, and make sure you budget for things like your travel costs and accommodation overseas.
• Bringing your child home: you should have a clear plan for how you are going to bring your child home once they have been born, including timescales for applying for a passport and immigration issues.
• The UK legal process: wherever in the world your child is born, it’s crucial to understand the process that you will need to go through when you get home to secure your legal parentage, the requirements you will need to fulfil and the
  timescales that will be involved.
• Support: surrogacy can be both physically and emotionally tiring (as well as very exciting) so it’s important to make sure that you have a good support system in place, with friends and family who you feel able to share your journey with.

If you are planning a surrogacy journey or would like any advice on anything to do with fertility law, please contact our highly
specialist Fertility Team who will be able to assist. Call our expert team on 01202 525333 or send us an email enquiry fertility@ellisjones.co.uk.