Surrogate mother in Ukraine is popular for many British couples. Arrangements can be successful when using a reputable and established agency.    As always, careful research and due diligence is required to ensure that you and your surrogate do not fall victim to unethical providers.  There are many in Ukraine.

You must be a married heterosexual couple to enter into a surrogacy arrangement in Ukraine. There are some programs with travelling surrogates.  The surrogates are Ukrainian and travel to other countries for embryo transfer and yet another country for the birth to try an avoid the law in Ukraine.  These programs are usually for single/gay men and put you, the surrogate and the child at risk for obvious reasons.

You should seek full legal advice before embarking upon surrogacy in Ukraine or any other country.  Careful advice and planning is required to complete your arrangement. It is important to do extensive research and make sure that whatever decision you make is legal in the country that you choose.  You are advised to consider the law in all destinations related to the arrangement including where the surrogate lives, where the embryo transfer takes place and where the birth will be.

The better surrogacy clinics/agencies will be transparent about their surrogate recruitment policy and the compensation paid to the surrogate. The onus is on you to ask relevant questions at all times to make sure that exploitation does not take place. I advise that you have private discussions with your surrogate and hire an interpreter where necessary. Most clinics offer assistance in this respect. If you do not do this, you risk there being serious misunderstandings between you and the surrogate that can lead to difficulties. You need an interpreter to make sure that all parties understand the terms of your arrangement.

Having conducted surrogacy cases for many years, I am in a good position to advise you of the pitfalls to look out for. I also have experience with the citizenship and passport procedure to get you back to the UK with your child swiftly.  In some destinations, this is not so straight forward particularly if you have no birth certificate.

If you are considering surrogacy in the Ukraine or any other destination, please do not hesitate to contact me for advice and guidance. It may also be necessary for you to take advice from a lawyer in the chosen destination. Please ask me about this.

Regardless of the law in the Ukraine, the surrogate is always the legal mother. Whether one of you is the legal father will depend on the circumstances surrounding the insemination and whether the surrogate is married. It is essential that you get advice before you start the process and preferably before you select the surrogate. I will advise you on whether you can become legal parents to the children) and if so, how to return to England with the child. I will then provide a bespoke service for you to obtain a Parental Order.

A Parental Order extinguishes any legal rights that the surrogate and her husband have for the child and makes you the legal parents. If you do not apply for a Parental Order by the time the child is 6 months old, you may need to consider alternatives such as adoption. This deadline has been extended in some cases. I will work with you to ensure that all of the necessary paperwork is in place for the Parental Order process within the deadline.