Following National Surrogacy Week 2025 last week, Antonia Felix, Alice Mantle and George Irving from Mishcon de Reay’s Modern Families team answer some key questions on international surrogacy to help intended parents navigate the process and provide some practical tips to consider.
How do I start the surrogacy journey and what are the options?
Some intended parents individually research and select all the professionals they use along their journey, whilst others choose to be guided by agencies or other organisations. Either way, you will need to consider all the costs involved such as the fertility treatment, payment to the surrogate, medical care for the surrogate and your baby when it is born and insurance.
Why do I need a parental order?
A parental order should be obtained through the court in order to extinguish the legal parentage of the surrogate and her spouse/civil partner if she has one. The order needs to be applied for after 6 weeks and within 6 months of the child's birth (with some exceptions).
If I am considering international surrogacy, do I need an English lawyer?
Following international surrogacy arrangements in many jurisdictions, you may be recognised as your child’s legal parents in the country/state of birth. However, English law still identifies the surrogate as the legal mother, and if married or in a civil partnership, her spouse or partner as the other legal parent. This discrepancy means that while you have documentation naming you as parents abroad, it won’t be recognized here. To resolve this, you must apply for a parental order after the birth. Once granted, you’ll receive a British birth certificate naming you as the legal parents. As part of the process, you can also request parental responsibility to make decisions for your child until legal parentage is officially transferred. An English lawyer can help you with these applications.
Not all family lawyers have experience in surrogacy. You need to find a lawyer with experience, empathy and the right knowledge to provide a solution-focused approach on your behalf. It is also good to consider what other legal help you may need and whether they can offer a full service which covers everything to do with surrogacy from parental orders, immigration, wills (including guardianship) and tax planning, all of which can come into play in international surrogacy arrangements.
I’ve heard of surrogacy contracts. Do we need one?
Surrogacy contracts are not legally enforceable in England & Wales and are not a legal requirement for domestic surrogacy. However, they are incredibly helpful and can be a time to reflect on what is important to you as parents. It is important you take your time to consider what to include. It should record your intentions and set out the parameters of your agreement, including information such as how many embryo transfers you will have, who will attend hospital appointments and what expenses you are planning to pay your surrogate as part of your surrogacy journey. You can include detail that is important to you, for example how often you want to be in contact during the pregnancy.