Fertility & Surrogacy
Choosing a surrogacy jurisdiction: the four questions that decide it
Legality, parentage, eligibility and exit documents — in that order. Get the order wrong and everything else gets harder.
The country where your child is born determines almost everything about the rest of the journey. Four questions come before cost.
1. Is it lawful?
Commercial, altruistic-only, restricted or prohibited. The legality label tells you the framework, not the risk — read the notes column.
2. How is parentage decided?
Pre-birth order, post-birth parental order, or a court process. A post-birth order means the surrogate is the legal mother until it is granted, which affects travel.
3. Are you eligible?
Single parents and same-sex couples are not eligible everywhere. Confirm before you fall in love with a price.
4. Can you get the child home?
Exit documents — birth certificate, passport, immigration permission — are the step that strands families abroad. This is where most plans break.
Compare all four across eight countries in the Fertility portal's jurisdiction table.
This guide is general information, not legal or medical advice. Retain qualified counsel in the relevant jurisdiction before acting.