Destination research checklist

Who may commission, and whether we are inside that

A rule often names some family types plainly and leaves others to draft text. Find out which one you are in.

• Who is permitted to commission a surrogacy here, stated as a rule rather than as practice?

• Do our marital status, age, sexual orientation, existing children or health history fall inside or outside that?

• Is a genetic link to at least one intended parent required, and what changes if it is?

• Whose approval must be given before treatment starts, and how long does that take in practice?

• Are there rules on the number of embryos transferred, or on selective reduction?

Who the child belongs to at birth

Parentage and nationality are two different questions that people routinely merge into one.

• Who is the legal mother at birth, regardless of whose egg was used?

• By what order or registration does parentage move to us, and what is it called?

• When can that order be applied for, and how long does a determination take?

• Which names appear on the birth certificate we are able to obtain, and on the one issued later?

• Does the surrogate have to consent after birth, and can that consent be withheld?

Nationality, documents and getting home

• What nationality does the child acquire at birth, and on which basis?

• What travel document can the child leave the country on, and which authority issues it?

• Will our own country recognise the parentage established here, and through what process?

• How long must the family remain in country after birth, and who can state that in writing?

• What has to be registered at home after arrival, and within what deadline?

What the medical program actually covers

• Which clinic runs the treatment, and who is accountable for it?

• Whose eggs, whose sperm and whose uterus, and what screening applies to each?

• Is counselling provided, to whom, and is it independent of the program?

• How many transfer attempts are inside the quoted program before it is treated as unsuccessful?

• What happens to stored embryos if the program ends before a pregnancy?

Money, stages and what comes back

Ask about money by stage: which payment falls due when, which parts come back, and who holds the account.

• What is inside the quoted fee, and what is billed later by a third party?

• When is each payment due against each stage, and how much is refundable at that point?

• Is an escrow or managed account used, who administers it, and what do they charge?

• What insurance covers the surrogate, and what would our own cover have to pay for?

• What is the stated process when a cost falls outside the quote, and who approves it first?

Being there, and for how long

• Which stages require our physical presence and which can be handled by a representative?

• How many trips, of what length, at which points in the process?

• What visas, appointments and documents does each trip require?

• If a travel restriction or illness lands mid-program, what does the contract say happens next?

Independent advice and what happens in a dispute

• Which lawyer will read the contract for us, in whose jurisdiction, and who pays?

• Is the surrogate independently advised, and is that advice paid for from our money?

• What happens if we and the provider disagree on something material, and what is the first step?

• Which court, register or body would hear a dispute, and in which country?