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Updated December 2016
Information Fact Sheet: International Surrogacy
CAUTION
This information sheet outlines the key issues which New Zealanders must consider and get
advice on if considering commissioning a surrogacy arrangement overseas. International
surrogacy can be fraught with difficulty and overseas countries can change their surrogacy
regulations without notice. The relevant New Zealand government Ministries endeavour to
provide the most up to date accurate information in this Fact Sheet. However, you should take
care to ensure that any decisions you make are based on current information from the country
concerned. You must ensure you comply with the laws and regulations of any country where
you are considering commissioning a surrogacy.
We strongly advise New Zealanders who are considering commissioning a surrogacy overseas
to seek independent legal advice and consult Child, Youth and Family, the Department of
Internal Affairs (DIA), and Immigration New Zealand (INZ) before beginning the process (contact
details can be found at the end of this Information Sheet).
What is international surrogacy?
International surrogacy is defined as a surrogacy arrangement, regardless of how it is
organised, involving an overseas country. This includes:
surrogacy involving a commercial arrangement i.e. in instances where money is paid to the
surrogate mother and/or the medical practitioner and the surrogacy procedure takes place
through a designated fertility clinic
surrogacy involving a compassionate or altruistic arrangement i.e. the surrogate is known to
the commissioning parent(s) and an arrangement has been made between both groups
without any profit made
surrogacy involving the export of gametes by a New Zealand Fertility Clinic for the purposes
of commissioning a gestational surrogacy arrangement.
There are significant complexities with international surrogacy arrangements involving a child
born via a surrogacy which takes place in a country that is different to where the commissioning
parents habitually reside. Navigating the legal and medical systems in an overseas country can
be extremely difficult, and due to weak legislative and regulatory frameworks in some countries
where commercial surrogacy is legal, there is often very little protection for the parties involved
in these arrangements. You need to be aware that you are financially responsible for all costs
incurred overseas, including unexpected medical treatment such as neo-natal care in the event
of premature births or other health conditions.
As well as legal and medical complexities, there are also risks associated with the movement of
the child from their country of birth to New Zealand. Each country has its own set of immigration
procedures and regulations relating to how individuals exit their country and these vary.
In addition, there are social risks which you need to consider; these include the potential for
exploitation and trafficking of women for surrogacy purposes and the vulnerability of children
due to a number of their rights not being met. For example, children may not be legally
registered, may not have a nationality (and therefore will be unable to travel due to their lack of
travel documentation – children require a nationality to be able to acquire a passport) and they
may have no future access to information about their genetic identity.