International surrogacy for the couple

For married couples facing infertility, surrogacy is a legally recognised and well-established path to parenthood, with a biological connection to their own child. Today this option is available in many countries, yet the surrogacy laws differ significantly: some states allow programmes only for married heterosexual couples, others impose requirements regarding the duration of marriage or place of residence, and still others prohibit it entirely. The main task for a couple, therefore, is to choose a jurisdiction that matches their situation.

We offer married couples three destinations: Ukraine, Georgia, and a European option. Each has its own logic, advantages, and limitations.

Who Is Eligible for Surrogacy in Principle

Regardless of the country, surrogacy is intended for couples who, for medical reasons, cannot carry a pregnancy themselves. Typical grounds include: infertility (female or male); conditions that make pregnancy impossible or dangerous; repeated failed attempts to conceive, including unsuccessful IVF cycles; and the woman’s age, which reduces the chances of a natural pregnancy. In every destination we work with gestational surrogacy, in which the surrogate mother has no genetic connection to the child she carries.

Surrogacy in Ukraine

Surrogacy in Ukraine is one of the oldest and most well-established options in Europe, with a clear legal framework.

Advantages:

• Surrogacy is directly regulated by law (Article 123 of the Family Code). This is not a grey area, but a direct legal provision.
• The intended parents are recognised as the legal parents from the moment of birth; both are recorded on the birth certificate, with no mention of surrogacy or donation.
• The surrogate mother has no legal rights to the child whatsoever.
• There is no requirement regarding the duration of marriage — it is sufficient to be officially married at the start.
• The most affordable destination: programmes from €47,000.
• The use of donor material, open donation, and sex selection of embryos is permitted.

Requirements:

• Official marriage (heterosexual couple).
• Medical indication for surrogacy.

Organisation and length of stay:

• Under the current wartime conditions, the programme is carried out in the west of the country, near the border with Poland, which simplifies logistics and enhances safety.
• The duration of the parents’ personal presence in Ukraine depends on the type of programme: from a few hours (when embryos are ready or donor material is used) to approximately two weeks — when using the patient’s own oocytes and carrying out ovarian stimulation directly in Ukraine.
• The logistics of the child’s departure require precise handling of documents and time for consular procedures; delivery is possible in Lviv, where most consulates are located.

Points to consider:

• Wartime conditions. For some clients, the very fact of travelling to a country at war is a psychological barrier, even though the programmes are organised in safer western regions.

Surrogacy in Georgia

Surrogacy in Georgia is a long-standing option, legal since 1997, popular among clients from outside Europe. It became especially sought-after from 2022, when the Ukrainian option grew less predictable.

Advantages:

• A clear legal framework: the intended parents are recognised as legal parents from birth, and both are recorded on the birth certificate.
• The surrogate mother has no rights to the child.
• Well-developed clinical infrastructure and many years of experience working with foreign clients.
• Donor material and sex selection are permitted.

Requirements:

• A heterosexual couple in an official marriage of at least one year at the start of the programme.
• Medical indications.

Disadvantages and points to consider:

• Duration of marriage. For couples who have recently married, the one-year marriage requirement may be an obstacle.
• Legislative uncertainty. The country’s authorities are seeking to restrict the legislation on surrogacy for foreigners, which concerns some prospective parents. Nevertheless, you can be assured that programmes already underway will be completed even in the event of a ban on this service.
• Higher cost. The programme price starts from €53,000, with all components more expensive than in Ukraine: embryo transfers, repeat IVF cycles, and donor services are all considerably higher.
• A limited choice of donors of European appearance within the local database.

It is also worth noting a convenient option for patients: both countries — Ukraine and Georgia — accept women for egg retrieval after stimulation carried out in their home country. This significantly reduces the time spent abroad. Likewise, the use of ready-made embryos brought from one’s own country is possible.

Surrogacy in Europe

Surrogacy in Europe is intended for couples who do not want to or cannot travel outside Europe, and for whom it is essential that the child is born specifically in Europe.

How it works:

• The programme starts in Bratislava, Slovakia. This is where the couple comes at the initial stage.
• Delivery most often takes place in the Czech Republic, Poland, or Slovakia, but is not limited to these countries.

Advantages:

• Everything takes place within Europe.
• The child is born in a European country.
• Convenient logistics for clients residing in the EU.

The key particularity that must be understood in advance:

• A specific feature of the legal procedure. In this option, the child is registered to the genetic father and the woman who gave birth. To have the biological father’s wife recognised as the child’s mother, an additional legal step is then completed in her favour. This differs from Ukraine or Georgia, where both parents are recorded at once, and the couple is informed of this mechanism before the programme begins.

How to Choose a Destination

This is essentially a choice between three surrogacy abroad options, and in brief:

• Ukraine — the most affordable price (from €47,000), both parents recorded on the certificate immediately, no marriage-duration requirement. The main factor is the wartime situation.
• Georgia — a well-established system (from €53,000), but at least one year of marriage is required, the price is higher, and there is legislative uncertainty going forward.
• Europe — for those who do not want to leave the EU and for whom delivery in Europe is important (from €56,000); on the other hand, the legal registration of the second parent is more complex.

The surrogacy process you choose depends on your medical situation, budget, readiness to travel, and legal priorities — the same factors that shape any international surrogacy decision. We will go through all of this in detail during an individual consultation.