We have assisted many couples to obtain British citizenship for their children born abroad following an international surrogacy arrangement. The most common scenario involves an intended British parent or parents who have a biological connection to the child.
However, we have also successfully obtained British citizenship on numerous occasions when the intended parent or parents do not have a biological connection to the child, a scenario often referred to as “double donation”.
It would be very unlikely that a child born abroad following a double donation would be automatically British (this would require a British citizen surrogate), but this does not mean that we cannot acquire British citizenship by way of an application for registration under Section 3 (1) of the British Nationality Act 1981.
There is often confusion on this point. I believe it may arise because it is not possible to obtain a Parental Order where there is no biological connection; other family law solutions must be found. However, this does not mean there is no nationality law solution when a child is born to a British parent following double donation.
We would be happy to advise on this matter.
Barry O’Leary has practised exclusively in British immigration and nationality law for over 26 years. He is the author of the immigration law chapter in “Surrogacy, Law, Practice and Policy in England and Wales”; he teaches the Immigration Law Practitioners Association course on the subject; and he is acknowledged as an expert in this area by both Chambers and the Legal 500, with the Chambers review including the quote ‘Barry is the clear UK leader in immigration law for surrogacy’.
