Kelly speaks at the Growing Families event about domicile for UK parents through surrogacy

Kelly was delighted to speak at the Growing Families UK Europe event in London on 21 April 2024. She was asked to talk about domicile (as one of the criteria which at least one of the parents must satisfy to be able to apply for a UK parental order after the birth of their child through surrogacy).

Kelly was pleased to meet professionals from the US and Europe and discuss the destinations available for surrogacy and the UK parental order. The post-birth court process is important for UK parents, regardless of where in the world the surrogacy takes place and the processes followed, or what it says on the overseas birth certificate, as the UK applies its own laws (meaning the surrogate will be the legal mother, until the parental order is granted and extinguishes her rights, and makes them the parents under UK law). Following talks from other professionals, including Barry O’Leary at Wesley Gryk, Kelly talked to parents from other countries (with British partners), British ex-pats, and non-British UK resident parents, about the domicile criteria and what sort of evidence the court is looking for, as well as covering getting home and British nationality for children born through surrogacy alongside Barry’s colleagues at Wesley Gryk.

The day was a welcome opportunity to meet parents exploring surrogacy as a route to growing their families through surrogacy and talk about destination pros and cons, as well as speaking with other professionals about the implications surrounding ethical surrogacy and how to make this work in practice.