Australian
Australian Intended Parents
Increasing number Australian couples are flying down to India every year for surrogacy arrangement. They either make their surrogacy arrangement with an Assisted Reproductive Technology Hospitals directly, or with agencies who offer Surrogacy Services. Most often, the prospective parents are guided by the people who have already completed their surrogacy procedures in India, and hence are comfortably informed about it. The issue of taking the child born out of surrogacy is settled and clear, provided the requirements of the Australian High Commission is followed.
For information on how and where to lodge an Australian citizenship by descent application in India, please see: http://www.india.embassy.gov.au/ndli/vm_surrogacy.html
The child born through Artificial Conception Procedures or Surrogacy Arrangement is eligible for Australian Citizenship through descent. The procedures and options for obtaining the citizenship by descent have been summarized below.
The essential ingredient for the conferring of an Australian Citizenship on the child is that one of the Intended Parents is required to be Australian national. The nationality shall flow from that parent to the child. The legalities involved for obtaining the citizenship for the child is also comparatively an easy and clear procedure. For grant of the Citizenship by descent, either of the following is required.
- One of his parents was an Australian citizen at the time of its birth
- The parent had acquired the Australian citizenship by descent provided they had lived in Australia for a period of two years at some point of time in their life
It is appropriate for the intended parents to fix an appointment with the Australian High Commission well before the birth of the child. The contact details of the Australian High Commission, Delhi is address - 1/50 G Shantipath, Chanakyapuri - Telephone: 4139 9900 - Fax: 4149 4490. A mail to the Australian High Commission mentioning the expected birth of the child would be advised, so that the appointment can be planned accordingly. Applications for Australian citizenship by descent for children born outside Australia as an outcome of surrogacy agreements are governed by the Australian citizenship Act 2007 which sets out a number of requirements for grant of the citizenship. The instruction guidelines is available at Children born through Surrogacy Arrangements applying for Australian Citizenship by Descent.
As per the Australian Citizenship Act 2007, the child born outside Australia as an outcome of a surrogacy agreement shall be eligible for Australian citizenship by descent provided one of its biological parents is an Australian citizen who has been sanctioned full parental rights by a court of law. In addition to the general documents, an application for Australian citizenship by descent for children born in India as an outcome of a surrogacy agreement must include: This can be submitted in the form of either court documentation OR DNA testing and written advice confirming legal parentage. Court Documentation :
A statement from the doctor to the court clearly stating that the sperm of the intended father or the intended mother’s own eggs have been transferred to the uterus of the surrogate mother.
A confirmation of the doctor’s statement regarding the transfer of the sperm/ovum
Court documentation stating clearly the legal custody of the surrogate child and waiving the rights of the surrogate mother over the surrogate child.
In circumstances where the client is unable to obtain the above court documentation he will be asked to undergo DNA testing and to submit a legal advice confirming the validity of the surrogacy contract and their position as legal parents of the surrogate child. DNA Testing The surrogate child and the biological parent will be asked to undergo the DNA testing at a lab recognized by the Australian High Commission. More information about it is found here. Documents in relation to donors of genetic material This constitutes any documents or records in relation to transferred sperm/ovum. Written advice confirming legal parentage Where the parents of the surrogate child are unable to provide court documentation, they would be required to provide a written advice from an lawyer registered from the Bar Council of India, who is an expert in the field of Indian family law or the contract law. The Lawyer expert shall state that the surrogacy contract entered between the surrogate mother and the parents is legal and confirming their position as legal parents of the child with reference to provisions of the Indian law. It should also include the following: The lawyer should also comment on his expertise in the field and should declare if he was involved in the drafting of the said surrogacy agreement. Any clarifications on the issues of nationality of the child may be addressed to
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Assoicate Member of American Bar Association
