Surrogacy in Ukraine has long been one of the most common routes to parenthood for couples who cannot carry a child themselves. In Germany, the Embryo Protection Act (Embryonenschutzgesetz) effectively rules surrogacy out. Ukraine, by contrast, regulates it expressly by statute and makes it available to married heterosexual couples. Under Ukrainian law, the intended parents are the child’s parents from birth. Germany does not automatically accept that result, however: once you return, your parenthood has to be established separately under German law, which is considerably stricter.
This applies whether you hold German citizenship or are a foreign national living in Germany. If your family will live here, German authorities and courts decide whether both of you are recognized as your child’s legal parents. Intended parents who commission a surrogacy abroad are expressly exempt from prosecution under both the Embryo Protection Act and the Adoption Placement Act. The legal difficulties arise after the birth.
At Schlun & Elseven Rechtsanwälte, our family law team advises intended parents on exactly this question. We assess which route to legal parenthood is available in your specific case, help the intended father prepare his acknowledgment of paternity at the German Embassy in Kyiv, and stay involved until your child has entered Germany. The procedure chosen in Ukraine often determines what is possible in Germany later, so the best time to involve us is before you sign with a clinic or agency. We advise in English and work remotely, so you can instruct us from Germany or from abroad.
Is Surrogacy Legal in Ukraine?
Yes. Ukraine expressly permits surrogacy. The legal basis is Article 123(2) of the Ukrainian Family Code, supplemented by detailed Ministry of Health regulations on assisted reproduction. When an embryo created through assisted reproduction is transferred to a surrogate, Ukrainian law treats the intended parents as the child’s legal parents. The surrogate has no claim to be recognized as the mother. With her consent, the intended parents’ names go directly on the Ukrainian birth certificate.
Surrogacy in Ukraine is only open to married heterosexual couples. Same-sex couples, unmarried couples, and single intended parents have to consider other countries, and surrogacy for same-sex couples raises its own legal questions in Germany.
Who Can Use Surrogacy in Ukraine?
Surrogacy in Ukraine is open to married heterosexual couples where the intended mother cannot carry a pregnancy for medical reasons, and Ukrainian clinics generally require at least one intended parent to be genetically related to the child. The intended parents must provide medical evidence of the intended mother’s condition, and the intended father must be able to provide his own sperm.
Egg donation is prohibited in Germany, but Ukrainian clinics can use donor eggs if the intended mother cannot provide her own. This choice has consequences later. Whether Germany recognizes the parent-child relationship depends heavily on whether at least one intended parent is genetically related to the child. In most Ukrainian programs, that link runs through the intended father.
The surrogate must be at least 18 years old and must already have given birth to at least one child of her own. She is also screened for her physical and mental fitness for pregnancy and birth.
Which Documents Do You Need from Germany?
Ukrainian clinics and notaries work with Ukrainian-language documents. Documents issued abroad generally have to be formally authenticated before they are accepted. In most programs, you will need:
- your marriage certificate, with an apostille confirming it is genuine
- medical reports confirming the intended mother’s diagnosis, translated into Ukrainian by an official translator
- a notarized power of attorney, if you want a representative in Ukraine to sign contracts and act for you so that you do not have to travel for every step
Requirements vary between clinics and depend on where your documents were issued, so confirm them with the clinic before you start. If you live in Germany but married elsewhere, the apostille has to come from the country that issued your marriage certificate. Some countries require consular legalization instead, so start on this early.
Registering the Birth and Acknowledging Paternity in Ukraine
Under Ukrainian law, the intended parents are entered on the birth certificate as the child’s parents, provided the surrogate consents. No separate recognition procedure is needed in Ukraine. The birth certificate is issued by the local civil registry office with which the intended parents registered in advance.
For German law, however, that Ukrainian entry is not enough. For his paternity to be effective in Germany, the intended father also has to acknowledge paternity, either at the German Embassy in Kyiv or before a German notary. The surrogate has to consent to that acknowledgment. Both steps can take place before the birth. The acknowledgment must be made in person and cannot be signed by a representative, so if you live in Germany, a notary appointment here before you travel is often the simpler route. We recommend completing these steps early, because the father’s legal status is the basis for the child’s German travel documents and citizenship later.
Will Germany Recognize Us as Parents?
Not automatically. The intended father can usually be recognized without major difficulty, but the intended mother generally has to adopt the child, unless a Ukrainian court decision on parentage can be recognized in Germany. This follows from how German law defines motherhood.
Under German law, the mother of a child is always the woman who gave birth to it (Section 1591 of the German Civil Code, BGB). The Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof, BGH) has confirmed that an intended mother cannot be registered as the mother of a child born to a Ukrainian surrogate on the basis of the Ukrainian birth certificate (XII ZB 530/17). This applies even if she is the child’s genetic mother.
| Route 1: Paternity and Stepchild Adoption | Route 2: Recognition of a Court Decision | |
|---|---|---|
| What You Need | The intended father’s acknowledgment of paternity, with the surrogate’s consent; the surrogate must not be married | A Ukrainian court decision naming both intended parents; the birth certificate alone is not enough |
| Who Becomes a Parent | The intended father once his acknowledgment is effective; the intended mother only after the adoption | Both intended parents from the outset, once the decision is recognized |
| Adoption Needed | Yes, a stepchild adoption by the intended mother | No, unless recognition fails |
| Main Risk | The adoption takes time, and the intended mother has no legal status until it is granted | Recognition is refused if no intended parent is genetically related, or for procedural reasons |
Route 1: Acknowledgment of Paternity Followed by Stepchild Adoption
A German intended father can acknowledge paternity under German law, provided the surrogate is not married. If she is married, German law treats her husband as the child’s father, which complicates matters significantly.
The intended mother cannot become a legal parent the same way. Once the intended father’s paternity is established, her only route to legal parenthood is stepchild adoption under German law, even if the child was conceived with her own eggs. Adoption after surrogacy abroad is a court process and is not quick.
Who Has Parental Responsibility Before the Adoption?
Parental responsibility is a separate question from legal parenthood. Under German law, if a child’s parents are not married to each other, the mother has sole parental responsibility unless both parents declare that they will share it (Sorgeerklärungen) or a court transfers it to them jointly (Section 1626a BGB). Because German law treats the surrogate as the mother, the intended father cannot make decisions for the child on his own until this is resolved. Our lawyers plan these declarations together with the acknowledgment of paternity.
Route 2: Recognition of a Ukrainian Court Decision
The alternative is a Ukrainian court decision that determines who the child’s parents are. Germany recognizes foreign court decisions on parentage automatically, without a separate procedure (Section 108(1) of the Family Proceedings Act, FamFG). If recognition is possible, both intended parents are legal parents from the outset, and the adoption route is not needed.
Two points are especially important. First, it must be a court decision. The entry in the Ukrainian birth register, and the birth certificate based on it, does not count and cannot be recognized this way (BGH, XII ZB 530/17). Second, recognition is refused if the result would be manifestly incompatible with fundamental principles of German law, known as public policy (ordre public) (Section 109(1) No. 4 FamFG). German courts apply this exception narrowly and do not review whether the Ukrainian decision was legally correct (Section 109(5) FamFG). Recognition can also fail for procedural reasons, for example if the Ukrainian court would not have had jurisdiction under German rules (Section 109(1) No. 1 FamFG).
Although recognition is automatic, in practice the registry office (Standesamt) assesses it when it registers the birth, and that assessment is not final. Registry offices have corrected entries years later. You can apply to a German court for a binding decision on recognition (Section 108(2) FamFG), which puts your family’s legal status beyond doubt. Whether a Ukrainian court decision exists in your case, and whether it can be recognized, depends on the specific documents, which we review with you.
When Neither Intended Parent Is Genetically Related
The BGH has made clear that a foreign decision assigning parenthood to intended parents who are not genetically related to the child will, as a rule, not be recognized, because it conflicts with public policy (XII ZB 220/25). In that situation, adoption is the only route to legal parenthood, even if a Ukrainian court decision exists. Where at least one intended parent is genetically related to the child, this does not, on its own, prevent recognition.
In Ukrainian programs, the genetic link normally runs through the intended father. The issue mainly arises if donor sperm is used, or if the father’s genetic link cannot be shown, which is why the choice of donor material matters before treatment begins.
If the Intended Father Is Not a German National
If the intended father does not hold German citizenship, his paternity is not necessarily governed by German law. Under Article 19 of the Introductory Act to the Civil Code (EGBGB), a child’s parentage is governed by the law of the country where the child habitually lives. For each parent, it can alternatively be determined under the law of that parent’s nationality. Depending on the circumstances, the father’s paternity may be established under German law or under the law of his home country, and that affects which steps and documents are needed. These cases turn on the details, and we look at each one on its own facts.
Bringing Your Child to Germany: Entry and Citizenship
If the intended father is a German national and has been recognized as the legal father from the outset, the child acquires German citizenship by descent (Section 4(1) of the Nationality Act, StAG). He can then apply to the German Embassy in Kyiv for a German passport for the child and proof of the child’s German citizenship. The same applies where a Ukrainian court decision naming both intended parents has been recognized in Germany. Where the intended father and the surrogate are the child’s legal parents, they do not share a married name, so a name declaration (Namenserklärung) may be needed before the child’s first passport can be issued.
If the German father was himself born abroad after 1999 and lives outside Germany, an application to register the child’s birth in Germany must be made within one year of the birth. Otherwise, the child may not acquire German citizenship (Section 4(4) StAG).
Consular services at the embassy in Kyiv can be restricted depending on the security situation. Passport applications require an appointment in person and take several weeks to process, so plan for this well before the birth.
If Neither Intended Parent Is a German National
If you live in Germany but neither of you holds German citizenship, your child does not become German. A child born to foreign intended parents in Ukraine also does not automatically acquire Ukrainian citizenship. Whether the child can obtain a passport therefore depends on your home country’s rules on citizenship by descent, and the child will then need permission to enter and live in Germany. These cases need careful planning before the birth. At Schlun & Elseven Rechtsanwälte, our family lawyers work alongside our immigration lawyers on family reunification, so the child’s legal parentage and residence status are dealt with together.
What to Check Before You Sign with a Ukrainian Agency
A surrogacy in Ukraine involves two legal systems. Whether your parenthood is recognized in Germany is often decided by choices made in Ukraine before treatment begins. Before you sign, check:
- whether the program includes a Ukrainian court decision on parentage, or only registration on the birth certificate
- whether at least one of you will be genetically related to the child, and how that will be documented
- whether the surrogate is married, because this affects whether the intended father can acknowledge paternity under German law
- when and where the intended father will acknowledge paternity, and how the surrogate’s consent will be obtained
- how much time to allow for embassy appointments in Kyiv
- the Federal Foreign Office’s current travel and safety advice for Ukraine, which affects travel for the birth and embassy appointments
Be cautious with agency statements about how quickly you can return home, and about recognition in Germany. The German Embassy in Kyiv itself warns that the process takes weeks to months, and that in individual cases children have been unable to leave Ukraine. Some agencies also describe the process for the intended mother as routine, but under German law it usually requires a stepchild adoption. At Schlun & Elseven Rechtsanwälte, our family lawyers can review the agency contract and your plans for their consequences under German law before you commit, so the right legal steps are in place from the start.
If you are considering surrogacy in Ukraine, have your plans reviewed before you sign. We explain the expected costs before any work begins and treat every inquiry confidentially. Contact us to have your situation assessed.
Practice Group: German Family Law
Practice Group: German Family Law
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