Legal Aspects of Surrogacy in Armenia

Surrogacy has been legal in Armenia since 2002. It is important to know that if you are a foreigner in Armenia, surrogacy is only available to legally married couples or single women who can provide their own eggs.

There is an age limit for couples and single women, the intended mother cannot be 53 years or older. In practice, we recommend that the intended mother be at least 51 years of age.

The intended parents must be present in Armenia at least 2 times, the process cannot be initiated from abroad with the help of a power of attorney.

Egg and sperm donors may not be anonymous, but in such a case it is necessary to sign a donor contract between the intended parents and the sperm/egg donor, in addition to the surrogacy contract between the intended parents and the surrogate mother.

Both the donor contract and the surrogacy contract must be signed in front of a notary.

According to Armenian legislation, the surrogate cannot have a biological link to the child she is carrying. Therefore, the intended parents cannot officially receive the newborn child until a DNA test has been performed. The purpose of this DNA test is to exclude any biological relationship between the child and the surrogate.

The surrogate has no right to refuse to surrender the child to the intended parents and has no rights or responsibilities over the child once it has been determined that she is not genetically related to the child.

The birth registration of the child is done by Matenity House on the basis of the medical birth certificate of the child, the notarized surrogacy contract between the intended parents and the surrogate and the result of the DNA test.

Lawyer: Anna Sukhanova