Immigration

Intended parents can bring a child born from a commercial surrogacy arrangement commissioned overseas into Australia by applying for Australian passport once their child has obtained citizenship by descent. Citizenship by descent is available to is a child if, at the time of their birth, they have a parent who is an Australian citizen.

Whether an intended parent is a parent for the purpose of a child obtaining citizenship by descent is an issue of fact to be determined in light of the totality of evidence. Evidence of paternity – such as a DNA test – carries considerable weight in determining whether the requisite parent-child relationship exists. Other relevant factors include:

• The existence of a surrogacy agreement entered into before the child was conceived;
• whether parentage was lawfully transferred to an intended parent in the country in which the surrogacy arrangement was commissioned;
• evidence that the appearance of an intended parent’s name of a birth certificate was done with the intended parent’s consent;
• evidence that the intended parents provided for the child’s prenatal and postnatal care; and
• Evidence that the child is acknowledged by family and friends of the intended parents as a child of the intended parents.