UAE Allows Surrogacy with Recent Legal Amendments

In a recent legal update, the UAE has introduced a groundbreaking amendment allowing individuals to choose surrogacy for childbirth, a previously unavailable option in the country. This change in federal law reflects a significant shift in the UAE’s stance on reproductive techniques, according to legal experts.

Surrogacy involves a woman agreeing to carry and deliver a baby for a couple or an individual. Notable amendments to UAE law include extending medically assisted reproduction techniques (IVF) to non-Muslim parties without a marriage certificate, permitting surrogacy, and granting unmarried couples access to fertilizations and implantation procedures.

Manasi Dicholkar, Legal Associate at Khalifa Bin Huwaidan Alketbi Advocates & Legal Consultants, emphasized the removal of the prior law prohibiting surrogacy, leaving the regulation of surrogacy to individual emirates.

James Clarke, Of Counsel at BSA Ahmad Bin Hezeem & Associates LLP, clarified that unmarried and non-Muslim couples can now access assisted conception and reproduction services, including surrogacy, by applying to relevant regulators. The process will be monitored by regulators in each emirate, with services subject to individual regulations and the use of eggs and sperm from the couple.

The law applies to Emiratis and both Muslim and non-Muslim expats, with non-Muslims able to use relevant services while unmarried. For Muslim couples, marriage is a prerequisite to access these services.

Regarding surrogacy, Clarke mentioned that the law doesn’t specify how surrogates will be chosen, leaving the regulation to each emirate. Unmarried non-Muslim couples seeking surrogacy must obtain approval for their application from the relevant regulator, complying with federal requirements and any additional emirate-level conditions.

The revised laws offer UAE couples expanded and more flexible options compared to previous regulations. While the specific impact of these changes is yet to be seen, couples can anticipate reviewing their options and making informed decisions as each emirate’s regulatory approach becomes clearer.