With an 18 month old keeping me fairly busy, I've been out of the surrogacy via India loop for awhile now so it was a shock to me yesterday when I read that there may be new rules being outlined by the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs with who they issue exit visas to for babies born via surrogacy in India. I was sent scrambling and put out several e-mails to: my contact at the Canadian consulate in Mumbai, my contact who worked with the FRRO when my son was born, and finally my clinic there.
All this to say is that the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs wants to revise the rules in how it issues exit visas to babies that are born in India via surrogacy. The new rules would only grant married couples who have been married for 2 years an exit visa for their baby/babies when leaving India. So intended single parents and intended same sex couple parents would not be granted exit visas for their babies.
I realize nothing has been legistlated yet but my contact who works with the FRRO did confirm these changes to me this morning. Specifically, he said all those now coming to India must come on a medical/surrogacy visa instead of a tourist visa. He said they will not issue exit visas to single parents but suggested that I wait for awhile as they might reverse these rules since surrogacy brings in revenue to the country, the clinics and they don't want to lose this to Thailand.
This is all in spite of the fact that these new rules seem to contradict the Guidelines for Surrogacy and IVF set out by Indian Council of Medical Research, which all reputable clinics follow.
Whether medical/surrogacy visas are more difficult to get, I don't know.
I will be following this closely over the next few months. This is hard for me as I still have embryos in India. What are those people supposed to do? What are single and same sex couple intended parents who are just getting pregnant now supposed to do? There is so much to be answered.
The Canadian consulate has not received anything officially from the Indian Government and are awaiting clarification from them. Also, the DNA sample collection of the child and parent(s) is now done only at the Canadian High Commission in New Delhi. Furthermore, the waiting period before you can travel back from India is a minimum of two months. My heart sinks as it feels like things are getting more and more challenging.
Every day I've thought about when I might be ready to go back and possibly try again for a brother or sister for Orion. I'm hoping I can still do this or figure out a way to get my embryos to Canada.
All this to say is that the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs wants to revise the rules in how it issues exit visas to babies that are born in India via surrogacy. The new rules would only grant married couples who have been married for 2 years an exit visa for their baby/babies when leaving India. So intended single parents and intended same sex couple parents would not be granted exit visas for their babies.
I realize nothing has been legistlated yet but my contact who works with the FRRO did confirm these changes to me this morning. Specifically, he said all those now coming to India must come on a medical/surrogacy visa instead of a tourist visa. He said they will not issue exit visas to single parents but suggested that I wait for awhile as they might reverse these rules since surrogacy brings in revenue to the country, the clinics and they don't want to lose this to Thailand.
He assured me he will keep me posted if there are any changes to these new rules or if there are some
loopholes through which an exit visa can be issued to the baby.
This is all in spite of the fact that these new rules seem to contradict the Guidelines for Surrogacy and IVF set out by Indian Council of Medical Research, which all reputable clinics follow.
Whether medical/surrogacy visas are more difficult to get, I don't know.
I will be following this closely over the next few months. This is hard for me as I still have embryos in India. What are those people supposed to do? What are single and same sex couple intended parents who are just getting pregnant now supposed to do? There is so much to be answered.
The Canadian consulate has not received anything officially from the Indian Government and are awaiting clarification from them. Also, the DNA sample collection of the child and parent(s) is now done only at the Canadian High Commission in New Delhi. Furthermore, the waiting period before you can travel back from India is a minimum of two months. My heart sinks as it feels like things are getting more and more challenging.
Every day I've thought about when I might be ready to go back and possibly try again for a brother or sister for Orion. I'm hoping I can still do this or figure out a way to get my embryos to Canada.
