Procedure to carry out a parental project involving surrogacy with a surrogate who is domiciled outside Québec

A single person or a couple (intended parents) domiciled in Québec may decide to have a child by using a surrogate who is domiciled outside Québec. For this type of project, the surrogate must be domiciled in a province, territory or country (foreign State) designated by the Government of Québec.

Steps in a parental project involving surrogacy with a surrogate who is domiciled outside Québec

Every parental project involving surrogacy is unique. The time required to carry out the project must be taken into consideration.

The procedure to carry out a parental project involving surrogacy with a surrogate who is domiciled outside Québec involves eight steps. It is important to complete each step before moving on to the next one and to obtain the authorizations from the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux (MSSS).

The procedure to carry out a parental project involving surrogacy with a surrogate who is domiciled outside Québec may seem complex. It is essential to obtain information before undertaking such a project.

To obtain more information, you can:

• consult a legal advisor who will be able to explain your rights and obligations to you;
• go to the Espace grossesse pour autrui hors Québec website to obtain information about:
  • the terms and conditions applicable in the designated States,
  • the forms that have to be completed and the documents that have to be provided,
  • the steps that have to be taken with the MSSS in the form of a video clip.

To access the Espace grossesse pour autrui hors Québec and find out more, you must first confirm your identity using the Government Authentication Service.

Information meeting

Any intended parent who wants to carry out their parental project by using a surrogate who is domiciled outside Québec must attend an information meeting on the psychosocial implications and ethical issues associated with this type of project, led by a member of a Quebec professional order designated by the Minister of Justice.

For more information about the information meeting, go to the Rules governing surrogacy outside Québec page.

Prior authorization must be obtained from the MSSS to ensure that the intended parents and their parental project meet the conditions to start the process with a surrogate who is domiciled outside Québec. This step allows the intended parents to be informed in advance of the different conditions applicable to their parental project.

To apply for prior authorization, the intended parents must:

• choose the designated State they will establish the parental project in:
  • Alberta;
  • British Columbia;
  • Prince Edward Island;
  • Manitoba;
  • Nova Scotia;
  • Ontario;
  • Saskatchewan.
• from the Espace grossesse pour autrui hors Québec website, fill out and submit the application for prior authorization form along with:
  • proof that they have not been found guilty of a criminal offence against a minor or a person they believed to be a minor or in matters of child pornography;
  • a certificate of attendance at the information meeting on the psychosocial implications and ethical issues;
  • an affidavit;
  • the required documents and proofs.

Obtaining prior authorization is mandatory. It may be denied if certain conditions are not met.

The Director of status may refuse to insert the foreign act of birth if the MSSS denied prior authorization of the parental project.

To apply for authorization to carry out a project involving surrogacy outside Québec, go to the Espace grossesse pour autrui hors Québec website.

Once prior authorization has been obtained, the next step is to apply for authorization to proceed with the parental project. This step aims to ensure, in particular, that the choice of surrogate and the surrogacy agreement comply with the applicable conditions.

The surrogacy agreement is an agreement between the surrogate r and the intended parents. In the context of surrogacy outside Québec, the agreement is concluded between a surrogate domiciled outside Québec in a State designated by the Government of Québec and intended parents domiciled in Québec. The rules applicable to the agreement are those of the surrogate 's State of domicile.

To apply for authorization to proceed with the parental project, the intended parents must:

• Pair up with a surrogate who meets the conditions that have been established and who will agree to carry a child for them;
• Draw up the surrogacy agreement with the surrogate ;
• From the Espace grossesse pour autrui hors Québec website, Lfill out and submit the application form for authorization to proceed with the parental project along with:
  • the unsigned surrogacy agreement;
  • information concerning the surrogate’s profile;
  • an affidavit;
  • the required documents and proofs.

The surrogacy agreement must be approved by the MSSS before it is signed and it must be signed before the pregnancy.

Once the surrogacy agreement has been approved by the MSSS, the intended parents and the surrogate must sign it and submit it from the Espace grossesse pour autrui hors Québec website.

The steps leading to the surrogate 's pregnancy may begin once the surrogacy agreement has been signed. However, it is recommended that these steps be taken once the signed agreement has been sent to the MSSS. This way, the intended parents will be informed before they go ahead with their steps if there is an issue that needs to be corrected so as not to ultimately affect the compliance of their parental project.

Via the, the intended parents must keep the MSSS informed of:

• the start of the surrogate's pregnancy;
• any change in the situation, including a miscarriage or an abortion;
• the child's birth.

To obtain a certificate of compliance for the parental project, the intended parents must submit the following documents from the Espace grossesse pour autrui hors Québec website:

• the surrogate's postnatal consent (this may be a written document or the judgment mentioning the surrogate's statement to the effect that she consents);
• the child's foreign act of birth;
• other required documents and proof.

The MSSS will examine the compliance of the project as a whole and will provide the intended parents with a certificate of compliance or a notice of non‑compliance, as the case may be.

For filiation to be recognized in Québec, the foreign judgment establishing filiation or the foreign act of birth must be recognized by a court in Québec. For more information, go to the page Rules governing surrogacy outside Quebec.

Information on the person who contributed to the conception of a child in the context of a project involving surrogacy outside Québec is kept in a register.

For more information, go to the page Right to know one’s origins in assisted procreation involving a third person.