Surrogacy in Greece
Surrogate motherhood in Greece
Who can carry out surrogacy processes
in Greece
In order to carry out a surrogacy procedure in Greece, it is necessary to obtain a judicial authorization. The legal authorization to undergo the surrogacy process in Greece shall be issued under the following conditions:
The intended mother must provide a medical certificate proving her inability to carry a pregnancy to term, or to carry it to term safely during the pregnancy.
-The intended mother shall not be older than 54 years of age.
-The surrogate mother will not be the one who provides the eggs.
The surrogacy process in Greece is altruistic. This does not mean that the surrogate mother will only be pay for the medical expenses, and that she cannot receive any additional amount. The law stipulates that she is to be pay compensation for the inconvenience, and for the months not worked.
The surrogate mother cannot withdraw, as she has renounced her parental rights before the implantation, and all rights and duties fall on the intended parents.
The intended mother must provide a medical certificate proving her inability to carry a pregnancy to term, or to carry it to term safely during the pregnancy.
-The intended mother shall not be older than 54 years of age.
-The surrogate mother will not be the one who provides the eggs.
The surrogacy process in Greece is altruistic. This does not mean that the surrogate mother will only be pay for the medical expenses, and that she cannot receive any additional amount. The law stipulates that she is to be pay compensation for the inconvenience, and for the months not worked.
The surrogate mother cannot withdraw, as she has renounced her parental rights before the implantation, and all rights and duties fall on the intended parents.
The law of surrogacy in Greece
Surrogacy in Greece is regulated in Article 1458 of the Greek Civil Code introduced with Article 8 of Law 3089/2002:
Three years after the regulation of surrogacy in Greece, Law 3305/2005 ("Imposition of Medically Assisted Reproduction") was introduced, which regulates assisted reproduction and surrogacy in Greece in more detail.
Surrogacy in Greece is only allowed for heterosexual couples (married or unmarried) as well as single women, to the total exclusion of homosexual couples or single men.
Three years after the regulation of surrogacy in Greece, Law 3305/2005 ("Imposition of Medically Assisted Reproduction") was introduced, which regulates assisted reproduction and surrogacy in Greece in more detail.
Surrogacy in Greece is only allowed for heterosexual couples (married or unmarried) as well as single women, to the total exclusion of homosexual couples or single men.
Gestlife the only agency with two offices of its own in Greece
GESTLIFE is the only agency and law firm with two own offices in Greece, in the cities of Thessaloniki (since 2015) and in Athens since 2024.
There is currently no other agency with an office in Greece, the other agencies being mere intermediaries with no position or power of control in Greece.
There is currently no other agency with an office in Greece, the other agencies being mere intermediaries with no position or power of control in Greece.
In whose name will the baby be register once it is born?
The child will be register in the name of both parents by a court decision.
Please contact your family counsellor, and we will discuss together which program may be the most suitable for you.
Please contact your family counsellor, and we will discuss together which program may be the most suitable for you.
An in-country assistance manager in your language (English, French, Spanish, Italian, German)
Our staff will assist you in our office in Thessaloniki (Greece) in your language. In a process where legal issues are mixed with medical issues, it is important to speak the same language and to understand each other. With Gestlife, you will never feel like a stranger in a foreign country.
It is something that seems obvious, when with some agencies you are lucky enough to speak to an advisor in your language, but as soon as you sign the contract, the rest of the staff do not speak it, and you will have to defend yourself in English, or in another language, with translators. Make sure if you talk to other agencies that this will not happen. A year and a half (the length of a process) having to speak in other languages is very stressful.
It is something that seems obvious, when with some agencies you are lucky enough to speak to an advisor in your language, but as soon as you sign the contract, the rest of the staff do not speak it, and you will have to defend yourself in English, or in another language, with translators. Make sure if you talk to other agencies that this will not happen. A year and a half (the length of a process) having to speak in other languages is very stressful.
Legal assistance in Greece
Gestlife has lawyers in its offices in Thessaloniki and Athens, Greece, to assist you in the whole process.
Legal assistance in your home country
Most "agencies" finish their work when they hand over the baby to you. Others help you to leave the country, but then it is up to you to register your baby in your country of origin. At Gestlife we have a network of lawyers in all countries, to take care of the final procedure in your country of origin that will allow you to register your child without any problems.
Personal assistance during your travelsWe try our best to make the surrogacy process a pleasure trip, not a nightmare. There can always be setbacks, which can endanger the commissioning parents (illness, accident). Gestlife takes care of managing your travel assistance insurance, to guarantee you complete assistance in the event of any incident, and we take care of managing and organizing all the services related to this issue, so that you don't have to worry about it. Our philosophy is to take care of parents 24 hours a day.
Cost of a surrogacy procedure in Greece
A surrogacy procedure in Greece costs between 81.000 and 97.000 euros, depending on the program and the coverage chosen.
Which programs can I take out in Greece?
In all our countries, you can take out the following programs:
🔹 BASIC
🔹 STANDARD
🔹 STANDARD PLUS
🔹 STANDARD PLUS PREMIUM
You can consult the services included in each program in the dossiers of each country. Ask your family advisor for them, with no obligation.
🔹 BASIC
🔹 STANDARD
🔹 STANDARD PLUS
🔹 STANDARD PLUS PREMIUM
You can consult the services included in each program in the dossiers of each country. Ask your family advisor for them, with no obligation.
HIV, Hepatitis and sexually transmitted diseases
Gestlife is one of the few agencies that have programs for parents who test positive for HIV, Hepatitis or sexually transmitted diseases. Nowadays, this is not an impediment to parenthood. If this is your case, consult with your family counsellor, and we will be happy to help you.
Special characteristics of the country:
Advantages
Surrogacy programs have been legally developed in Greece since 2004. In 2015, the law was modified, extending the possibility of surrogacy to foreign citizens.
We are within the Schengen area, so when it comes to moving with the baby we do not cross borders.
It is a European country, close and similar to ours. The flight time is around 3 hours.
In the surrogacy process in Greece, a trial is held prior to the in vitro fertilization process, after which the surrogate mother can no longer withdraw from the surrogacy process.
For the surrogacy process in Greece, children are registered at the parents' consulate with the birth certificate and the court judgement. (Other agencies will tell you that this is not true, as Greece has become a tough competitor for the agencies that market in the USA).
The stay in the country to pick up the baby is less than 4-5 weeks.
We are within the Schengen area, so when it comes to moving with the baby we do not cross borders.
It is a European country, close and similar to ours. The flight time is around 3 hours.
In the surrogacy process in Greece, a trial is held prior to the in vitro fertilization process, after which the surrogate mother can no longer withdraw from the surrogacy process.
For the surrogacy process in Greece, children are registered at the parents' consulate with the birth certificate and the court judgement. (Other agencies will tell you that this is not true, as Greece has become a tough competitor for the agencies that market in the USA).
The stay in the country to pick up the baby is less than 4-5 weeks.
Remarks
There is a great shortage of Greek surrogate mothers, as they demand amounts that are not in accordance with the law. This makes it necessary to use surrogate mothers from Ukraine, who comply with the limits set by the surrogacy law, thus avoiding committing a crime.
The commissioning mother cannot be older than 54 years (at the time of the surrogacy trial in Greece).
For the surrogacy process in Greece, the surrogate mother must prove with a medical certificate that she is unable to gestate, or that she represents a serious risk to her health, for the surrogacy.
The commissioning mother cannot be older than 54 years (at the time of the surrogacy trial in Greece).
For the surrogacy process in Greece, the surrogate mother must prove with a medical certificate that she is unable to gestate, or that she represents a serious risk to her health, for the surrogacy.
Gestlife offers two types of programs in Greece:
1.- The program that is carried out entirely in Greece: in this case, both the assisted reproduction treatment, as well as the rest of the program, are carried out entirely in GREECE. This type of program has certain limitations:
a) If you need an egg donor, it is not possible to choose the egg donor by photo, the donors are absolutely anonymous.
b) Sex selection is prohibited.
c) The clinics do not accept unlimited programs, i.e. you have to pay embryo transfer for embryo transfer, and for each IVF that is necessary.
a) If you need an egg donor, it is not possible to choose the egg donor by photo, the donors are absolutely anonymous.
b) Sex selection is prohibited.
c) The clinics do not accept unlimited programs, i.e. you have to pay embryo transfer for embryo transfer, and for each IVF that is necessary.
2.- THE ALBANIA/GREECE CROSS BORDER PROGRAM:
If some of these 3 restrictions are not to your liking, and you would like, for example, the program to be unlimited, to be able to choose the sex of your baby, or to be able to choose the egg donor, we recommend the ALBANIA/GREECE cross border program. A surrogacy program legally takes place in the country where the child is born. It has no importance or implication for the surrogacy process, in which city or country the surrogacy treatment takes place. So in order for you to benefit from some or all of the 3 characteristics mentioned above, we propose that the surrogacy treatment of the surrogate takes place in Tirana, Albania and the rest of the process in Thessaloniki, Greece. This way you will be able to:
a) Choose the sex of your baby
b) You will be able to select the donor by photo if you need an egg donor.
c) The program can be unlimited at a fixed price.
We can also send embryos, sperm and oocytes that you already have in a clinic in your country.
If some of these 3 restrictions are not to your liking, and you would like, for example, the program to be unlimited, to be able to choose the sex of your baby, or to be able to choose the egg donor, we recommend the ALBANIA/GREECE cross border program. A surrogacy program legally takes place in the country where the child is born. It has no importance or implication for the surrogacy process, in which city or country the surrogacy treatment takes place. So in order for you to benefit from some or all of the 3 characteristics mentioned above, we propose that the surrogacy treatment of the surrogate takes place in Tirana, Albania and the rest of the process in Thessaloniki, Greece. This way you will be able to:
a) Choose the sex of your baby
b) You will be able to select the donor by photo if you need an egg donor.
c) The program can be unlimited at a fixed price.
We can also send embryos, sperm and oocytes that you already have in a clinic in your country.
