Surrogacy Insights

Surrogacy in Vietnam is subject to strict regulation, particularly since the amendment of the Law on Marriage and Family 2014, Decree 10/2015, and Circular 34/2015, which permits only non-commercial surrogacy among close relatives.

The law mandates “voluntary and altruistic surrogacy” with conditions ensuring the welfare of all parties involved:

• Only residents are eligible
• The surrogate is limited to one journey
• The surrogate must be related to the intended parent. 
• The intended parent can be a single woman or a married couple
• The IP(s) must be childless
• The intended mother must prove her inability to carry a pregnancy. 
• The intended parents must be related to the child.  However, in 2025, the donation of eggs, sperm, and embryos was allowed but under strict conditions, such as the creation of only one family (“one family rule”), and being anonymous.
• Surrogates undergo thorough assessments and counseling, ensuring compliance with assisted reproductive technology laws.

Warning

There have been several arrests regarding illegal commercial surrogacy operations in Vietnam.  In April 2021, police in northern Vietnam arrested two women for allegedly connecting intended parents and surrogates for commercial purposes.  In July 2025, authorities conducted a raid that placed 11 babies under the care of the Vietnam Women’s Union’s Centre for Women and Development.  Several Vietnamese and Chinese nationals were arrested, including three Chinese intended parents who had travelled to Vietnam to collect their newborns. 

Commercial surrogacy is illegal in Vietnam, with criminal penalties ranging from three months to five years’ imprisonment for offenders, along with various fines.  It is unclear whether babies born in contravention of the law will ever be placed with their parents or permitted to leave the country.   No documented cases have been found of the babies from the 2021 raid ever being allowed to leave Vietnam.