From the first research to the Parental Order, the whole journey takes longer than the headline "12–18 months". Here's how the phases fit together, with our own dates as a worked example.
Agencies usually quote a journey of around 12–18 months for Colombia. That's broadly fair — but it measures only the middle of the journey. The real timeline starts the day you begin researching and ends when a UK court grants your Parental Order.
This guide walks through the whole thing, phase by phase. Every journey is different, so treat the durations as a way to plan, not a promise. Your agency and lawyers will give you the timings that apply to you.
Our dates, as a worked example
| When | What happened |
|---|---|
| 2022 | A year of research across six countries, then choosing Colombia, our agency and our clinic |
| January 2023 | First trip to Colombia to begin the process |
| January 2024 | Our son was born in Colombia |
| November 2024 | A second pregnancy was confirmed |
| July 2025 | We travelled back — this time with our son — for our daughter's birth |
So for us: about a year of deciding, then roughly a year from the first trip to holding our son.
Phase 1 — Deciding (often 3–12 months)
Choosing a country and an agency is the slowest part for most people, and the one worth taking your time over. Our guide to choosing a country and the agency selection checklist are built for this phase.
Before moving on, you'll want: a signed agency agreement you understand, clarity on what's included, and initial advice from a UK surrogacy solicitor.
Phase 2 — The first trip and creating embryos (weeks, not months)
What happens here depends on your route — existing embryos, an egg donor in Colombia, or a double journey for two children. We describe the common routes on The surrogacy process.
For many families this involves one trip to Colombia for clinic appointments and providing genetic material. It's usually a short stay rather than an extended one. Ask your clinic exactly how many days you need to be there and which appointments can happen remotely.
Phase 3 — Matching and transfer (a few months)
Your agency matches you with a surrogate, medical and psychological screening is completed, contracts are signed, and the embryo transfer is scheduled. Not every transfer succeeds first time; build that possibility into your expectations, emotionally and financially.
Phase 4 — The pregnancy (around nine months, from home)
You'll usually follow the pregnancy from the UK, with scans and updates through the agency. This is a good time to:
- start thinking about your relationship with your surrogate and how you'll communicate — see our guide;
- talk to your employer about leave (see coming home: the first months);
- read up on the Parental Order, so its six-month window doesn't arrive as a surprise — parentalorder.com explains it in detail;
- plan your stay in Colombia — accommodation, flights, insurance — using our planning guide.
Phase 5 — The birth and your time in Colombia (one to two months)
Most families aim to arrive a little before the due date, because babies don't always wait. After the birth comes a run of paperwork: the hospital's live-birth certificate, birth registration, DNA testing, the baby's travel documents, and the surrogate's consent forms for the UK court, which can't be signed until at least six weeks after the birth.
How long you stay depends mostly on those steps; most families are home within one to two months. Plan for the full two months and enjoy it if you're home sooner. Our paperwork glossary explains the Spanish terms you'll meet, and our pages on the legal process cover the UK side.
Phase 6 — Home, and the Parental Order (several months)
Back in the UK, the Parental Order application must be made within six months of the birth. The process — application, a Cafcass visit and court hearings — usually runs on for some months after you file. When the order is granted, a new UK birth certificate is issued naming you as parents.
That's the true finish line, and it's often well into your child's first year. PO Navigator was built to make this phase less daunting.
Putting the whole thing together
Adding the phases up, a realistic plan from first research to Parental Order is often two years or more, even when the Colombia part runs smoothly. That isn't a reason to be put off. It's a reason to plan your finances, your work and your expectations around the whole journey rather than the part the brochure shows.
Where timelines slip
From our experience and other parents', delays usually come from:
- taking longer to choose an agency than expected — which is time well spent;
- transfers that don't succeed on the first attempt;
- paperwork after the birth, especially if a document needs correcting;
- the six-week consent point, which you can't speed up.
If you'd like to sense-check your own timeline, book a free call — we're happy to walk through it with you.
We share our own experience, not legal, medical or financial advice. Rules and practice change — always check with your agency, a qualified UK surrogacy solicitor and official sources such as GOV.UK.