No. Surrogacy is prohibited under UAE federal law, with criminal penalties for participants, including imprisonment and fines. The UAE Penal Code (Article 354) criminalizes assisted reproduction involving third-party surrogates, reflecting conservative Islamic jurisprudence. Commercial surrogacy is explicitly banned, while altruistic arrangements face legal ambiguity but remain unrecognized. Recent 2026 regulatory shifts under the Federal Decree-Law No. 4 of 2021 on Medical Liability reinforce enforcement, with the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP) and local health authorities monitoring reproductive clinics.
Key Regulations for Surrogacy in United Arab Emirates
- Criminalization of Surrogacy: UAE law criminalizes all forms of surrogacy, including commercial and altruistic arrangements, under Article 354 of the Penal Code, imposing up to 10 years imprisonment and fines up to AED 100,000 for violators.
- Assisted Reproduction Restrictions: The Federal Decree-Law No. 4 of 2021 permits only in vitro fertilization (IVF) for married couples using their own gametes, explicitly excluding surrogacy and donor gametes, with MOHAP-licensed clinics subject to audits.
- Enforcement and Jurisdictional Limits: Dubai Health Authority (DHA) and Abu Dhabi Department of Health (DOH) enforce local compliance, with recent 2026 directives requiring mandatory reporting of any surrogacy-related activities to authorities, risking license revocation for non-compliance.