Blessed by tech, Blocked by babu

Sumita Singh, a 52-year-old Canadian citizen of Indian origin, came to aapnu Amdavad in February to make her family "complete". After a long wait, her prayers bore fruit when she held her surrogate daughter in her arms. It was a picture perfect moment for her. And the preparation to go back home started. However, she had not reckoned with the Indian bureaucracy and its ways.

Foreign Residents Registration Office (FRRO) in Ahmedabad, which grants exit visa to foreign couples' children born on Indian soil, has held back the document for the child on the ground that there is 1 per cent discrepancy between the DNA reports of the child and the parents. This, when according to medical experts, 90 per cent match is enough to conclude that baby belongs to a couple.

"One per cent difference in the DNA reports might show up because of mutation abnormality which is not so important," said Dr Sandip Shah of Supratech Micropath Laboratory. "In a DNA test, 90 per cent match is essential to understand if the baby belongs to the couple. But 1 per cent difference in the test doesn't matter," said a senior microbiologist in the state government who did not want to be identified.

After procuring citizenship from the Canadian government, the Singhs approached Foreign Residents Registration Office (FRRO) in Ahmedabad for exit visa for the newborn. But the process hit a road block when the department refused to do so, citing mismatch between the DNA reports of the child and the parents. According to immigration laws, if a surrogate child acquires the citizenship of the country of the couple, then FRRO cannot restrict the child's exit visa.

"DNA report is required while procuring the citizenship in a country. And if the child has received it then I don't understand why FRRO is restricting exit permission on the report which is not even its look after," said Hari G Ramasubramanian, a pioneer in the field of Indian surrogacy law. According to the Bureau of Immigration, surrogate parents before leaving India need to procure exit permission to get exit visa from FRRO.

The requirements includes the couple getting a certificate from the assisted reproductive technologies (ART) clinic concerned of the fact that the child has been duly taken custody of by the couple and that the liabilities towards the Indian surrogate mother have been fully discharged as per the agreement. Acopy of the birth certificate of the surrogate child will be retained by the FRRO/FRO along with photocopies of the passport and visa of the foreign parents.

EXIT VISA AVAILABE IN 3 DAYS

The exit permission is generally provided in about three days, but Sumita is waiting for six months to get the permit for her daughter to bring her home. "She is harassed by the regional officer of FRRO. Despite requesting the officer several times, he has refused to give the permission. For six months Sumita has been staying with her daughter in our hospital. She has postponed her return to Canada three times as she can't leave her daughter here in Ahmedabad," said Dr Kamini Patel, infertility specialist whom Sumita had approached for surrogacy.

According to Dr Patel, in the DNA test, there is only 1 per cent disparity which can be because of medical complications. But it has nothing to do with the exit visa of the child. "I have assisted several foreign couples with surrogacy so I know the law properly. But the officer concerned, Rajendra Kumar, does not seem to be fully conversant with the procedures," she added. "Moreover, the Canadian government has provided 'temporary residency permit' to the child so that after delivery, she can come back to home and stay with mother until she receives her passport. And despite this the officer is denying the visa," Dr Patel said.

Talking to Mirror, Sumita said, "I am tired of running around. I just want to get my daughter home. We have written several emails to Kumar with all the documents but every time he asks for more." In fact, the officer has also asked for the letter from the ethical committee which is not required for the visa of the child. When contacted, Kumar asked this correspondent to switch off her phone and then said, "The baby's DNA doesn't match with her surrogate parents so I refused it (exit visa). Now, the case has been sent to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs and if it approves the application, we will grant the visa to the child." In a state which is considered the hub of surrogacy in India, this approach of senior officers can dampen the interest of foreign couples from coming to the city for assisted fertility, Dr Patel said. (Name of the mother changed to protect identity)