The legal framework
Law 26.862 on medically assisted reproduction (June 2013) and its implementing decree 956/2013 guarantee 'comprehensive' access to any adult, with no requirement as to marital status, sexual orientation or a diagnosis of infertility, and with compulsory cover under the Programa Médico Obligatorio (PMO, the compulsory basic package of care): up to four low-complexity treatments a year and three high-complexity treatments in all, three months apart, including medication, gamete donation and cryopreservation. The Código Civil y Comercial (Civil and Commercial Code, articles 560 to 564) governs parentage by voluntad procreacional: whoever consents to the technique is a parent, whatever the genetic contribution; the prior, informed and free consent is renewed before each transfer and recorded with the Registro Civil (Civil Registry); the donor has no legal tie to the child, and the child may obtain the donor's medical information and, with judicial authorisation, his or her identity. Surrogacy (gestación por sustitución) is not regulated (the article in the draft of the Code was removed in 2014); the courts authorised dozens of cases, but in September 2024 the Supreme Court held that, in the absence of a law, the mother is the woman who gives birth, and called on Congress to legislate. The fate of embryos that are not transferred awaits a special law.
Argentina's 2013 law is among the broadest in the world: cover is compulsory for every insurer, there is no legal upper age limit, egg donation is compensated and readily available, and single women and female couples have had access since 2013 on the same terms as everyone else. A British or Irish resident who is insured through an obra social — usually through an employer — or a prepaga is entitled to the cover of the law like any Argentine, with donor gametes, medication and freezing included: what counts is the insurance, not the passport. Buenos Aires has also become a centre of assisted reproduction for South America, with private prices in US dollars well below those of private clinics in Spain or the UK; visitors, however, are outside the cover of the law and pay the private price, and the NHS does not fund treatment abroad.
Three points of UK law matter for British patients and parents. Donor identity: people conceived in the UK with donations made since April 2005 can learn the donor's identity at 18, whereas a child conceived in Buenos Aires can obtain the donor's medical information at any time but his or her identity only with the authorisation of an Argentine judge, for well-founded reasons — and the register kept by the HFEA (Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority) covers only treatment in UK clinics. Parentage: a child born in Argentina is registered with both members of the couple who consented, without adoption; for British citizenship and a UK passport, who is a parent is decided by UK law — the birth mother is the mother, and her husband, wife or civil partner is the other parent if he or she consented to the treatment, whereas an unmarried partner who is not the genetic parent is not automatically a legal parent. Surrogacy: in the UK it is lawful only on a non-commercial basis, and the surrogate remains the legal mother until a court makes a parental order; in Argentina, since the 2024 judgment, the child is registered to the woman who gives birth, and the courts no longer authorise surrogacy in advance — until Congress legislates, Argentina is not a destination for it.
Key points
| Access | Universal from 18, whatever the marital status, orientation or diagnosis (Law 26.862) |
|---|---|
| Cover | Compulsory for obras sociales, prepagas and the public system: 4 low-complexity treatments a year and 3 high-complexity in all, with medication and cryopreservation |
| Parentage | Voluntad procreacional: prior consent recorded with the Registro Civil; both members of the couple are parents (articles 560 to 564) |
| Donation | Anonymous, with access to the donor's medical information and, with judicial authorisation, to his or her identity; donors compensated |
| Surrogacy | Not regulated; cases authorised by judges until the Supreme Court held in 2024 that, without a law, the woman who gives birth is the mother |
| Embryos | Awaiting a special law; cryopreservation covered |
| Figures | About 25,000 cycles a year; more than 20,000 births since 2013 thanks to the law |
| British and Irish patients | Covered only if insured in Argentina; no NHS funding; parentage and citizenship for UK purposes follow UK law |
In practice
- Ask your obra social or prepaga for cover, with the medical indication; refusals and delays are dealt with by a complaint to the Superintendencia de Servicios de Salud (the health insurance regulator) and, if need be, by an amparo (urgent court action), which judges grant within weeks — British residents with Argentine cover use the same remedies.
- In the public system, hospitals with a fertility service — Durand and Rivadavia in Buenos Aires, hospitals in Córdoba, Rosario, Mendoza… — treat patients without insurance, with waiting lists.
- Both members of the couple sign the informed consent before each transfer and have it formally recorded; the birth certificate (partida de nacimiento) is then drawn up with both parents, without adoption. British parents apply to HM Passport Office for the child's first British passport with the Argentine birth certificate; a female couple, or an unmarried couple using donor sperm, should first check how UK law treats the second parent.
- Check that the centre is authorised in the Registro Federal de Establecimientos de Salud (REFES, the federal register of health facilities) and accredited by the Sociedad Argentina de Medicina Reproductiva (SAMeR).
- Patients travelling from the UK or Ireland pay the private price, usually in US dollars, and should agree the treatment plan with the clinic before they travel; the HFEA publishes guidance on what to check before having treatment abroad.
Cost and coverage
Free with cover (obra social, prepaga or public hospital); privately, insemination 300 to 600 US dollars, IVF 3,000 to 5,000 dollars including medication, egg donation 5,000 to 7,000 dollars. Patients from the UK add flights and accommodation; neither the NHS nor travel insurance pays for fertility treatment abroad.
Recent changes
In 2024 the Supreme Court closed the judicial route to surrogacy in the absence of a law; Congress has been debating bills on embryos and on surrogacy since 2023. The 2013 coverage law holds, although inflation weighs on providers, and refusals by insurers still regularly end up before the courts.
Where to go
- Superintendencia de Servicios de Salud: complaints when cover is refused (0800 222 72583).
- Sociedad Argentina de Medicina Reproductiva (SAMeR): accredited centres; public hospitals with a fertility service (Durand, Rivadavia, Materno Infantil de Córdoba…).
- Concebir and Sumate a Dar Vida: patients' associations.
- HFEA: guidance on treatment abroad; HM Passport Office: a British child's first passport; British Embassy in Buenos Aires: consular assistance and notarial services; Irish citizens: Embassy of Ireland in Buenos Aires.
Worth knowing
The 2013 law is among the most generous in the world, but obras sociales and prepagas often delay or refuse cover: a complaint to the Superintendencia and an amparo work. Since 2024, surrogacy without a law leaves the child registered to the woman who gives birth until Congress legislates — British intended parents would have no recognised parentage in Argentina, and in the UK the surrogate is the legal mother until a parental order is made. And a child conceived with an Argentine donor will learn the donor's identity only through an Argentine court, unlike a child conceived with a donor in a UK clinic.
Frequently asked questions
I live in Buenos Aires with a prepaga — does it have to pay for my IVF?
Yes. Under Law 26.862 and the Programa Médico Obligatorio, every obra social and prepaga must cover up to four low-complexity treatments a year and three high-complexity treatments in all, with medication, donation and freezing, whatever your marital status, sexual orientation or nationality. If the insurer refuses or delays, complain to the Superintendencia de Servicios de Salud and, if necessary, bring an amparo, which judges decide within weeks. A patient who travels from the UK for treatment is not covered and pays the private price.
Will a child conceived with an Argentine donor be able to identify the donor?
Only through an Argentine court. The child can obtain the donor's medical information at any time, but the donor's identity only with judicial authorisation, for well-founded reasons. In the UK, people conceived with donations made since April 2005 can ask the HFEA for the donor's identity at 18, but its register covers only treatment in UK clinics: a child conceived in Buenos Aires falls outside it.
We are two British women: will the UK recognise both of us as mothers?
The Argentine birth certificate names you both, without adoption, provided you both signed the prior consent. For UK purposes the birth mother is the mother, and her wife or civil partner is the second legal parent if she consented to the treatment; if you are not married or in a civil partnership, the second mother is not automatically a legal parent under UK law, and a step-parent adoption may be needed. The child's British citizenship depends on who is a legal parent under UK law: check with HM Passport Office before applying for a passport.
Official sources and links
- Law 26.862 — medically assisted reproduction — official text
- Civil and Commercial Code — parentage by assisted reproduction (articles 560-564) — official text
- Superintendencia de Servicios de Salud — complaints when cover is refused
- HFEA — fertility treatment abroad — UK regulator's guidance
- argentina.gob.ar — official portal of the Argentine state: procedures, civil registry, migration, health, justice
- Normativa nacional (InfoLeg) — official texts of Argentine laws and decrees
- British Embassy Buenos Aires — gov.uk — consular help, notarial and documentary services for British nationals in Argentina