'Let our surrogate twins stay with us'

Surrogate twins born to their grandmother have flown home to Britain - and straight into an extraordinary passport row.

Babies Neel and Nandani Nagla were brought back to Essex by their British parents after a seven-month fight to get into the country.

But the Government has refused the twins British passports because they were born in India and their host mother is an Indian citizen.

Neel and his sister, now six months old, were prevented from coming to the UK until they were granted entry clearance by embassy staff in India.

The babies have been permitted to live with their biological parents in Ilford, but only on a fixed-term visa for a year, and when it runs out they could be ordered to leave the country.

The family are fighting for the twins' right to remain in Britain in what could prove to be a landmark case.

Their father, Aakash, claims there should be no question about their nationality because his family has been British for four generations.

The twins' paternal grandfather, Natu, said: "We cannot be sure about the babies' future in this country.

"I am British, their father is British and my own grandfather was British. I don't understand why we had to go through all this trouble to get them here."

He said that the family does not want to adopt the children, which would give them automatic British status, because of the bureaucracy involved.

He said: "It would take three years to adopt them and anyway, why should we have to? They are our children by birth and we have no need to prove that with a bit of paperwork."

The babies were born using a fertilised egg from Aakash Nagla's wife, Lata, 26, who cannot give birth because of a rare medical condition called Rokitansky syndrome. The embryo was implanted in Mrs Nagla's mother, Rhada Patel, 46, at a private clinic in Gujarat, India.

Mr Nagla, 30, who works in a London shoe shop, declared: "It has all been worth it. These babies are my pride and joy, and the joy will live with me forever.

"They are living proof that good can come out of bad."

His wife said: "The babies are a miracle and have brought me so much happiness. But sometimes they take it in turns to see who can cry the loudest." The case will be featured in a special BBC London programme.

Under current British surrogacy laws, a child born through such an arrangement is deemed to have the nationality of the birth mother, not the genetic mother. If the couple successfully apply to adopt, the twins will receive British passports when the process is completed - but the formalities could take years.

Alternatively, the parents have been told that they could apply to register the children as British citizens, with no guarantee that the request would be granted.

A Home Office spokeswoman said: "Under English law, the commissioning couple are not registered as the legal parents of the child, so the child would not be recognised as a British citizen.

"The couple would have to seek entry clearance before entering the UK with the children.

"Once entry is granted, the couple have to seek a parental order under Section 30 of the 1999 Human Embryology and Fertilisation Act and they may apply to adopt under the 1976 Adoption Act." Off icials have reassured the family that it is highly unlikely the children would be asked to leave the country.

Their 56-year-old grandfather added: "From what I have been told, I am satisfied they will not be forced to go back to India. That would be heartless."

The couple had searched in vain for an Asian woman in Britain to have a child for them.

Then Mrs Patel, who already had four children of her own, agreed to help.

After two failed attempts she became pregnant and the twins were born.

The procedure cost about £10,000 in India, compared with the price tag of around £50,000 in Britain.

The Naglas were upset by criticism from a Hindu priest near their London home, but said they have otherwise received overwhelming-support. Dr Nayana Patel, the IVF specialist behind the birth, said: "These twins have enriched the lives of so many people and I wish them the best of luck in Britain, which is where they rightfully belong with their parents."