Passport issued to baby born in Ukraine as family prepare to travel home to Northern Ireland

The family of a three-week old boy who was born in Ukraine say a passport has been issued, allowing him to travel to Northern Ireland with his family from Co Down.

JauntyBau McDonnell was born through surrogacy. His parents Mary and Peter, from Portaferry, travelled to Ukraine to begin the process months before Russia's invasion of the country.

Delays in having a British passport issued to the newborn meant that he was unable to travel, leaving the two concerned parents unable to bring him to his family as the war unfolded.

An initial meeting with the passport office was due to happen in March.

However, after calls for their case to be expedited by Government departments, JauntyBau's mother has confirmed to UTV that identity checks have been completed and a passport will be on its way to Kyiv soon.

Mary McDonnell said: "After our media appearances this morning (23 February) and the amount of support for little JauntyBeau that totally went crazy, the government departments worked together and conducted Peter’s identity checks immediately and as a result of this the passport office in Belfast have now received all they need to make up and send his passport to Kyiv in Ukraine for him to travel home.

"We are overwhelmed with the support from all the community at home and around the United Kingdom. We just wanted to get him home to our family in Portaferry who haven’t had the chance to meet him yet and Max can get a nurse and cuddle at his baby brother."

Max is the McDonnell's 15-year-old son who along with other family members, was at home on their farm in Portaferry.

Following the tragic death of his 16-year-old sister Ellie back in 2020, he was the McDonnell's only child.

Ellie, who had epilepsy, died in her sleep the following year after suffering an accident.

The family chose to travel to Ukraine for surrogacy treatment to bring some joy back into their lives.

Their surrogacy journey began in 2021 before the war broke out.

Mary added: "Surrogacy is a very highly debated topic but I feel each case is unique and ours came about from very sad circumstances but we know Ellie will be smiling down on us right now because she left a great legacy on this earth and we know our little JauntyBeau will make her very proud."

It's understood the First and Deputy First Ministers pressed the Home Office to prioritise their case.

A Government spokesperson from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office said: "We are in contact with the family and are providing support to assist them."

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