Adoption — international surrogacy — de facto couple — COVID-19 — Adoption Act 1955, s 10 — Adoption (Intercountry) Act 1997 — Covid-19 International Surrogacy Protocol. This was an application for an adoption order of a child. The child had been born overseas via surrogacy and was the biological child of one of the applicants. Children born overseas via surrogacy needed a New Zealand passport to travel back to New Zealand, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic the processing time on passports had been delayed. The Family Court of New Zealand had implemented an International Surrogacy Protocol, which allowed for a streamlined process for the adoption of babies born via surrogacy. The Judge was satisfied that the Adoption (Intercountry) Act did not apply as the child was always intended to be habitually resident in New Zealand. The Judge was also satisfied that the applicants were fit and proper persons to take care of the child, pursuant to the Adoption Act. The Judge made a final adoption order in respect of the applicants and directed that the social worker's report be released to the applicants. Judgment Date: 25 September 2020. * * * Note: names have been changed to comply with legal requirements. * * *