|
According to the Adoption Law of the People's Republic
of China, foreigners can adopt children (male or female) in China.
In China, children under the age of 14 in the
following categories may be adopted:
- Orphans who have lost their parents
- Abandoned children whose birth parents cannot be found
- Children whose birth parents are incapable of providing for
them because of unusual hardship.
When a foreigner adopts a child in China, his or
her adoption shall be examined and approved by the responsible agency
of the adopter's resident country and the adopters shall satisfy
the following requirements:
- Childless, neither birth child and adopted child
- Capable of raising and educating the adoptee
- No illness which is deemed as medically inappropriate for
the adopter to adopt children
- Adopter should be 30 years old and above
- When a married person adopts a child, he / she should
get consent from their spouse
- When a spouseless male adopt a female child, the age difference
between the adopter and the adoptee should be above forty
years
Orphans, disabled children or abandoned infants may be adopted irrespective
of the restrictions that the adoptor shall be childless.
A foreigner who wants to adopt a Chinese child
must submit the following documents to the China Center of Adoption
Affairs.
- Adoption application
- Birth certificate
- Marital status certificate
- Certificates of profession, income and property
- Health examination certificate
- Certificate of no-criminal record
- A home study report regarding the lifestyle, immediate and
extended family, finances and reasons for adopting
- Certificate of child adoption approval issued by the relevant
department of the adopter's country of residence
- Photos
The full adoption process mainly include following
procedures:
- Apply for a international adoption at the adoption organization
in the adopter's resident country
- Obtain some relevant certificates under the instruction of
the adoption organization
- Prepare dossier and offer application to China Center of Adoption
Affairs
- Wait for the examination and, if qualified, the referral of
a child (6-8 months)
- Once you are matched with a child, a copy of the medical report
of this child, along with the child's photograph, will be delivered.
The medical reports contain limited, basic information concerning
the child's general health status. Sometimes there will be a
short paragraph about growth and development. You may request
more information before deciding whether to accept a child.
- Travel to China and conclude a written adoption agreement
with the person placing out the child for adoption
- When a foreign married couple adopts a child in concert, they
should come to China together to go through the adoption formalities;
if one of the spouses cannot come to China for some reasons,
a notarized and authenticated written power of attorney should
be delivered by the other spouse
- Make an adoptive registration in the civil affairs department
in the locality of the adoptee's permanent residence
- Adopter, adoptee and the person placing out the child for
adoption should be present together. Adopter is required to
fill in the Registration Application for Adoption of Children
in China. Furthermore, the Notice of Coming to China for Adoption
issued by the CCAA, the identity certificates and photos of
the adopters should be submitted to the registration organisation
- A registration certificate of adoption would be issued to
the adopter within 7 days if the adoption registration organisation
validates the adoptive relationship after examination.
- The entire adoption process from the time you submit your
formal paperwork (the Dossier) to you being united with your
child currently takes approximately 12-14 months.
The adoption process is somewhat expensive since it contains all
the costs involved in this process, such as fees spent in making
copies of documents, obtaining documents and certifications and
traveling. Today, the total cost of adopting a child in China is
between 10,000 to 20,000 US$.
|
