According to the Adoption Law of the People's Republic
of China, foreigners could adopt children (male or female)
in China.
 In
China, children under the age of 14 in the following
categories may be adopted:
- Orphans who 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
meet simultaneously the following requirements:
- Childless, neither birth child and adopted child
- Capable of rearing and educating the adoptee
- No illness which is deemed medically as 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 and
children may be adopted irrespective of the restrictions
in the article 1.
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 by the competent
department of the adopter's country of residence
- Photos
A
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 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 organ
- A registration certificate of adoption would be
issued to the adopter within 7 days if the adoption
registration organ validates the adoptive relationship
after examination.
The entire adoption process from the time you submit
your formal paperwork (the Dossier) to you are united
with your child currently takes approximately 12-14
months.
The adoption cost is somewhat expensive since it contains
all the money 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 about 10,000
to 20,000 US$.
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