In order to adopt inter-country, prospective adoptive parents must be found to be:
- Eligible AND
- Meet the country specific criteria AND
- Be assessed as suitable for the particular age/number/ characteristics of the child(ren) you wish to apply for
Eligibility
These general eligibility requirements must be met and approved by the New Zealand Central Authority for Adoption before an Assessment of Suitability can be made:
Criminal Record
You cannot have a criminal record.
What general Household criteria are there?
- Have no more than 3 children living in your home (some countries do not allow those with biological children to adopt).
- Be able to commit to parenting the child yourself, during the first year.
- Couples must be legally married for 2-3 years (some countries allow exceptions).
What Physical and Financial criteria are there?
You must be:
- Under 55 years old (age restrictions vary for each country and your age impacts on the age of child you can adopt).
- In good physical, mental and emotional health (interpretation differs for each country)
- Financially secure and show evidence that you are able to support a child
Can we adopt again if we have adopted before?
Yes. Adopting for a second time is reviewed on a case by case basis depending on a range of factors such as your age, number of children in the family, length of time since your last adoption etc. You will need to be reassessed as suitable and have another Home Study Report written. You can contact us to talk to us directly about this.
What if I am a New Zealand resident living overseas?
You need to live in New Zealand for the Inter-Country adoption Education and Assessment process and to meet Post Placement criteria after you have returned to New Zealand with your child or children. This could be for a period of 2-5 years.
Do I have to be a New Zealand resident?
Yes.
Can I adopt if I am a single woman?
Yes, however the only countries that currently allow this are India and The Philippines.
These are generally older children and all other criteria have to be met.
Can I adopt if I am a single man?
No.
Meeting the above criteria means you are eligible to apply, but you still need to check the country criteria and then be assessed as suitable.
Country Criteria
You must meet the country criteria for your country of choice. These change from time to time. Remember that Adoption First Steps will prepare and assess people for adopting from Lithuania, Thailand, Chile, The Phillippines and India. CYF continues to offer preparation for other countries they have arrangements with.
Some countries are more flexible than others. As each case is unique, it is impossible to give complete assurance that you will be accepted by a particular country at a time in the future when you apply for a particular age or number of children. The basic criteria are just a useful starting point: a suitability assessment must be carried out.
We recommend that you check criteria with the three placement organisations. Their websites are: