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Intercountry adoption
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Information for those currently in the process of Intercountry adoption
The first step in any intercountry adoption application is to contact your local authority or a voluntary adoption agency. A social worker will then be able to explain the intercountry adoption process and prepare you for this. Should you decide to proceed, the agency will carry out an assessment of your suitability as an adopter. When the assessment process is complete, your application will be considered by the agency's adoption panel, who will make a recommendation as to whether or not you are suitable to adopt. The approval decision is made by a senior manager in the agency, known as the agency decision maker.
If you are approved as suitable to adopt a child from another country, your agency will send your application to the Department for Children, Schools and Families to be processed. The DCSF casework team are responsible for processing applications for intercountry adoption from UK residents, including ensuring that applicants meet requirements set out in both UK legislation, and the criteria and law of the country concerned.
Our aim in the DCSF casework team is to provide adopters with a quick, polite and helpful service. We appreciate that the intercountry adoption process is an extended one, and that the casework processing element of this can appear confusing. We will therefore keep prospective adopters informed in writing of progress with their application while it is being processed by the DCSF.
The normal stages in the processing of intercountry adoption cases are as follows:
1) DCSF receive case from adoption agency and send acknowledgement to adopters which also asks for contact details.
2) A caseworker will check that all the necessary papers are included and up-to-date. If there are papers missing or incorrectly completed, we will contact the adoption agency to rectify any errors.
3) If we are satisfied from the paperwork that the adopter has been assessed and approved according to UK legislation and meets the other country's requirements, we will normally issue a Certificate of Eligibility and Suitability to Adopt. Adopters will be notified that this has happened.
4) A caseworker will then arrange for the papers to be sent to a Notary Public, nominated by the prospective adopters. Not all countries require papers to be notarised, and those that do have varying requirements.
5) The Notary Public will usually return the papers to the DCSF casework team, who will then arrange for the papers to be legalised at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Again, not all countries require this legalisation.
6) The Foreign and Commonwealth Office will return the papers to the DCSF team who will, if necessary, forward them to the other country's Embassy in London for the final stage of legalisation.
7) When the papers are received back at the DCSF from the Embassy, the application will be sent to the relevant authorities or contact in the other country.
This is the standard casework procedure, although requirements will vary from country to country. For more detailed information about the process, please click here. For details of different countries' requirements, please click here.
The procedure outlined above involves agencies outside of the DCSF, and delays can occur. Consequently, processing your application can take a number of months starting with the date that we receive all of the correct documentation. The time taken will vary depending on the volume of cases being processed by the casework team at the time, and also depending on the individual country's requirements.
For details of local authorities and adoption agencies, please click here.
For more information on the intercountry adoption process, please visit our Frequently Asked Questions page.
