Bahamas - Adoption by Foreign Parents

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Procedure

Apply In-Person:

1. Foreigners interested in adopting a Bahamian child may approach The Department of Social Services in the Ministry of Social Services and Community Development, Bahamas. Contact Link
2. If the applicants are eligible to adopt, and a child is available for intercountry adoption, the central adoption authority in The Bahamas will provide them with a referral to a child. Please refer the “Eligibility” section of this page for more details.
3. The Department of Social Services will act as the representative of the child's interests and a lawyer will be required to guide the process through the Supreme Court.
4. Once an adoption is complete at the Supreme Court, the information is forwarded to the Registrar General’s Department and recorded in the Adoption Book and is signed by the Registrar General.
5. The Bahamian adoption process typically takes a minimum of three months to complete.
6. The Bahamian government does not charge fees for adoptions. Attorneys will charge fees ranging from $1,500 to $2,000 which covers the work involved and the filing fees. The prospective adoptive parent (s) will also have to pay the costs of the guardian ad litem.
7. After adoption (or legal custody) in The Bahamas is finalized, the Government of adoptive parents, must determine whether the child is eligible under their law to be adopted. Please approach the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Citizenship and Immigration Services of your country for the same.
8. If the child is found eligible to be adopted in parent’s country as well, then the applicants will be given legal custody of child.

Note: Post adoption, there are a few more steps to take before bringing the child home. Please check the “Information which might help” section of this page for more information regarding that.

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Required Documents

Prospective adoptive parents must provide the following list of documents, through a Bahamian attorney, to the Supreme Court:

• Originating Summons
• Notice of Hearing of the Originating Summons
• Consent to Act as the Guardian Ad Litem
• Consent of the birth mother and/or father or legal Guardian
• Child's Birth Certificate
• Affidavit of Applicants -the truth of the Statement in Support of the Application
• Annex to Statement in Support of Application
• Statement in Support of Application -- exhibits - birth certificate of applicant(s) Marriage certificate of the prospective adoptive parent(s)
• First 5 pages of passport applicant(s)
• Undertaking to pay costs of the Guardian Ad Litem
• Appearance Report that is prepared by the Guardian Ad Litem
• Letter of listing officer with Notice of Hearing for an Adoption Summons to go before the Judge on the Adoption.

NOTE:

• The first 8 documents in the above list will be filed and within fourteen (14) days of the date of the Originating Summons, additional documents may be requested.

Office Locations & Contacts

U.S. Embassy Nassau
42 Queen Street
Nassau
Phone: (242) 322-1181
Fax: (242) 356-7174
The Bahamas' Adoption Authority
Births Registration Section
Registrar General’s Department
Cor. of Shirley and Charlotte Street
P.O. Box N 532
Nassau
New Providence
The Bahamas
Tel: 242-356-0765
Fax: 242-323-3883
Contact Link
Embassy of The Bahamas
2220 Massachusetts Ave NW,
Washington, DC 20008
Phone: (202) 319-2660

Eligibility

For the parent

• Age requirements: At least one prospective adoptive parent must be at minimum 25 years of age and more than 21 years older than the child except for cases of relative adoption. The Bahamas requires relatives who pursue adoption to be at least 18 years of age.
• Marriage requirements: Single people as well as married couples may adopt. According to the laws of the Bahamas it is extremely difficult for single men to adopt girls, though the courts may make exceptions based on special circumstances.

For the child:

• Abandonment requirements: Children may be adopted by foreigners, if they are orphans (both or only known parent deceased), if they have been abandoned (the court must be satisfied that parents cannot be found), or released for adoption by their parents or legal guardian (if the child was born out-of-wedlock, only the mother needs to release the child for adoption).
• Age requirements: A child must be at least 6 weeks old to be eligible for release for adoption.

Fees

• The Bahamian government does not charge fees for adoptions.
• Attorneys will charge fees ranging from $1,500 to $2,000.
• The prospective adoptive parent (s) will also have to pay the costs of the guardian ad litem.

Validity

The adoption certificate is valid forever.

Documents to Use

Please attach documents that can be used by people. e.g. links

Sample Documents

Please attach sample completed documents that would help other people.

Processing Time

The processing time for adoption from the Bahamas is a minimum of three months.

Related Videos

Videos explaining the procedure or to fill the applications.
Attach videos using the following tag <&video type='website'>video ID|width|height<&/video&> from external websites.
Please remove the '&' inside the tags during implementation.
Website = allocine, blip, dailymotion, facebook, gametrailers, googlevideo, html5, metacafe, myspace, revver,
sevenload, viddler, vimeo, youku, youtube
width = 560, height = 340, Video ID = Can be obtained from the URL of webpage where the video is displayed.
e.g In the following url 'http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0US7oR_t3M' Video ID is 'Y0US7oR_t3M'.

Instructions

Please provide other instructions related to the certificate/documents.
e.g. The state office holds birth records since january 1908.

Required Information

A list which displays the kind of information which is required to complete the procedure.
e.g.
1. Date of Birth.
2. City or Country of Birth.

Need for the Document

An adoption certificate is issued to an adopted person once the court has arranged the adoption. It becomes the document that proves the identity of that person and effectively replaces their original birth certificate.

Information which might help

Post adoption, the foreign parents may be required to apply for the below mentioned documents in order to safely bring their child home:

• Birth Certificate

You will first need to apply for a new birth certificate for your child, so that you can later apply for a passport. Your name will be added to the new birth certificate.

• The Bahamas Passport

Your child is not yet a citizen of your country, so he/she will need a travel document or Passport from The Bahamas

• Immigrant Visa

After you obtain the new birth certificate and passport for your child, you also need to apply for a visa for your child.

Other uses of the Document/Certificate

Please explain what are other uses of obtaining this document/certificate.
e.g. Birth Certificate can be used as proof of identity.

External Links

Place some external links which might help.

Others

Click on the following links to know more about adoption procedure in the Bahamas Link 1
Link 2