China - Adopting a Child

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Procedure

Adoption Procedure

• In accordance with the Adoption Law of the People's Republic of China, foreigners may adopt children in China. Applicants for child adoption shall be:
  • Childless;
  • Capable of rearing and providing education to the adopted child;
  • Thirty years old or above;
  • Where an adoptive parent has a spouse, the couple shall adopt the child together. In case of a spouseless male adopting a baby girl, he has to be at least 40 years older than the adopted child;
  • An adopter could only adopt one child.

Notwithstanding the above conditions, adopting an orphan or a handicapped child need not be subject to the restrictions A, C and E as specified above.

• To adopt a child in China, the necessary documents required are as follows:
  • Written application for adoption (including the pledge of not maltreating and deserting the adopted child);
  • Personal identifications (including birth and citizenship certificates);
  • Certificate of marital status;
  • Certificate of occupation and financial status;
  • Health certificate;
  • Certificate of non-criminal record;
  • Document which testifies that the adoption accords with the current laws applied to adoption in Canada.
  • Family investigation report

During the process of adoption, either party of a couple may act on behalf of the other in case of absence and subject to the power of attorney signed by the absentee.

• All documents mentioned above shall be notarized by a notary public and be legalized by the Department of Foreign Affairs Canada or provincial authorities and then be authenticated by the Chines Embassy or Consulates-General.
• A written agreement shall be reached between the adopting parents and the person putting the child up for adoption. The parties shall register in the local Chinese civil affairs department in person, complete notarial procedures at the designated notarial agency. Adoptive relations shall come into force on the day of the notarization.

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Required Documents

• Written application for adoption (including the pledge of not maltreating and deserting the adopted child);
• Personal identifications (including birth and citizenship certificates);
• Certificate of marital status;
• Certificate of occupation and financial status;
• Health certificate;
• Certificate of non-criminal record;
• Document which testifies that the adoption accords with the current laws applied to adoption in Canada.
• Family investigation report

Office Locations & Contacts

China Centre for Children's Welfare and Adoption (CCCWA)
16 Wang Jia Yuan Lane, Dongcheng District, Beijing, PRC 100027
Phone: +86-10-65548998
Fax: +86-10-65548856
Email: [email protected]
Address & Map
Relevant Authorities and Organizations

Eligibility

Foreign couples planning to adopt Chinese children need to have stable marriages, sound physical and mental health and comfortable finances and must not be overweight.

The new guidelines, which go into effect on May 1, give preference to more suitable applicants, a Ministry of Civil Affairs official said yesterday.

A key criterion is that applicants should have a Body Mass Index (BMI) a measure of body fat based on height and weight that applies to both adult men and women of less than 40.

A BMI of 40 means extreme obesity, for example, in a person who is 1.7 metres tall and weighs more than 115 kilograms.

The applicant couple must be married for at least two years; and those who were earlier divorced should have been currently married for at least five years.

The current law allows single foreigners to adopt Chinese children, but requires the father to be at least 40 years older than the adopted girl.

Another change is that couples must also have less than four children and be in the 30-50 age group, according to Xing. The current law does not specify the number of children of adopting parents, but they should be at least 30 years old.

Fees

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Validity

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e.g. Birth Certificate Valid Forever

Documents to Use

Application Forms

Sample Documents

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Processing Time

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Related Videos

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Instructions

Requirements for adopters

• In accordance with the provisions set forth in the Adoption Law of the People's Republic of China, the adopters should meet simultaneously the following requirements:
  • Childless: "By childless" is meant to indicate that the adopters have neither biological children, nor any adopted children, nor step-children.
  • The capacity of rearing and educating the adoptees: "By the capacity of rearing and educating the adoptees" is meant to indicate that the adopters should have the full civil capacity, and the capacity of rearing and educating the adoptees physically, intellectually, resourcefully and morally as well as the capacity of fulfilling parental obligations to their children.
  • No such diseases as considered medically unfit for adoption.: "No such diseases as considered medically unfit for adoption" is defined as mainly mental disease and infectious disease.
  • 30 years old: "By 30 years old" is meant to indicate one's 30 full years of age. When a couple jointly adopts a child, both of them should reach the age of 30.
• Where a person with spouse adopts a child, the husband or wife should get consent from the other to adopt the child in concert.
• Where a spouseless male adopts a female child, the full years of age between the adopter and the adoptee should be over 40 years.
• The adoption of a child belonging to a collateral relative by blood of the same generation and up to the third degree of kinship, may not be confined to the restrictions that "children whose parents are unable to rear them due to unusual difficulties, the "age difference between the adopter and the adoptee shall be no less than 40 years" and that the adoptee is under the age of l4.

"By the adoption of a child belonging to a collateral relative by blood of the same generation and up to the third degree of kinship" is meant to indicate siblings and brothers-sisters-german of the third degree of kinship; "the children belonging to a collateral relatives by blood of the same generation and up to the third degree of kinship" indicate the children of the siblings and that of brothers-sisters-german of the third kinship, namely, nephews and nieces, and brothers-sisters-german and cousins-german of the fourth generation.

• Orphans, disabled children or abandoned infants and children, who are raised in the social welfare institutes, and whose biological parents cannot be ascertained or found, may be adopted irrespective of the restrictions that the adopter should be childless and adopt one child only.

Requirements for adoptees

In accordance with the provisions of Article 4 of the Adoption Law of the People's Republic of China, the following persons can be placed out as adoptees: orphans under the age of l4 bereaved of parents; abandoned infants and children whose biological parents cannot be ascertained or found; and children whose biological parents are unable to rear them due to unusual difficulties.

"By orphans bereaved of parents" is defined as children whose parents are dead or announced dead by the people's court.

"By abandoned infants or children whose parents cannot be ascertained or found" is defined as infants and children abandoned by their biological parents or whose biological parents cannot be ascertained or found.

"By children whose parents are unable to rear them due to unusual difficulties" is meant to indicate that the biological parents cannot rear their children because the parents are disabled or suffering from serious illness or whose life is extremely difficult caused by other elements.

Required Information

• Applicants' Names
• Date of birth
• Address
• Medical History
• Physical Examination
• Physical Test Result

Need for the Document

Chinese government always attaches great importance to the protection of childrens benefit. In pursuant to the spirit of conventions in inter-country adoption, China helps children who need a home to be placed domestically, and for those who cannot be placed at home, we try our best to find a suitable family worldwide with an open mind.

Information which might help

Adoption Registration

Firstly, "where foreigners come to China for adoption, they should come to China in person to go through the registration formalities. Where a foreign couple adopts a child in concert, they should come to China in concert and go through the adoption formalities; when one of the spouses cannot come to China for some reasons, the other spouse should submit Power of Attorney on his/her behalf and it should be notarized and authenticated."

Secondly, foreigners who come to China for adoption, should conclude a written adoption agreement with the person placing out the child for adoption. The adoption agreement should include in general such conte

Other uses of the Document/Certificate

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e.g. Birth Certificate can be used as proof of identity.

External Links

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Others

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