Mali - Adoption of a Child

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Procedure

Apply In-Person

1. The government offices responsible for adoption in Mali are the Ministry for the Promotion of Women, Children and the Family and the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights.
2. More specifically the Regional Directorate for the Promotion of the Family and the Child, or the National Directorate, has jurisdiction over the child's identification process, the home study and the issuance of a certificate authorizing the orphanage to release the child to the adoptive parent(s). The competent civil court has sole authority to grant or deny legal adoption certificate.
3. Applicants start by identifying a child that suits their requirements. In this case, the applicant looks around in Mali (it could be either in orphanages or children’s homes) to find out the child that meets what they require.
4. Please note: There are no private adoption agencies in Mali. All adoption matters are processed through the Regional Directorate for the Promotion of the Family and the Child, or the National Directorate and the competent civil court.
5. When the right child that meets requirements of the adoptive parents is identified, the applicant then prepares a letter of request to the child protection service, if it is an internal adoption or to the central authority for the implementation of inter-country adoption.
6. Prospective adoptive parent(s) must submit an application to be found eligible to adopt with the Regional Directorate for the Promotion of the Family and the Child, or the National Directorate office. The application includes a written request from the prospective parent(s) addressed to the Head Directorate for the Promotion of the Family and the Child of along with specific supporting documents {as listed under “required documents” section below}.
7. The request should mention the motives for adoption and must indicate the age range and the gender of the adoptive child and also requesting the court to open an adoption case on behalf of the applicant to proceed with adoption of the identified child.
8. When documents are received, the authorized office assesses and examines documents to verify whether all the necessary legal conditions for the adoption in question have been met; and also to verify whether the adoption is in the best interest of the child. At this stage, in the process of assessing documents, the authorized office may carry out investigation or may request for additional documents apart from the earlier submitted. When investigation is necessary, the authorized office forwards submitted documents to the police to enable it carryout the investigation.
9. After the investigation a report is written and forwarded to the Regional Directorate or National Directorate for assessment of the report and if this legal authority are satisfied with the investigation report. The legal authority will then request the competent civil court for a hiring and ruling of the matter.
10. Upon receiving the request from the Regional Directorate or National Directorate, the court clerk will then fixes date for the case hearing.
11. During the court hearing the judgment is rendered, after debates in the Council chamber, the public prosecutor, and in the presence of the adopter and that of the representative of the service in charge of child protection.
12. If the judge allows adoption, court grants a delegation of parental authority, which technically shifts parental rights from birth parents to adoptive parents.
13. Upon approval the adoptive parents can then start the processing of the child identification document and travel arrangements.
    

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Required Documents

• A written request for legal full adoption from the adoptive parent(s);
• Birth certificates of the adoptive parent(s);
• Marriage certificate for legally married couples;
• Proof of income (pay slips or other proof);
• A Foreign home study may be useful, if translated into French;
• Consent for adoption, in writing, with the signature(s) of the biological parent(s), if known, duly attested by a Notary Public.
• Identification document of both the adoptive parents(s) and biological parent(s), if known,
• Any other document request for by the legal authority.
  

Office Locations & Contacts

Ministry for the Promotion of Women, Children and the Family
Regional Directorate for the Promotion of Families and Children
Address: Djicoroni Para, Cité Administrative, Building N ° 4
Post box {BP}: 2688
Telephone: (+223)20793436
Website: Link

Eligibility

Conditions relating to the adoptee:

• Adoption protection is permitted, regardless of the age of the adoptee. However, if the adoptee is over 13 years of age, he must personally consent to the adoption.
  

The conditions relating to the adopter:

• Adoption can be the work of spouses, as long as they have a good life and good morals and have sufficient income. It is the same for single men or women. However, a single man can only adopt a child who is at least 13 years old.
  

Fees

• Consignment fees: from 7,500 F CFA to 12,000 F CFA depending on the civil courts.
• Stamp fees: 200 F CFA
  

Validity

Explain the time until which the certificate/document is valid.
e.g. Birth Certificate Valid Forever

Documents to Use

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Sample Documents

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Processing Time

The legal process generally may be finalized within a year however the Deadline for issuing the judgment by the court is within two to three months after referral to the competent judge.

Related Videos

Videos explaining the procedure or to fill the applications.
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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

The process for adopting a child from Mali generally includes the following steps:

• Choose an adoption service provider
• Apply to be found eligible to adopt
• Be matched with a child
• Adoption investigation process by the government authority
• Legal court proceedings/judgment by the court
• Bring your child home
  

Required Information

• Name of prospective parent (s)
• Sex, age and marital status of prospective(s)
• Present address of the applicant(s) / prospective parent (s)
• Personal and family status of the prospective parents
• Details of the child to be adopted
• Period of marriage
• Medical situation of applicant(s) / prospective parent (s)
• Financial capacity of applicant(s) / prospective parent (s)
• Names of three (3) referees.
• Nationality of the prospective parent (s)
  

Need for the Document

Adoption is refers to a process of transferring parental rights from biological parent to prospective adoptive parents. It involves creating a lawful and everlasting relationship between an adopted child and the prospective adoptive parents.

Information which might help

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Other uses of the Document/Certificate

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

External Links

Link

Others

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