Adopting From Ukraine

You have decided on adopting from ukraine to fulfil your adoption needs, providing you meet all the ukraine adoption requirements. The Ukraine offers successful adoptions for people seeking the special love of a child in their lives.

There is a specific procedure that prospective parents need to follow, and gaining all the information they need before beginning the process would prove to be beneficial.

To be eligible when adopting from ukraine,you may be a single parent, or a couple (including homosexual couples). There are a few criteria to be met for the parents, including age limitations. Parents need to be at least 18 years of age, with an age range between parent and child of no less than 15 years and no more than 45 years.

The health of parents will be taken into consideration, too. Parents will be required to undergo background checks, and any with a history of violent crimes will be denied. There are no restrictions on how many previous children the single parent or couple has.

After parents have chosen a credible agency to work with, they need to collect all the necessary documents, including medical exams, statement on absence of criminal record, and financial records. When the package of information has been successfully completed, it is then turned over to the Ukraine State Department for Adoption and Protection of Children’s Rights.

Once the information is approved, a meeting is set up. If two parents are involved, then attendance is required of both. Once in the Ukraine, parents review files of prospective children, and visit those of interest. Once a child is chosen, case files are submitted to a judge located in the same district as the orphanage where the child resides.

The decision may take a month to be decreed, unless there are underlying circumstances that effect the child's health. During this waiting period, one parent may return to the states if they so choose. Once the final decree has been announced, a Visa is procured for the child and the family travels home.

Once you have completed all the necessary requirements when adopting from Ukraine, you can then register your child with the Ukrainian Consulate within 30 days of arrival in the States. Then updates are sent once a year for the first three years, then every three years afterwards. All Ukrainian adoptees are considered Ukrainian citizens until they turn 18, at which time they choose their citizenship.

Q. Can Ukranian judges appoint a waiting period after the court hearing?

A. Yes. It is law in Ukraine that a judge appoints a ten day waiting period after the court hearing. Because the family is not allowed to leave Ukraine until the adoption process is complete, they may ask that this waiting period be waived.

This is done verbally during the court hearing or by a written request in the form of a court petition. Get the advise of an adoption facilitator if you choose to write a court petition. Meanwhile, keep in mind that there is no guarantee that the ten day waiting period will be waived.

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