Question - Foreign Adoption (sorta)
happy_un-bride
member
Ok, so here's a wierd question... DH and I have always been considering selling everything, and packing up and moving somewhere else... most likely Central America.... and just live on what we have for as long as we can. We figure we could make a go of it for a decent amount of time based on our savings at this point.
This plan is currently on hold, because I'd like to try and have a baby. I do have some health risks and DH keeps suggesting we look at adoption. And I'm just wondering about the possibility of the best of both worlds... i.e. could I move to a foreign country, find an orphanage and adopt a child there... (basically it would be a domestic adoption in a foreign country).
Has anyone heard of this? or looked at adopting from central/south america?
Re: Question - Foreign Adoption (sorta)
It actually could work in your benefit. Many countries have an "in-country" stay requirement that can be lengthy (months). Many families don't consider countries that require a long residency in country since it's not practical.
For "fun", you may review the country requirements for adoption. Here's a resource: https://international.adoption.com/foreign/country-information.html
I have a friend moving to mexico for a year and they plan to do a DA adoption while there. Sounds like after living there 3 months they can do it and it is a pretty simple process (According to her). That's all I got!
Sounds like fun
We actually live in an African country that you can only adopt from if you are a legal resident (no international adoption). We didn't move here for the purpose of adoption, but we are in the process of adopting and it is challenging but manageable. I will say that having to do all the ground work yourself (figuring out legal stuff, bugging social workers to write reports) is very tiring, but in my country there are no adoption agencies, so this is the only option.
I would make sure you know the legal qualifications for in country adoption for whatever country you're looking into (not international qualifications). For instance, here you must be a legal resident for 3 years, so you couldn't just come, adopt, and leave. And there may be a foster period (ours is 6 months) before applying for adoption because it is a domestic adoption. Once the adoption is finalized, without an international agency, you must do all citizenship work yourself before you go back to your home country and that will most likely take several months. Also, most countries won't let you stay indefinitely without a work permit. A tourist visa is likely to expire after 90 days.
It's not impossible, but I would just make sure you know all the specifics of the countries you're interested in before you sell all your belongings. I'm excited to see how this pans out! :-)
Great - thanks for all the advice... we wouldn't be moving to the counrty for the short-term, so all the requirements to live there for a certain number of years would work fine.
I read a little bit about this the other day, and only thing that concerns me is that they tend to want you to have been married for 5 years. DH and I aren't married; and would likely only get married if we decided to go down this route. Just something to keep in mind for us.
Now, back to TTC for the mean time. But this research has definitely made an interesting argument.
Yeah, I'm pretty sure that most countries would still consider your process to be an international adoption, but with you as a resident. Even if they do streamline the process for you, pp brings up a great point about US adoption and immigration laws. You need to really make sure that your adoption will be in compliance with both countries' laws if you ever want to move back with your child. Many of the laws are specifically designed to reduce child-trafficking, so while they may seem to be arbitrary, they may end up meaning that the US will not recognize your child as a citizen or allow him/her to enter the country in the end.
I'd really research this point as it may be the non-negotiable of your situation. Most Central and South American countries are primarily Catholic and traditional.
Please stick around... your journey sounds so exciting!