Expat Adoption Stories

People tend to adopt for a host of reasons but often share a common desire – to give a disadvantaged child a better life. Here in the Czech Republic, there are 20,000 children in residential care (a figure that includes those not up for adoption), one of the highest per capita number of displaced children in Europe. Roma children roughly make up the majority of children in residential care in this country. Perhaps this explains why foreigners living in the Czech Republic are able to adopt with surprising ease, particularly when ethnicity is not a concern.

A new daughter

Adoptive parent Kelsie Mullen

Less red tape than expected

Before applicants get that far, however, they must file an application at the local town hall (městský úřad) which typically has social workers on hand who can assist in the adoption proceedings. Applicants who don’t speak Czech will need to bring a translator. Despite the fact that many see adoption as cost prohibitive, according to Mrs. Mullen, fees for local adoptions are nominal.

Part of the process was home study (šetření) which gives social workers an idea of the prospective family’s home life. The state also performs psychological tests. Mrs. Mullen gave the impression that they were not too invasive but more standard procedure. She believes she and her husband’s willingness to take a Roma child made the wait shorter.

Adopce.com, a non-profit Czech adoption education and advocacy group, confirms this belief: those who want a younger child will be required to wait longer, in many cases up to two years and beyond. But those for whom ethnicity and, perhpas, age is not an issue will find their wait period dramatically reduced.

Two Roma girls

Along with the home study and psychological tests, the Stines attended mandatory pre-adoption classes. (Non-Czech speakers can bring a translator.) The classes provide the prospective parents with an introduction to the complexities of becoming an adopted parent as well as give social workers a chance to evaluate how applicants respond to the children. 

The Stine family

Unexpected challenges

The child’s surname is changed with the adoption, but a new first name must be granted by the Civil Registry (Matřiční úřad), locally known as matrika. (Note this list of the steps and required documents.) After the renaming process is complete, the Civil Registry will issue a new certificate of citizenship, birth certificate (rodný list) and identification number (rodné číslo).

For their first child’s name, the Stines needed approval from the Institute of Czech Language. The famed “name lady” responsible for authorization atypical names wrote a letter detailing the name’s history. The process took them a week. 

•    an application letter in which you give your reasons for adopting, why you live in the Czech Republic and
     details about your childhood and family life,
•    a copy of your current Czech police record,
•    a passport photo,
•    a doctor’s report,
•    an income statement from your employer,
•    for people who are divorced, a copy of the divorce certificate.

If a person does not “habitually reside” in the Czech Republic and wishes to adopt, he or she will have to contact the Office of International Legal Protection of Children (UMPOD) This requirement includes those who work for national embassies or the military. The office arranges adoptions in accordance with the Hague International Convention of the Protection and Co-operation in Respect with of Intercountry Adoption. Their social workers will help with the legal matters and can even find a translator.

Documentation for intercountry adoption between the Czech Republic and the US is similar as internal adoption. The main difference is that documents will have to be translated and in some circumstances they will require an apostille. American citizens also need to fill in “Application for Determination of Suitability to Adopt a Child from a Convention Country” also known as an I-800A.

Citizenship for your adopted child

American citizens who adopt in the Czech Republic while domiciled here, can expect a two-year wait for their child’s citizenship because the adoption was outside the Hague Adoption Convention. The process is called I-130, Petition for Alien Relative. If the parents want to visit in this time, the adopted child will need a B2 tourist visa. 
    
Americans who adopt outside the Czech Republic, in other words they go through the Hague convention, your child will be issued with an IH-3 visa.

Regarding the UK, citizenship is conferred with the completion of an adoption, which is carried out under the Hague Process. This is called a Convention adoption in the law. Otherwise UK parents who adopt as Czech residents will have to have the adoption approved by a UK court. The Czech Republic is not on the UK’s designated list of countries whose adoptions the UK recognizes. 

If you are hoping to adopt, we wish you luck. If you have experience, we would like to hear from you.