NOTICE
As of December 1, 2008, the Ukrainian Adoption Authority, the State Department for Adoptions and Protection of Rights of the Child (SDAPRC), will now have the right to refuse to register your dossier if, at the time of the dossier’s submission to the SDAPRC, the central database of Ukrainian children available for intercountry adoptions does not list any children that fit the recommendations made in your home study. For example, if your homestudy states that you are able to adopt a healthy child under the age of 3, and there are no healthy children listed in the Ukrainian database under the age of 3 that are healthy, your dossier will not be accepted.
General Requirements of Prospective Adoptive Parents
- Must be found eligible to adopt in the U.S.
- Must be at least 21 years old, 15 years older, but less than 45 years older than the adoptee. If only one parent complies with this, than the adoption needs to be filed and completed in the eligible parent's name. Age restrictions not an issue in the case of adopting a relative. Age restrictions came into effect on April 24, 2008.
- No preference for number of years married, but foreign citizens must be married to adopt from the Ukraine.
Note: Ukraine is not party to the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption.
Updated: December 2008
SOURCE: Office of Children's Issues, United States Department of State Web site
