Adoption Process
Fundamental principles governing adoption. -
The following fundamental principles shall govern adoptions of children from India, namely:
-
(a) The child's best interest shall be of prime importance while deciding any placement;
(b) Preference shall be given to place the child in adoption within the country;
(c) Adoption of children shall be guided by a set procedures and in a time bound manner;
(d) No one shall derive any gain, whether financial or otherwise, through adoption.
Person competent to be adopted. -
Any orphan, abandoned or surrendered child can be adopted following due procedure laid
down in these Guidelines if such child is declared legally free for adoption by the Child
Welfare Committee (CWC).
Person competent to adopt. -
In accordance with the provisions of sub-section (6) of section 41, the Court may allow a
child to be given in adoption, -
(a) To an individual irrespective of his or her marital status; or
(b) To parents to adopt a child of the same sex irrespective of the number of living biological
sons or daughters; or
(c) To a childless couple.
Additional Eligibility Criteria for Prospective Adoptive Parents (PAPs). -
(1) No child may be given in adoption to a couple unless they have at least two years of
stable marital relationship.
(2) Couples in live-in relationship are not eligible to adopt a child.
(3) To adopt a child in the age group of 0-3 years, the maximum composite age of the PAPs
should be 90 years wherein the individual age of the PAPs should not be less than 25 years
and more than 50 years.
(4) To adopt children above three years of age, the maximum composite age of the PAPs
should be 105 years wherein the individual age of the PAPs should not be less than 25 years
and more than 55 years.
(5) In case a single PAP desires to adopt, he or she should not be less than 30 years of age
and shall not be above the age of 50 years. The maximum age shall be 45 years to adopt
children in the age group of 0-3 years and 50 years for adopting children above 3 years.
(6) The PAPs should have adequate financial resources to provide a good upbringing to the
child.
(7) The PAPs should have good health and should not be suffering from any contagious or
terminal disease or any such mental or physical condition, which may prevent them from
taking care of the child.
(8) Adoption of a second child is permissible only when the legal adoption of the first child
has been finalized but this is not applicable in case of siblings.
(9) An un-married or single male person is not permitted to adopt a girl child.
Procedure for adoption. -
(1) The PAPs may adopt a child in accordance with the procedure, namely: -
(a) The Indian PAPs habitually residing in India shall adopt a child only through a
Government recognised adoption agency known as Specialised Adoption Agency.
(b) The PAPs shall register only with one recognised adoption agency, which should
preferably be nearest to their place of residence.
(c) The PAPs in India can also register online at [Link]
(d) The PAPs residing abroad shall adopt children only through CARA authorised agencies
known as Authorized Foreign Adoption Agency(AFAA).
(e) The PAPs should register with an AFAA or Central Authority nearest to their place of
residence.
(f) In countries where there is no AFAA or Central Authority, the Indian nationals may
approach the Indian High Commission or Embassy for processing and forwarding their case
to CARA.
(2) After registration, the PAPs shall follow the adoption procedure as provided in these
Guidelines and as per the details given in CARA’s [Link]
Priorities for Rehabilitation of a Child. -
(1) The best interest of the child is served by providing him or her an opportunity to be placed
with a family within his or her own socio-cultural milieu in the country itself.
(2) Due consideration should be given to the child’s upbringing and to his or her ethnic,
religious, cultural and linguistic background while placing him or her in adoption but, a child
can be placed with any Indian PAP(s) within the country without any geographical barrier.
(3) The citizens of a country that has ratified the Hague Convention on Inter-country
Adoption, 1993 and who are also habitual residents of a country that has ratified the said
Convention can adopt a child from India.
(4) Indian nationals who live in countries which are not signatories to the Hague Convention
are also eligible to adopt.
(5) Preference shall be given for placing a child in in-country adoption and the ratio of in-
country adoption to inter-country adoption shall be 80:20 of total adoptions processed
annually by a RIPA, excluding special needs children.
(6) The following order of priority shall be followed in case of inter-country adoptions;
(i) Non Resident Indian (NRI);
(ii) Overseas Citizen of India (OCI);
(iii) Persons of Indian Origin (PIO);
(iv) Foreign Nationals.
Adoption of Special Needs Children. -
(1) Special care must be taken while processing the cases for adoption of special needs
children, so that the prospective adoptive family is aware and ready to provide extra care and
attention that the child needs.
(2) It is important to understand that child with special needs requires, more than any other
child, the care and love of a family at an early stage.
(3) The adoption process for children with special need shall be completed as expeditiously
as possible by the concerned authorities and time lines laid down for special needs children in
these Guidelines shall be strictly adhered to.
(4) The PAPs wishing to adopt special needs children shall be given top priority in the
waiting list.
(5) In spite of best efforts, some special needs children do not get adopted and have to remain
in institutions and such children should be shifted by the Specialised Adoption Agency to
specialized institutions in case such institutions are available in the State.