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Malta and the Hague Convention
Source: Wikipedia.org.
Malta is party to the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (Hague Adoption Convention). Therefore all adoptions between Malta and the United States must meet the requirements of the Convention and U.S. law implementing the Convention.
Malta is not considered a country of origin in intercountry adoption. While intercountry adoptions are legally possible, Maltese children eligible for adoptions are placed with Maltese residents. No Maltese children eligible for adoption have received U.S. immigrant visas based on a Convention adoption in the past five fiscal years. The information provided is intended primarily to assist in extremely rare adoption cases from Malta, including adoptions of Maltese children by relatives in the United States, as well as adoptions from third countries by U.S. citizens living in Malta.
Below is the limited adoption information that the Department has obtained from the adoption authority of Malta. U.S. citizens interested in adopting children from Malta should contact the Central Authority of Malta to inquire about applicable laws and procedures. U.S. citizen prospective adoptive parents living in Malta who would like to adopt a child from the United States or from a third country should also contact Malta’s Central Authority. See contact information below.
Please visit the Department’s Country Specific Information for more information on travelling to Malta and the U.S. Embassy in Valletta’s website for information on consular services.
WARNING: The consular officer will send a letter (referred to as an “Article 5 Letter”) to Malta’s Central Authority in any intercountry adoption involving U.S. citizen parents and a child from Malta where all Convention requirements are met and the consular officer determines that the child appears eligible to immigrate to the United States. This letter will inform Malta’s Central Authority that the parents are eligible and suited to adopt, that all indications are that the child may enter and reside permanently in the United States, and that the U.S. Central Authority agrees that the adoption may proceed.
Do not attempt to adopt or obtain custody of a child in Malta before a U.S. consular officer issues the Article 5 Letter in any adoption case.
Remember: The consular officer will make a final decision about a child’s eligibility for an immigrant visa later in the adoption process.
The Department for Social Welfare Standards’ Bugeia Institute, situated within the Ministry for the Family and Social Solidarity, is the designated Central Authority under the 1993 Hague Convention.
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