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According to the U.S. State Department:
Muslim children can be adopted only by Muslims. The Muslim prospective parents must have lived in Malaysia with the child for at least two years after the birthparents formally relinquished the child, before an adoption will be finalized.
Non-Muslim children can be adopted by non-Muslims. The non-Muslim prospective parent must have lived in Malaysia for two years prior to applying to adopt. And the non-Muslim prospective parent must live with the child in Malysia before the adoption will be finalized.
As always, even if you manage to adopt a Malaysian child (whether Muslim or non-Muslim), you will not be able to bring him/her to the U.S. on an adoption visa unless he/she qualifies as an "eligible orphan" according to the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act. Basically, adopting a child from married parents is not allowed, according to this definition. If you complete the adoption of a child who does not qualify for an adoption visa, you must live overseas with the child for two years before you can apply for a regular visa to bring him/her to the U.S.
In short, it is extremely unlikely that an American will be able to adopt from Malaysia unless he/she has been a long term resident of that country. There have been very, very few adoptions of Malaysian children by Americans, and most of those are relative adoptions.
Be very cautious if someone approaches you, offering to help you adopt a Malaysian child. The opportunity is probably not legitimate. Contact the U.S. Embassy in Malaysia, which can help you determine whether what you are being told is factual.
Sharon
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Thanks Sharon for your informtion regarding adoption in Malaysia.
You are right adoption in Malaysia from a foreigner does require that you live in the country prior to adoption. And as a a non-muslim foreigner you may oly adopt a non-muslim child. As my family are Australian expatriates living here on assignment it was actually relatively easy to adopt, as long as we could prove that we had been here for at least a year with the purpose not being that we came to adopt. All that is required of us is to identify a child that needs a family, and then apply to adopt that child through a court order, as long as the child has a statutory declaration from the birth parents relinquishing their parental rights we are able to adopt said child within a minimum of six months. This is a legitamate process and follows all laws in Malaysia in regards to the process of adopting a child in Malaysia. All embassies I know of recognize this as a valid adoption. I know of a few american families that have adopted this way. I have read the same information as you have talked about, however as always in Malaysia what is written and how it is actually done is definately not always the same.
Living in Malaysia has been a great opportunity for us to extend our family the way we had always planned, but never actually thought possible.
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Hello My husband and I are looking to adopt in malaysia and would like to hear about other people's stories who have done so.
We are expatriates having lived here two years, the adoption process (for non muslim babies) seems quite straightforward but we are finding it difficult to find avenues to register our intent for adoption does any one have any advice on agencies or homes for unwed mothers that we can register with?
Thanks
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The difference between your situation and that of Americans is that international adoption involves two processes -- adoption and immigration.
Adoption, whether for Americans or Australians, involves complying with the laws of a child's birth country -- in this case, Malaysia. Americans AND Australians can adopt if they comply with Malaysian laws regarding religion, residency, and so on.
However, immigration is where the process differs for Americans and Australians. The parents' home country determines the conditions under which an adopted child may be immigrated. American immigration law is quite strict. There are many categories of visa, but only two that apply to internationally adopted children -- IR-3 and IR-4. These visas will be granted ONLY under certain conditions.
As an example, under the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act, the child must be an "eligible orphan", meaning that he/she has not been living with married birthparents or birthparents living together in a common law relationship. The prospective adoptive family must meet certain requirements, including the requirement that at least one parent must be a U.S. citizen.
If a child does not qualify for an adoption visa, it is often possible to bring him/her home on a regular visa IF the parents live overseas with him/her for two years. There are other constraints that could apply as well. As an example, certain infectious diseases can result in denial of a visa, although an appeal for a waiver can be made under certain conditions.
As an example, HIV is an excludable condition under U.S. law. However, some families have been able to immigrate HIV-positive babies under a waiver, because they have demonstrated the financial resources and insurance necessary to provide the child with the medical services that he/she is likely to require over the years, and the familiarity with the disease and its transmission to keep him/her from infecting other people.
I assume that Australian immigration law is more liberal, and that you do not have to jump through any such hoops to bring a Malaysian child to Australia, or that you have no plans to move back to Australia any time soon.
Sharon
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At the time I adopted, I followed the very organized and ethical process that was worked out between the U.S. and China. I used a long-experienced, licensed, not-for-profit adoption agency in my state, both for my homestudy and my placement.
After I had a favorable homestudy report and an approved I-600A (this was before the Hague Convention was ratified by both China and the U.S.), my agency helped me assemble my dossier and send it to what was then called the China Center for Adoption Affairs in Beijing. After a wait, the folks in Beijing selected a child for me. When I accepted the referral, I traveled to Xiamen with a group of other parents adopting through the agency. I finalized the adoption in Xiamen, and then traveled with my group to Guangzhou to get my daughter's IR-3 visa. We then traveled home.
Things are different now. When I adopted, singles and older prospective parents were encouraged to adopt, and most parents adopted children with no known special needs. Today, the non-special needs program is almost closed, because the wait to adopt is at least six years and maybe much longer. As China has grown more prosperous, more local families are adopting the healthy children. If you are open to a child with special needs or a healthy school aged child, you can adopt within a year or two. Singles can adopt only children with rather significant special needs, and there are also restrictions on older couples. Other restrictions, such as a history of taking antidepressants or having certain medical issues, exist.
I am delighted to have my wonderful daughter, who was 18.5 months old when I met her in Xiamen, and I am also delighted that she came from such a prosperous and beautiful city.
Sharon
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At the time I adopted, I followed the very organized and ethical process that was worked out between the U.S. and China. I used a long-experienced, licensed, not-for-profit adoption agency in my state, both for my homestudy and my placement.
After I had a favorable homestudy report and an approved I-600A (this was before the Hague Convention was ratified by both China and the U.S.), my agency helped me assemble my dossier and send it to what was then called the China Center for Adoption Affairs in Beijing. After a wait, the folks in Beijing selected a child for me. When I accepted the referral, I traveled to Xiamen with a group of other parents adopting through the agency. I finalized the adoption in Xiamen, and then traveled with my group to Guangzhou to get my daughter's IR-3 visa. We then traveled home.
Things are different now. When I adopted, singles and older prospective parents were encouraged to adopt, and most parents adopted children with no known special needs. Today, the non-special needs program is almost closed, because the wait to adopt is at least six years and maybe much longer. As China has grown more prosperous, more local families are adopting the healthy children. If you are open to a child with special needs or a healthy school aged child, you can adopt within a year or two. Singles can adopt only children with rather significant special needs, and there are also restrictions on older couples. Other restrictions, such as a history of taking antidepressants or having certain medical issues, exist.
I am delighted to have my wonderful daughter, who was 18.5 months old when I met her in Xiamen, and I am also delighted that she came from such a prosperous and beautiful city.
Sharon
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