Age Requirements

May 21, 2009

Let me suggest Taiwan, a country with beautiful children, many of whose ancestors come from China's southern provinces, such as Fujian.

The official country rules are very liberal on age. One spouse must be at least 20 years older than the child and the other must be at least 16 years older than the child.

That being said, Taiwan's system is not centralized, like China's. American agencies work with individual Taiwanese orphanages/social welfare organizations. Each of these organizations may have its own rules that are more strict than the national rules. There are relatively few Taiwanese welfare organizations that work with American agencies, so you will be "stuck" if you can't find one that allows younger parents, or that is associated with an American agency that will accept younger parents.

You may also have a problem adopting from Taiwan, because the country has become very popular with families who don't want the long wait for China or don't qualify for China because of age or other issues.

Taiwan is a very small country, and there just aren't that many children available for adoption. As a result, some American agencies have temporarily stopped accepting new applications, because they don't want to have lengthy waiting lists. They estimate the number of children who are likely to become available in a given year, and then close their program for a time, once they accept that number of families.

But don't let yourself be scared off. You may find a program that is accepting applications and that will work with young couples, if you are very diligent and contact all of the American agencies that have Taiwan programs. And because you are open to adopting a boy, and to mild to moderate special needs, you may have an easier time than families wanting only a healthy infant girl.

Be aware that Taiwan offers several different types of programs. As an example, there are programs where birthmothers actually get to choose the characteristics of the parents who will adopt their child, as well as programs where the birthparents are not involved. Some U.S. agencies may work with more than one type of program.

As far as other countries in Asia, I can't be as positive. China requires both parents to be 30 or over, and to have been married at least two years, or five years if there has been a previous divorce. Korea and Thailand require both parents to be at least 25 and to have been married at least 3 years. Japan, which has few available children, requires overseas parents to be at least 25.

Cambodia and Vietnam are closed to Americans at this time. Malaysia is an option only for Americans who have lived there for two or more years.

Unless prospective parents are ethnic Chinese, Hong Kong is a possibility only for people willing to accept older children or children with significant special needs. You might want to check with agencies to get a sense of the special needs that children referred to non-Chinese Americans have, and whether you can accept them; however, my understanding is that they are not what we might call minor, in most cases.

Kazakhstan, which is liberal with regard to parental age, has both Caucasian and Asian children, as well as children who are biracial (Caucasian/Asian), available for adoption. The Caucasian kids tend to be of Russian heritage, and the Asian kids are of Chinese heritage. Most agencies will let you specify a racial preference.

However, Kaz has some very long in-country stay requirements, which may not work for a military family. Some families stay in Kazakhstan for six to eight weeks or longer. You might want to ask agencies about this, and about whether, in practice, younger parents are accepted.

Mongolia -- the country, not the province of China called Inner Mongolia -- is liberal on age. In the past, few American agencies worked there because of frequent problems with the children's paperwork, making it difficult for the U.S. government to determine whether they qualified for an adoption visa. However, Mongolia has now ratified the Hague Convention on intercountry adoption, and it is possible that adoptions will increase. For now, though, it appears that the American agencies working there are accepting only older parents, and some are accepting applications only for older children.

These are the countries most commonly thought of as Asian. However, do remember that some Pacific Island children are of at least partly Asian heritage. The Philippines has a very strict adoption system, which you may want to check out; I'm not sure of age requirements. Islands like Palau and the Marshall Islands permit international adoption and may have liberal requirements, but you have to be very careful in choosing an adoption provider, as you could easily wind up losing your heart and your money to an unscrupulous facilitator.

There are also South Asian countries, such as India. However, I have not seen any with liberal age requirements.

Sharon