I'm new to this - please forgive my ignorance

Let me comment on one additional point. If you adopt from Vietnam, are living in Qatar, and hope to return to the U.K. in a couple of years, you actually have to deal with the issues of all three countries. As an example, the adoption would have to be done according to the laws of Vietnam, and would probably have to be Hague-compliant since you are a U.K. citizen. You would have to be sure that Qatar would allow you to immigrate the child under its legal system. You would also have to determine what the U.K. would require to immigrate the child when you decide to move back there. As to citizenship, you would have to find out how to give your child U.K. citizenship, if you want him/her to have it, and would also have to find out whether Vietnam automatically removes Vietnamese citizenship from a child who is adopted internationally (as China does), or whether it will still consider your child a citizen of Vietnam throughout his/her life (as Russia does) unless the child reaches the age of majority and chooses to make a formal relinquishment of that citizenship. The child would not have citizenship in Qatar, since citizenship is usually conferred because of the birthplace of the child or the citizenship of the parents, unless there was a process for applying to make him/her a citizen. In short, international adoption involves the legal systems of two or more countries. As a result, you need to use a highly experienced agency or, if you do not, to get legal counsel familiar with the laws of all of the countries involved. Sharon