How to Adopt from New Zealand

Maori.
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Adoption Authority

Child, Youth & Family (CYF) Ministry of Social Development

The Process

Because New Zealand is party to the Hague Adoption Convention, adopting from New Zealand must follow a specific process designed to meet the Convention's requirements. A brief summary of the Convention adoption process is given below. You must complete these steps in the following order so that your adoption meets all necessary legal requirements.

NOTE: If you filed your I-600a with New Zealand before April 1, 2008, the Hague Adoption Convention may not apply to your adoption. Your adoption could continue to be processed in accordance with the immigration regulations for non-Convention adoptions. Learn more.

Choose an Accredited Adoption Service Provider
Apply to be Found Eligible to Adopt
Be Matched with a Child
Apply for the Child to be Found Eligible for Immigration to the United States
Adopt the Child in New Zealand
Bring your Child Home

1. Choose an Accredited Adoption Service Provider:

The first step in adopting a child from New Zealand is to select an adoption service provider in the United States that has been accredited. Only these agencies and attorneys can provide adoption services between the United States and New Zealand. Learn more.

An adoption in New Zealand can only be effected through CYF. There are no licensed or accredited agencies for local adoptions. For New Zealanders adopting from other countries that are party to the Hague Adoption Convention, there are two accredited agencies that may perform certain functions. The New Zealand Central Authority of CYF does all assessments for domestic and intercountry adoptions by New Zealanders and must approve all placements.

Attorneys are listed in the Yellow Pages of all New Zealand city telephone directories. The U.S. Consulate General in Auckland also maintains a list of attorneys. This is available at: http://wellington.usembassy.gov/lawyerlist.html. The list does not constitute a recommendation of any specific attorneys' services, and the Consulate General cannot make recommendations of attorneys Americans may locate privately. CYF does not supply referrals to attorneys or provide recommendations.

2. Apply to be Found Eligible to Adopt:

After you choose an accredited adoption service provider, you apply to be found eligible to adopt (Form I-800A) by the U.S. Government, Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Learn how.

Once the U.S. government determines that you are "eligible" and "suitable" to adopt, you or your agency will forward your information to the adoption authority in New Zealand. New Zealand's adoption authority could review your application to determine whether you are also eligible to adopt under New Zealand law.

3. Be Matched with a Child:

If both the United States and New Zealand determine that you are eligible to adopt, and a child is available for intercountry adoption, the Central Authority in New Zealand may provide you with a referral for a child in the event there were children that became available for intercountry adoption in New Zealand. Each family would need to decide for itself whether or not it will be able to meet the needs of the particular child and provide a permanent family placement for the referred child. However, as New Zealand is not a sending country for intercountry adoption, the Central Authority does not retain intercountry adoption dossiers sent from overseas for non-relative children.

4. Apply for the Child to be Found Eligible for Adoption:

If the New Zealand Central Authority was to ever propose a match of a particular child to you, after you accept the match, you will apply to the U.S Government, Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for provisional approval to adopt that particular child (Form I-800). USCIS will determine whether the child is eligible under U.S. law to be adopted and enter the United States. Learn how.

After this, your adoption service provider or you will submit a visa application to a Consular Officer at the U.S. Embassy. The Consular Officer will review the child's information and evaluate the child for possible visa inelegibilities. If the Consular Office determines that the child appears eligible to immigrate to the United States, he/she will notify the New Zealand adoption authority (Article 5 letter). For Convention country adoptions, prospective adoptive parent(s) may not proceed with the adoption or obtain custody for the purpose of adoption until this takes place.

Remember: The Consular Officer will make a final decision about the immigrant visa later in the adoption process.

5. Adopt the Child (or Gain Legal Custody) in New Zealand:

Remember: Before you adopt (or gain legal custody of) a child in New Zealand, you must have completed the above four steps. Only after completing these steps, could you proceed to finalize the adoption or grant of custody for the purposes of adoption in New Zealand.

The process for finalizing the adoption (or gaining legal custody) in New Zealand generally includes the following:

TIME FRAME: For local adoptions by applicants resident in New Zealand the assessment process by CYF usually takes between three and nine months. Applicants then enter a waiting pool from which they can be selected by a birth mother to parent a child. The time spent in the waiting pool can range from one month to many years and there is no guarantee that a placement will be made as it is the birth mother who would select the adoptive applicants from a national pool of approved domestic adoptive applicants, rather than the Central Authority proposing a match. A birth mother is required to sign a release of her child through a lawyer. The birth mother has absolute control over whom she selects to adopt her baby. Once the birth mother has chosen a family, the prospective adoptive parents apply to the court and are given custody of the child. In most circumstances CYF does not take custody of the child. The birth mother cannot sign her consent to adoption before 12 days have passed since the birth of the child. The adopting parents may then apply for an Interim Order from the Court. A Final Order usually takes nine months to be approved. It is only with the express permission of the New Zealand Family Court that a child can leave New Zealand during the Interim Order period as the placement is required by law to be monitored by CYF. CYF is required to provide a report to the Court before a Final Order would be granted. It is important to note that, under U.S. law, if the New Zealand citizen birth mother selects a specific U.S. citizen as an adoptive parent, an otherwise qualified child will not be able to obtain a U.S. immigrant visa as an orphan unless the mother is the sole or surviving parent and is incapable of providing proper care.

ADOPTION APPLICATION: There are two procedures for local and intercountry adoptions. For local adoptions, prospective adoptive parents are expected to appear in court for the Interim Order hearing and are sometimes requested to be present for the Final Order. There are no special considerations/short cuts for obtaining the adoption through the local system as the process is the same for all applicants. A pitfall to avoid would be trying to influence the outcome. It is illegal to advertise for a child to adopt. It is illegal to pay money in consideration of an adoption and it is illegal to take a child into a home for the purpose of adoption without either a Social Worker Approval or an Interim Order of Adoption. Penalties for breaches of these restrictions include fines and imprisonment. All applications for adoption in New Zealand must be investigated by CYF and their report is submitted to the court. No private practitioners or attorneys can report to the court. Special provisions may apply if it is an inter-family adoption and the families concerned still should apply through CYF. In order to take such a child into the U.S. the relevant requirements of U.S. immigration law on such adoptions must be met.

ADOPTION FEES: For local adoptions there are no charges by government agencies (CYF and Court) but applicants pay for legal representation at court and this usually costs between NZ$2000 and NZ$4000. In the adoption services contract that you sign at the beginning of the adoption process, your agency will itemize the fees and estimated expenses related to your adoption process.

DOCUMENTS REQUIRED: People resident in New Zealand who wish to adopt must complete an application form including references, consent to a police check, and a medical report. In the very rare case where a United States citizen is adopting in New Zealand (e.g., a relative of a child who needs adoption and cannot be placed with a relative in New Zealand), the process will be the same as for a local New Zealand adoption. The applicants will need to be assessed (including a home study) by an American equivalent of a CYF social worker in the United States. NOTE: Additional documents may be requested. If you are asked to provide proof that a document from the United States is authentic, we can help. Learn how.

6. Bringing Your Child Home:

Now that your adoption is complete, there are a few more steps to take before you can head home. Specifically, you need to apply for three documents for your child before he or she can travel to the United States:

1. Birth Certificate

You will first need to apply for a new birth certificate for your child, so that you can later apply for a passport. Your name will be added to the new birth certificate.

2. New Zealand Passport

Your child is not yet a U.S. citizen, so he/she will need a travel document or Passport from New Zealand.

3. U.S. Immigrant Visa

After you obtain the new birth certificate and passport for your child, you also need to apply for an U.S. visa from the United States Embassy for your child. After the adoption (or custody for purpose of adoption) is granted, visit the U.S Embassy for final review and approval of the child's I-800 petition and to obtain a visa for the child. This immigrant visa allows your child to travel home with you. As part of this process, the Consular Officer must be provided the "Panel Physician's" medical report on the child if it was not provided during the provisional approval stage.

Prospective adoptive parents of New Zealand citizen children should contact the U.S. Consulate General at the below address and telephone number prior to initiating an adoption in New Zealand. U.S. immigration law includes strict requirements and definitions that may not always correspond exactly to New Zealand's laws and regulations, and it is important that both the adopting family and the child meet both countries' laws.

NOTE: Once the Consulate General has approved an immigrant visa, it usually takes a minimum of 24 hours for the visa to be processed and issued to the family.

To learn more about the Child Citizenship Act please read The Child Citizenship Act of 2000.

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