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How to Adopt from Zimbabwe

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Source: Wikipedia.org.


Adoption Authority

Zimbabwe’s Adoption Authority

Ministry of Public Service Labour and Social Welfare


The Process

The process for adopting a child from Zimbabwe generally includes the following steps:


1.Choose an adoption service provider 2.Apply to be found eligible to adopt 3.Be matched with a child 4.Adopt the child in Zimbabwe 5.Apply for the child to be found eligible for orphan status 6.Bring your child home


There are two tracks to adoption in Zimbabwe:

Track One – If the prospective adoptive parents have not yet identified a child, they may first file a general Application to Adopt at the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare headquarters in Zimbabwe. Once the application is approved, the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare will help to identify an appropriate child. The Ministry may recommend a particular child for adoption.


Track Two – If the prospective adoptive parents have identified the child they wish to adopt, they must visit the Social Services Office in their district to open a case file and file an application to adopt the child.


Note: Not every child in a Zimbabwean orphanage is eligible for adoption, and there is no central registry for identifying eligible children. Only by receiving authorization to adopt the child from the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare can the prospective adoptive parents conclude that the child is eligible for adoption.


1. Choose an Adoption Service Provider

The recommended first step in adopting a child from Zimbabwe is to decide whether or not to use a licensed adoption service provider in the United States that can help you with your adoption. Adoption service providers must be licensed by the U.S. state in which they operate. The Department of State provides information on selecting an adoption service provider.


Although anyone may submit documents on behalf of the prospective adoptive parent(s), they may not act on behalf of the prospective adoptive parent. This means the prospective adoptive parents must be present in Zimbabwe during all of the key steps in the adoption process, including identification of the child, obtaining documentation, and all administrative and court proceedings. Adoptions can only be facilitated through the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare. A Zimbabwean court order without the recommendation of the Ministry is not considered a legal adoption and will not be considered valid for U.S. immigration purposes. All prospective adoptive parents should begin the adoption process with the Ministry or their district Social Welfare Officer.


2. Apply to be Found Eligible to Adopt

In order to adopt a child from Zimbabwe, you will need to meet the requirements of the Government of Zimbabwe and U.S. immigration law. You must submit an application to be found eligible to adopt with the Ministry of Public Service Labor and Social Welfare of Zimbabwe.


To meet U.S. immigration requirements, you may also file an I-600A, Application for Advance Processing of an Orphan Petition with U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to be found eligible and suitable to adopt.


3. Be Matched with a Child

If you are eligible to adopt, and a child is available for intercountry adoption, the central adoption authority or other authorized entity in Zimbabwe will provide you with a referral. Each family must decide for itself whether or not it will be able to meet the needs of and provide a permanent home for a particular child.


The child must be eligible to be adopted according to Zimbabwe’s requirements, as described in the Who Can Be Adopted section. The child must also meet the definition of an orphan under U.S. immigration law.


If the prospective adoptive parents have not already identified a child for adoption, the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare will assist them in identifying an appropriate child.


As mentioned above, adoptions involving birth parent(s) who relinquish a child directly to the prospective adoptive parents (referred to as “nominated” or “directed” adoptions) are legal in Zimbabwe, but such adoptions may not meet the guidelines for immigration to the United States.


4. Adopt the Child (or Gain Legal Custody) in Zimbabwe'

The process for finalizing the adoption in Zimbabwe generally includes the following:


  • ROLE OF THE ADOPTION AUTHORITY: The Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare approves the general application to adopt and refers the case to the Juvenile Court.
  • ROLE OF THE COURT: The Juvenile Court reviews the case. If approved, the court will issue an adoption order and release the child for immigration.
  • ADOPTION APPLICATION: Prospective adoptive parents who have not identified a child should submit the general application to adopt to the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare' district office where they live. If the prospective adoptive parents have identified a child, they must visit the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Office in their district to open a case file and have an officer assigned to work on the prospective adoptive parents' case.

NOTE: Prospective adoptive parents who do not live in Zimbabwe must obtain a residency waiver from the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare before the adoption application can be approved.

TIME FRAME: Adoptions in Zimbabwe can take anywhere from three months to seven years once the Application to Adopt has been approved and a child has been identified. An increasing number of prospective adoptive parents abandon their plans to adopt a Zimbabwean child due to serious bureaucratic delays within the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare and the Juvenile Courts. Wait times for Caucasian and mixed-race children can take considerably longer.

ADOPTION FEES: Neither the Government of Zimbabwe nor the courts charge adoption fees. Adoptive parents pay a fee of approximately U.S. $2 to the Registrar General's Office of Births and Deaths (located in Harare or Bulawayo) for the child's birth certificate.

DOCUMENTS REQUIRED: The following documents are required to adopt a child from Zimbabwe:

1. Identity documents (passport, birth certificate, etc.);
2. Marriage certificate;
3. Police clearances from both the United States and Zimbabwe;
4. Supporting documents attesting to the prospective adoptive parent's eligibility and suitability to adopt, such as an approved U.S. home study report;
5. Three or four references from non-relatives of the prospective adoptive parents (required as part of the Application to Adopt). NOTE: Additional documents may be requested.
  • Authentication of Documents: You may be asked to provide proof that a document from the United States is authentic. If so, the Department of State, Authentications Office may be able to assist.


5. Apply for the Child to be Found Eligible for Orphan Status

After you finalize the adoption in Zimbabwe, the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services must determine whether the child meets the definition of orphan under U.S. law. You will need to file a Form I-600, Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative.


6. Bring Your Child Home

Once your adoption is complete, you need to apply for several documents for your child before you can apply for a U.S. immigrant visa to bring your child home to the United States:


1. Birth Certificate

If you have finalized the adoption in Zimbabwe, you will first need to apply for a new birth certificate for your child. Your name will be added to the new birth certificate.

2. Zimbabwe Passport

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

Applications for Zimbabwe passports are made through the Registrar General's district offices. The following fees apply: U.S. $50 for routine processing, which takes more than a month to process; U.S. $318 for expedited processing, which takes one day to process; and U.S. $253 for a passport, which takes about three working days to process. Below is a list of telephone numbers for Zimbabwe District Offices. The U.S. Embassy in Harare notes that it may be more efficient for prospective adoptive parents to go in person to apply for a Zimbabwean passport because at times, these telephones are not answered:

Harare: +263-4-702-295

Bulawayo: +263-9-68-491

Gweru: +263-54-223-155

Masvingo: +263-39-263-876/263-705

Mutare: +263-20-60-701/60-276

Bindura: +263-71-6511/6119

Chinhoyi: +263-67-23-013

Gwanda: +263-84-22-587/22-618

3. U.S. Immigrant Visa

After you obtain the new birth certificate and passport for your child and you have filed Form I-600, Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative, you then need to apply for a U.S. immigrant visa for your child from the United States Embassy in Harare. 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.

You can find instructions for applying for an immigrant visa on the Embassy Harare’s website.

NOTE: Prospective adoptive parents must have an approved Form I-600 petition before the U.S. Embassy in Harare can issue an immigrant visa. A parent who has an approved Form I-600A may file their Form I-600 either with USCIS domestically or in person at Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy in Harare.

If only one spouse is traveling to Harare, he or she must sign the Form I-600 petition under oath before a consular officer. The parent who is not traveling must sign the petition after all of the information related to the child has been entered onto the form. Either spouse may sign the Form I-600 application as the “prospective petitioner” with the other signing as the “spouse,” unless the married couple consists of one U.S. citizen and one non-citizen, in which case the U.S. citizen must be the “prospective petitioner” on both Forms I-600A and I-600 and sign the application before the consular officer. A third party may not sign or file the petition on behalf of the prospective adoptive parents, even with their Power of Attorney.

All immigrant visas are processed at the U.S. Embassy in Harare by appointment only on Tuesdays. Applicants can walk in for information or to submit documents Monday through Thursday from 2:00 p.m. until 3:00 p.m. The Consular Section answers telephone inquiries Monday through Thursday from 2:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. (Tel: 263-4-250593/4). Specific questions about adoption in Zimbabwe may be addressed via email to the U.S. Embassy in Harare, Zimbabwe at consularharare@state.gov.

NOTE: Visa issuance after the final interview generally takes at least 24 hours. It is not normally possible to provide the visa to adoptive parents on the same day as the immigrant visa interview. Adoptive parents should verify current processing times with the U.S. Embassy in Harare before making final travel arrangements.


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

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