Who Can Adopt from New Zealand

Auckland.
Source: Wikipedia.org.

Adoption between the United States and New Zealand is governed by the Hague Adoption Convention. Therefore to adopt from New Zealand, you must first be found eligible to adopt by the U.S. Government. The U.S. Government agency responsible for making this determination is the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Learn more.

In addition to these U.S. requirements for prospective adoptive parents, New Zealand also has the following requirements for prospective adoptive parents:

Residency

As was stated above, New Zealand usually requires applicants to be permanent residents of New Zealand prior to submitting an application to adopt.

Age of Adopting Parents

The legislation requires applicants to have attained a minimum age for one adopting parent to be at least 25 years of age, and should be 20 years older than the child. For a relative/inter-family adoption the minimum age for the adopting parent is 20 years.

Marriage

Both married couples and single people are eligible to adopt. However, a single male may not adopt a female child unless he is the father of the child or there are special circumstances that justify an adoption. The Adoption Act 1955 requires couples submitting a joint adoption application to be married.

Income

Prospective adoptive parents must be able to demonstrate that they are financially able to support a child they seek to adopt.

Other

In addition, the Adoption Act 1955 requires applicants to be "fit and proper," a term that refers to prospective adoptive parents' mental and physical health, police record and ability to provide (including financially) for a child.

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