Who Can Adopt from South Africa

View of Cape Town's "city bowl" from Table Mountain.
Source: Wikipedia.org.

Adoption between the United States and South Africa is governed by the Hague Adoption Convention. Therefore to adopt from South Africa, 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).

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

Residency

None specified.

Age of Adopting Parents

The adoptive parent(s) must be over the age of 18.

Marriage

None. Both married couples and partners in a life partnership (including same-sex partners) can jointly adopt a child and a single person may also adopt individually or adopt a stepchild following marriage to the child’s biological parent.

Income

There are no specific income requirements for adoption in South Africa. The adoptive parents must satisfy the Commissioner of child welfare that they can support and educate the child before an adoption order is issued.

Other

Eligibility requirements beyond those above change based on the circumstances of the case. In addition, family members will be given preference over non-relatives, regardless of age.

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