Who Can Be Adopted from Austria

View from the north tower of St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna.
Source: Wikipedia.org.

Because Austria is party to the Hague Adoption Convention, children from Austria must meet the requirements of the Convention in order to be eligible for adoption. For example, the Convention requires that Austria attempt to place a child with a family in-country before determining that a child is eligible for intercountry adoption. In addition to Austria'S requirements, a child must meet the definition of a Convention adoptee for you to bring him or her back to the United States.

Please note: There are very few Austrian children eligible for intercountry adoption.

Relinquishment Requirements:

If the child is legitimate, the prospective adoptive parent(s) must enter into a contract with the child's biological father (if contact can be made). This contract must contain certain legal requirements, including both of the birthparents' consents.

Abandonment Requirements:

If the child is an orphan or illegitimate child, his/her legal guardian must sign the adoption contract. In addition, the child's mother (again, if contact is possible) must give her written consent to the adoption, unless she herself signed the adoption contract as legal guardian of the child. All signatures on the adoption contract as well as the biological mother's signature on her consent to the adoption must be notarized either by an Austrian notary public (within Austria) or by a notary public outside of Austria whose signature is authenticated via the "apostille" procedure. A fact sheet outlining this latter procedure may be accessed on the Internet at Hague Legalization Convention.

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