Who Can Be Adopted from Chile
Because Chile is party to the Hague Adoption Convention, children from Chile must meet the requirements of the Convention in order to be eligible for adoption. For example, the Convention requires that Chile attempt to place a child with a family in-country before determining that a child is eligible for intercountry adoption. In addition to Chile's requirements, a child must meet the definition of a Convention adoptee for you to bring him or her back to the United States.
Families interested in adopting in Chile must apply and be approved by SENAME, which keeps the national registry of children eligible for adoption. The first stage of the application process is to send SENAME, at the address above, a letter or email that includes both prospective adoptive parents' names, dates of birth, contact information and any preferences, including the reasons for these preferences, for a child or children.
The children on the national registry have been declared eligible for adoption (susceptible de ser adoptado) by a judge and all parental rights have been terminated. SENAME matches available children with prospective adoptive parents. Blood relatives are always given priority, followed by unrelated Chilean families, then non-Chilean families. Prospective adoptive parents do have the right to decline a specific match, which they would do by simply notifying SENAME. Prospective adoptive parents should consider carefully declining a specific match as they will be required to begin the process again and will have to explain, in detail, the reason for their declination.
After a child is successfully matched with a family, there is a wait to obtain a hearing with a judge. The normal wait time is between 6 to 12 months.
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