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Who Can Be Adopted from Namibia
Source: flickr.com.
In addition to U.S. immigration requirements, Namibia has specific requirements that a child must meet in order to be eligible for adoption:
Relinquishment: The social worker must present proof to the Children’s Court (also known as Family Court) that the prospective adoptive child’s birth parents are not able to care for him/her and consent to the adoption. The social worker must also present proof to the court that no family member or relative is able to adopt the child, and that no other domestic placement is possible. The length of this process will vary from case to case. The court must be satisfied that the adoption is in the best interest of the child. If the child is ten years of age or older, he or she must consent to the proposed adoption.
Abandonment/Death of Parents: A child whose parents are both deceased, or who has been abandoned, is available for adoption. In the case of the parents’ death, government-issued death certificates must be obtained. If the child has been abandoned, evidence of abandonment will be required.
Age of Adoptive Child: The prospective adoptive child must be younger than age 18. Please note that in order for a child to meet the definition of orphan under U.S. immigration law, a Form I-600 petition must be filed while the child is under the age of 16 (or under the age of 18 if adopted, or to be adopted, together with a sibling under the age of 16).
Sibling Adoptions: The Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare strongly advocates that siblings remain together and be adopted by the same family.
Special Needs or Medical Conditions: All children must undergo a medical examination, after which the social worker will assess suitability for adoption. If approved for adoption by the social worker, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare matches the child with prospective adoptive parents. There are no additional procedures for children with special needs, other than identifying their condition in the medical report.
Waiting Period or Foster Care: The length of the process depends on how long the investigation by the social worker takes, whether the prospective adoptive parents submitted all required documents to the Children’s Court, when the next available court date is, and whether the birth parents are also available to attend the hearing.
Caution: Prospective adoptive parents should be aware that not all children in orphanages or children’s homes are adoptable. In many countries, birth parents place their child(ren) temporarily in an orphanage or children’s home due to financial or other hardship, intending that the child return home when this becomes possible. In such cases, the birth parent(s) have rarely relinquished their parental rights or consented to their child(ren)’s adoption.
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