Revision as of 00:18, 26 February 2014

Hague Convention Information

The Hague Convention on Intercountry adoption, which entered into force for the United States on April 1, 2008, requires that all adoptions between the United States and Hague Partner countries have certain safeguards that ensure the adoption is in the best interest of the child. Every step of The Hague Adoption process was developed to address past abuses. The Costa Rican Central Authority for the Hague Convention in respect to Intercountry adoption is the Patronato Nacional de la Infancia (PANI). PANI is the Costa Rican child welfare authority. PANI will not accept private-direct-adoptions. There are no exceptions to this rule. Private adoptions are those that are not handled by the Costa Rican Council on Adoptions (PANI), but are arranged by an attorney and approved by a judge. There have been allegations of fraud in connection with private adoptions, and the Costa Rican National Council on adoptions strongly discourages them.

All international adoptions in Costa Rica should go through PANI. PANI prohibits adoption of children less than five years of age, except in cases in which the child is part of a family group, or in cases where the child may have disabilities that will cause difficulties in placing the child. Another important requirement is the post-adoption reporting that the adoptive parents need to send to the country of origin of the children. PANI is very strict with this requirement and they require a post-adoption report for a period of two years, every six months. U.S. adoption providers and adoptive parents must comply with this requisite.

Costa Rica is party to the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (Hague Adoption Convention). Therefore all adoptions between Costa Rica and the United States must meet the requirements of the Convention and U.S. law implementing the Convention. In order for an adoption application to meet the requirements of the Hague, a U.S. consular officer must review the case file and issue an "Article 5 Letter" to PANI before an adoption or grant of legal custody takes place. Therefore, prospective adoptive parents are cautioned to carefully follow in order the steps outlined in the "How to Adopt" Section below.

NOTE: Special transition provisions apply to adoptions initiated before April 1, 2008. Learn more.

Who Can Adopt

Residency

Age of Adopting Parents

Marriage

Income

Other

Who Can Be Adopted

How to Adopt

Adoption Authority

The Process

Traveling Abroad

After Adoption

SOURCE

Intercountry Adoption, Bureau of Consular Affairs. U.S. Department of State Country Information