Adopting from Egypt

Hague Convention Information

Egypt is not party to the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (Hague Adoption Convention). Therefore, when the Hague Adoption Convention entered into force for the United States on April 1, 2008, intercountry adoption processing for Egypt did not change.

Laws in Egypt regarding adoption are unclear and may vary according to a prospective adoptive parent's religious background. Islamic Shari'a law does not allow for full adoption of a child, as generally understood in the United States. (Please refer to our flyer on Islamic Family Law for more information on this issue.) U.S. citizens wishing to adopt a non-Muslim child may wish to seek legal advice from a local Egyptian attorney.

Fostering, which assumes no blood relationship, is sometimes permitted in Egypt through the Ministry of Social Affairs. Most commonly, a foster parent will agree to partially or fully support a child who remains in an orphanage. On occasion, however, a foster parent will enter into a contract with the orphanage, and will be permitted to raise the child at home. To begin this process, the foster family submits a request to the Ministry of Social Services. If the Ministry of Social Affairs approves the request, it will grant permission to allow an orphanage to release a child to be fostered at the home of the foster family.

Egypt has both Muslim and Christian orphanages, though not all orphanages release orphans to be fostered at one's home. Prospective guardians may only foster children of their same religion. The Egyptian government assigns names to all orphans of unknown parentage. In some circumstances, an orphan may be issued a birth certificate that also contains fictitious names for the mother and father. Christians may request that the child's name be changed during the fostering process.

Who Can Adopt

To bring an adopted child to United Stated from Egypt, you must 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). Learn more.

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

Residency

There are no residency requirements provided that the prospective parents have satisfied the Egyptian legal requirements and are awarded legal custody with the right to remove the child from Egypt for immigration. For guardianship, a lawyer can move the prospective parent's case through the court system without the guardians being present. However, at least one of the prospective parents applying for guardianship or fostering needs to be able to show proof of Egyptian citizenship (e.g. an Egyptian passport or national ID card).

Age of Adopting Parents

Prospective adoptive parents must be at least 25 years old and not more than 55 years old.

Marriage

Only married couples can foster or obtain guardianship of an orphan in Egypt.

Income

While there are no specific income requirements, the prospective adoptive family's income should be enough to cover the basic needs of the family including the child.

Other

At least one of the prospective parents should be of Egyptian nationality. The number of children in the family should not exceed two unless they are old enough to depend on themselves. The family is not allowed to provide care for more than one child until they obtain an approval from the Ministry of Social Affairs. The foster mother should have enough time to take care of the child as well as the other family members. Egyptian law does not allow for same-sex couples to apply for adoption.

Who Can Be Adopted

Egypt has specific requirements that a child must meet in order to be eligible for fostering and or guardian. You cannot adopt a child in Egypt unless he or she meets the requirements outlined below. In addition to these requirements, a child must meet the definition of an orphan under U.S. law for you to bring him or her back to the United States.

Learn more about these U.S. requirements.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:

Relinquishment Requirements: A relinquished child is determined by the Ministry of Social Affairs to be a child whose parents are incapable of taking care of them and who do not have any relatives to take the parents' place. In this case the foster parent will enter into a contract with the orphanage and agree to fully support the child. To begin this process, the foster family is asked to submit a fostering request to the Ministry of Social Affairs with all documentation proving that they are capable of supporting the child.

Abandonment Requirements: Abandoned children include: children born out-of-wedlock who were abandoned by their parents, lost children, and children who were abandoned by their divorced parents. There are two ways to foster these children. The most common way is that a person would benevolently agree to partially or fully support the child who remains in an orphanage. It is also possible to foster a child in one's home, in which case the foster parent will enter into a contract with the orphanage and agree to fully support the child. To begin this process, the foster family is asked to submit a fostering request to the Ministry of Social Affairs with all documentation and with proof that they are able to support the child.

Age Requirements: There are no age requirements.

Sibling Requirements: The number of children in a prospective family should not exceed two unless they are old enough to depend on themselves. Prospective parents are not allowed to foster more than one child except after obtaining permission from the Ministry of Social Affairs.

Waiting Period: Impossible to predict. To satisfy the requirements of the Egyptian family law and be awarded legal custody or permission to foster an orphan at home with an approval to remove the child for immigration is a long and difficult process. However, once a child has been identified, an I-600A application for advance processing of orphan petition has been approved by the USCIS office having jurisdiction over the prospective parents' place of residence, and prospective parents have satisfied Egyptian law and been awarded legal custody, the immigration process takes between 1-2 weeks.

After Adoption

SOURCE

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