Advertisements
Who Can Adopt from Sweden
Source: Wikipedia.org.
In addition to the U.S. requirements, Sweden requires prospective adoptive parents to meet the following Swedish requirements in order to adopt a child:
Residency
Adoptive parents must be Swedish citizens or legal permanent residents of Sweden in order to adopt in Sweden or from a third county.
Age of Adopting Parents
Any man or woman 25 years old or older, whether single or married, may adopt with the permission of the court. Persons ages 18-25 may also adopt if the adoption involves a related child, the biological or adoptive child of a spouse, or if special circumstances exist. The Swedish Social Services recommend that prospective adoptive parents should not be older than 42 when they submit an application for consent to adopt, but the law does not provide a maximum age.
Marriage
Spouses must adopt jointly. However, one of the spouses may adopt a child separately when the other spouse’s whereabouts are unknown or is suffering from a serious mental illness. One spouse may also, with the consent of the other spouse, adopt that spouse’s child. A single person may also adopt a child, but common-law spouses may not adopt jointly. Two persons of the same sex can adopt jointly if they live together as registered partners or as a married couple. However, many countries of origin do not allow adoption under these circumstances, which may limit the prospective adoptive parents’ options.
Income
None.
Other
All prospective adoptive parents residing in, or who are citizens of, Sweden must receive consent to adopt from the local Social Welfare Committee, which is based on a thorough investigation and home study where particular attention is given to the prospective adoptive parents’ knowledge and understanding of how to parent an adopted child, their age, health, employment, criminal background, personal qualities and social network. The consent is valid for two years. In addition, all such prospective adoptive parents must take part in a parental preparation course assigned by the municipality where they reside. This course must be completed in order for the investigation/home study to be initiated. The cost of the course varies but is approximately 2000 SEK = $250.
If non-residents of Sweden seek adoption of a related child residing in Sweden, the Social Welfare Committee in the area where the child is residing would conduct an investigation to determine if the adoption would be in the best interest of the child. The prospective adoptive parents would be evaluated by the appropriate authorities in their country of residence – in this case the United States.
Back to Adopting from Sweden