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Trinidad and Tobago and the Hague Convention
Source: Wikipedia.org.
Trinidad and Tobago 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 Trinidad and Tobago did not change.
Please note: There are two ways of gaining custody of a child from Trinidad and Tobago: obtaining an Adoption Order or legal guardianship.
- Adoption Order: The first option is to go through the adoption process and obtain an Adoption Order. If the prospective adoptive parent(s) is a resident of Trinidad and Tobago, then the Adoption Board acts as the lead agency in the adoption process. (See Adoption Authority Section below for contact information). If the prospective adoptive parent(s) are not residents of Trinidad and Tobago, they must contact an adoption agency that handles intercountry adoption. Since intercountry adoptions are adjudicated through the High Court and not the Adoption Board, prospective adoptive parents are advised to contact an attorney since these are done through the High Court and not handled by the Adoption Board. An Adoption Order issued by the Court carries different rights to the adopting parents than Guardianship/custody Order, in the latter cases, the birth parents still retain parental rights. With an Adoption Order the birth parents are required to relinquish their rights.
- Legal Guardianship: The second option is to seek legal guardianship of a child from the courts in Trinidad and Tobago for the purpose of adopting the child in the United States. While considerably less burdensome than seeking a formal adoption in Trinidad and Tobago, prospective parents need to keep in mind that legal guardianship is not as secure as an adoption order. Legal guardianship does not provide full parental rights to the adopting party. Legal guardianship is also vulnerable to revocation by the courts if the biological parents or other relatives subsequently petition the courts for a change of guardianship.