Adopting from Bahamas, The

Hague Convention Information

The Bahamas 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 The Bahamas did not change.

Bahamian law allows adoption by any person with legal status in The Bahamas (even foreign tourists). However, the number of children available for adoption is very small and the waiting list for prospective adoptive parents is very long. Bahamian citizens or legal permanent residents are generally given preference in adopting children, especially if they have a blood relationship to the child.

Who Can Adopt

To bring an adopted child to United States from The Bahamas, 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, The Bahamas also has the following requirements for prospective adoptive parents:

Residency

There are no residency requirements for prospective adoptive parents.

Age of Adopting Parents

At least one prospective adoptive parent must be at minimum 25 years of age and more than 21 years older than the child except for cases of relative adoption. The Bahamas requires relatives who pursue adoption to be at least 18 years of age.

Marriage

Single people as well as married couples may adopt. According to the laws of The Bahamas it is extremely difficult for single men to adopt girls, though the courts may make exceptions based on special circumstances.

Income

N/A

Other

N/A

Who Can Be Adopted

The Bahamas has specific requirements that a child must meet in order to be eligible for adoption. You cannot adopt a child in The Bahamas 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.

Abandonment Requirements: Children may be adopted by foreigners, if they are orphans (both or only known parent deceased), if they have been abandoned (the court must be satisfied that parents cannot be found), or released for adoption by their parents or legal guardian (if the child was born out-of-wedlock, only the mother needs to release the child for adoption).

Age Requirements: A child must be at least 6 weeks old to be eligible for release for adoption.

After Adoption

SOURCE

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