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Who Can Adopt from India

Vendors selling flowers in a Kolkata market.
Source: Wikipedia.org.

In addition to the U.S. requirements, prospective adoptive parents need to meet India’s requirements to adopt a child from India:

Residency

There are no residency requirements. However, some Recognized Indian Placement Agencies (RIPAs) may ask prospective adoptive parents to reside with the child for seven days before departure from India.

Age of Adopting Parents

Prospective adoptive parents should be at least 25 years of age and no more than 50 years of age if adopting a child age three or younger. Married couples may not have a combined age of more than 90 years. These provisions may be relaxed in exceptional cases, such as the adoption of older children, siblings, and children with special needs. Neither of the prospective adoptive parents, however, can be older than 50 years. See ‘Documents Required’ section for a list of required documents if a couple’s combined age is more than 90 years. If adopting a child older than three years of age, the prospective adoptive parents should be at least 25 and no more than 55 years of age. Married couples may not have a combined age of more than 105 years. Single prospective adoptive parents must be more than 30 and less than 50 years of age. The maximum age is 45 years to adopt children younger than three, and 50 years to adopt children older than three.

Marriage

A married couple must be in a stable relationship for at least five years. Same-sex couples are not eligible to adopt in India.

Income

Prospective adoptive parents should demonstrate adequate financial resources.

Other

A second adoption from India will be considered only after the legal adoption of the first child is completed, except in the case of siblings adopted at the same time. Prospective adoptive parents must be free from any contagious or terminal disease or any mental or physical condition that may prevent them from taking care of the child. A single male is not permitted to adopt a female child.

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