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Who Can Adopt from Turkey

Istanbul's Grand Bazaar.
Source: Wikipedia.org.

Adoption between the United States and Turkey is governed by the Hague Adoption Convention. Therefore to adopt from Turkey, you must first 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). Read more on Who Can Adopt.


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


Residency

Turkish law requires prospective adoptive parents to spend a year caring for the child in Turkey prior to finalizing the adoption. Although Turkish law allows for a child to leave Turkey during the one-year probationary period, a U.S. visa cannot be issued until the probationary period is over and the adoption is final. U.S. prospective adoptive parents should be prepared to remain in Turkey for one year.

Age Requirements

The adoptive parent must be at least 30 years of age and there must be at least an 18-year age difference between the prospective parent and child. Adoptive parents must not be over the age of 40 if they wish to adopt children who are under one year old. Prospective adoptive parents who are over 40 can only adopt older children. Those who reach 41 during the waiting period after submitting their application will be asked to adopt older children. Foreign nationals who do not speak Turkish and who are between the ages of 30 and 40 may only adopt children under the age of three.

Marriage

Adoptive parents may be single or married. A married couple can only adopt the child together. Unmarried couples cannot adopt a child together. Couples younger than 30 years of age must be married for at least five years to be eligible to adopt. A spouse younger than 30 years of age can adopt his/her spouse’s child only if they have been married for more than two years. A spouse can adopt a child alone if he/she can prove that the other spouse is mentally incapacitated or his/her whereabouts is unknown for over two years or if the couple is legally separated for over two years. Couples determined to be eligible for adoption after professional evaluation are given a priority date in accordance to their application dates with the central authority. No other prioritization is made within applications.

Income

Adoptive parents must be psychologically and biologically healthy, have a certain level of education and culture to raise a child in a safe and good environment and be financially capable of providing for the child. Adoptive parents must not have been convicted of a crime of moral turpitude and cannot be users of illicit drugs. All conditions and requirements that are mentioned above are evaluated by the General Directorate of Social Services and Child Protection Agency officials.

Other

None.


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