Measure Registering Adoption of Children by Foreigners in the People's Republic of China

(Approved by the State Council on May 12, 1999, promulgated by Decree No.15 of the Ministry of Civil Affairs on May 25, 1999)

Full Text

£ £ Article 1 These Measures are formulated in accordance with the Adoption Law of the People's Republic of China in order to regularize foreign-related adoption registration practice.

£ £ Article 2 If foreigners attempt to adopt children within the territory of the People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as adoption of children by foreigners in China), they shall undertake registration according to these Measures.
£ £ If a couple, one of whom is a foreigner, attempts to adopt children in China, they also shall undertake registration according to these Measure.

£ £ Article 3£ Foreigners attempting to adopt children in China shall conform to the provisions of the relevant laws on adoption both in China and in their home countries; problems arising from the difference between the provisions of the laws of their home countries and those of the Chinese laws shall be resolved through consultation by relevant departments of the government of the two countries.

£ £ Article 4£ Foreigners attempting to adopt children in China shall deliver adoption applications, family situation reports and certificates to adoption organizations authorized by Chinese government (hereinafter referred to as Chinese adoption organizations) through governments of their home countries or adoption organizations authorized by governments (hereinafter referred to as foreign adoption organizations).
£ £ Adopters' adoption applications, family situation reports and certificates stipulated in the preceding paragraph refer to following documents issued by competent agencies of their home countries, authenticated by diplomatic departments of their home countries or agencies authorized by such diplomatic departments, and authenticated by embassies or consulates of the People's Republic of China in that country.
£ £ (1) application for transnational adoption;
£ £ (2) birth certificate;
£ £ (3) certificate of marital status;
£ £ (4) certificate of occupation, income and property;
£ £ (5) certificate of health examination;
£ £ (6) certificate indicating whether the adopter has ever been subject to critical punishment;
£ £ (7) certificate certifying the approval of the transnational adoption by the competent authority of the home country;
£ £ (8) family situation report, including the adopter's status, the qualification and suitability of the adoption, family background, medical history, motive for adoption and specialty for caring children.
£ £ Foreigners who have lived in China for more than one year for work or study in China, if attempting to adopt children in China, shall submit the documents prescribed in the preceding paragraph except for the certificates of health examination, and shall also deliver marital status certificates, certificates of occupation, income and property, and certificates of whether they have ever been subject to criminal punishments, which are issued by the Chinese units to which they belong, as well as certificates of health examination issued by medical units at or above county level.

£ £ Article 5£ Person placing out children for adoption shall submit to civil affairs departments of people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions or municipalities directly under the Central Governments their permanent residence booklets, resident identity cards (if social welfare organizations place our children for adoption, then identity credentials of persons in charge of such organizations shall be submitted), and residence certificates of adoptees, etc., and shall submit the following certifying papers according to the respective situations:
£ £ (1) If the placing persons are the adoptees' natural parents (including those who have divorced), they shall submit certificates on their incapability of upbringing owing to unusual difficulties and written consent agreeing to placing out children for adoption from both of the natural parents; among those, if the adoptee is placed out for adoption by a single parent because the spouse of the natural father or mother has died or has been missing, he or she shall also submit a certifying that the other spouse has died or has been missing as well as a written declaration of the parents of the dead spouse or the spouse who is missing giving up priority in rearing the child.
£ £ (2) If a guardian is the placing person because the adoptee's parents do not have full civil capacity, he or she shall submit a certificate certifying that the adoptee's parents have no full civil capacity and may do serious harm to the adoptee and a certificate on the guardian's right of guardianship.
£ £ (3) If the placing person is the guardian because both of the adoptee's parents died, he or she shall submit a certificate certifying the death of the aoptee's natural parents, a certificate certifying the guardian's actual bearing of obligations of guardianship as well as a written consent of other persons bearing rearing obligations on the palcing out for adoption.
£ £ (4) If a social welfare organization acts as the placing person, it shall submit a certificate of the situation concerning the abandonment and discovery of the abandoned infant or child, and a certificate of the process of the search of his or her parents or other guardians; if the adoptee is an orphan, it shall submit a certificate certifying the death or the declaration of death of the orphan's parents as well as written consent of other persons bearing the obligations of rearing the orphan on the placement for adoption.
£ £ If a disabled child is placed out for adoption, a certificate of disability of the child issued by a medical unit at or above the county level shall also be submitted.

£ £ Article 6£ The civil affairs department of the people's government of a province, an autonomous region or a municipality directly under the Central Government shall examine the credentials and certifying papers submitted by placing persons, and issue public notices to identify or look for the natural parents for those abandoned infants or children whose natural parents cannot be identified or found; if the adoptees and placing persons are believed to meet the requirements stipulated in the Adoption Law, a list of their names shall be notified to the Chinese adoption organizations, and the following credentials and certifying papers shall be conveyed simultaneously:
£ £ (1) photocopies of placing persons' permanent residence booklets and resident identity cards (if the placing persons are social welfare organizations, then the identity credentials of persons-in-charge of such organizations.)
£ £ (2) photocopies of certificates certifying that the adoptees are abandoned infants or orphans, their residence certificates, growth reports and health examination certificates as well as photos of the adoptees.
£ £ The public notices issued by the civil affairs department of the people's government of a province, an autonomous region or a municipality directly undere the Central Government for identifying or looking for the natural parents of the abandoned infants or children shall be published in a local newspaper at the province level. If no natural parents or other guardians claim the deserted infants baby or children within 60 days after the publication of the public notices, they shall be regarded as deserted infants or children whose parents can not be identified or found.

£ £ Article 7£ After having examined the adoption application and relevant certificates submitted by a foreign adopter and by referring to the desire of the foreign adopter, the Chinese adoption organization shall select a suitable adoptee from among the adoptees who are recommended by the civil affairs department of the people's government of a province, an autonomous region or a municipality directly under the Central Government and who meet the requirements stipulated in the Adoption Law, and shall, through the foreign government or foreign adoption organization, send to the foreign adopter the information about the adoptee and the placing person. If the adoption is agreed to by the foreign adopter, the Chinese adoption organization shall send him or her a notice to come to China for adoption of a child, and simultaneously inform the relevant civil affairs department of the people's government of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government to send the placing person a notice that consent has already been given to the adoption of the adoptee.

£ £ Article 8£ Foreigners attempting to adopt children in China shall come to China for undergoing registration procedures in person. If a foreign couple adopt a child together, they shall both come to China for undergoing registration procedures; if one of the couple cannot come for some reasons, the other party shall be authorized in written form, and the power of attorney shall be notarized and authenticated by the country in which they reside.

£ £ Article 9£ Foreigners attempting to adopt children in China shall sign adoption agreements with placing persons. The agreement shall be in three copies, one is kept by the adopter, one is kept by the placing person, and the third one is kept by adoption registration organ when undergoing adoption registration procedures.
£ £ After the signing of the written agreement, the parties concerned shall both register the adoption with the civil affairs department of the people's government of a province, an autonomous region or a municipality directly under the Central Government in the locality where the adoptee's permanent residence is registered.

£ £ Article 10£ When registering the adoption, the parties concerned shall fill out the registration application for adoption of a child in China by a foreigner, submit the agreement on adoption and provide respectively relevant materials.
£ £ The adopter shall provide the following materials:
£ £ (1) the notice sent by Chinese adoption organization that they may come to China to adopt a child in China;
£ £ (2) the adopter's identity credentials and photographs.
£ £ The placing person shall provide the following materials:
£ £ (1) the notice sent by civil affairs department of the people's government of a province, an autonomous region or a municipality directly under the Central Government that consent has already been given to the adoption of the adoptee;
£ £ (2) the placing person's residence booklet, resident identity card (if the placing person is a social welfare organization, the identity credential of the person-in-charge of such an organization) and the adoptee's photographs.

£ £ Article 11£ After receiving the registration application for adoption of a child by a foreigner in China and relevant materials of the adopter, adoptees and placing person, the adoption registration organ should conduct examination within 7 days; if the requirements stipulated in Article 10 of these Measures are met, the adoption shall be registered for the parties concerned, and an adoption registration certificate be issued. The adoptive relationship comes into existence from the date of registration.
£ £ The adoption registration organ shall inform the Chinese adoption organization of the result of the registration.

£ £ Article 12£ If, after the adoption has been registered, adoption notarization is required by all parties or one party involved in the adoptive relationship, the adoption shall be notarized by a notary organ with the qualification of foreign-related notarization in the locality where the adoption is registered.

£ £ Article 13£ Before the aoptee leaves China, the adopter shall, on the basis of the adoption registration certificate, undergo exit formalities for the adoptee with the public security organ in the locality where the adoption is registered.

£ £ Article 14£ Foreigners adopting children in China shall pay for the registration to the registration organs. The standard of registration fee shall be implemented in accordance with the relevant provisions of the State.
£ £ China adoption organizations are non-profit public welfare institutions that provide services to foreigners and may charge service fees, the standard of which shall be implemented in accordance with the relevant provisions of the State.
£ £ The State encourages foreign adopters and foreign adoption organizations to make donations to the social welfare organizations in China in order to bring up abandoned infants and children there. The social welfare organization receiving donations must use all the donations to improve nurturing conditions for abandoned infants and children and may not misuse the donations for other purposes, and shall inform the donors of the use of the donations. The social welfare institutions receiving donations shall also subject themselves to the supervision of the relevant departments and make the use of the donations know to the public.

£ £ Article 15£ The activities of China adoption organization shall be subject to the supervision of the civil affairs department of the State Council.

£ £ Article 16£ These Measures shall come into effect from the date of promulgation. The Implementation Measure on Adopting Children by Foreigners in the People's Republic of China, approved by the State Council on November 3, 1993 and promulgated by the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Civil Affairs on November 10, 1993, shall be repealed simultaneously.

related link:China Adoption Law