Regulation Highlights Russia & Kazakhstan
The Russian & Kazakh laws seek to ensure that any child available for adoption is made available to a Russian or Kazakh family first and only in cases where no
Russian/Kazakh accept the child during the registration period, (National Data Bank) will the child be made available to non-Russians & Kazakh. Children
available for adoption are entered into the Central Data Bank in Moscow (Russia) and the Central Data Bank in Astana (Kazakhstan). It has been operational since
September 22, 1995 Russia & March 1999 in Kazakhstan. Foreign adoptive parents do not have access to these children for a period of at least 3 months. Although
the regulations for adoption are consistent from region to region, there can be minor differences in the paper work required from region ro region.
To adopt, both parents must travel to Russia/Kazakhstan. You must go to the city where your child is, appear in court for one hearing, and receive temporary legal
custody of your child. Both Russia and Kazakhstan have a 10 day waiting period after the court date for the adoption to become final, but in some instances this
10 day waiting period can be waived in Russia.
Kazakhstan passed their new Marriage, Family and Adoption Law, Jan. 1999. The Kazakh authorities want the families to visit the child in the orphanage for 2 weeks
before going to court. The Kazakh authorities have not been waiving the 10 day waiting period at this time. There is an additional 5-7 days for all the papers to
be prepared for the adoption, i.e. birth certificates, passport, etc. after the 10 day waiting period. The length of travel is usually about 5 1/2 weeks in Kazakhstan.
One parent can give the other parent Power of Attorney in Kazakhstan allowing 1 parent to come home after the 1st week.
Russia requires 2 trips. On the first trip only 1 parent needs to go to identify the child and complete the application to the court to adopt the child. This first trip is usually 1 week. On the second trip both parents must go and appear in court to formally complete the aoption. There is usually a wait of about 4 weeks between trips. This allows time for the medical on the child to be completed as well as the request for the child to be released from the Central Data Bank in Moscow.
The second trip is usually 1 1/2 weeks if the 10 days are waived and 2 1/2 weeks if the 10 days are not waived.
We adopt from 2 regions in Russia and 1 region in Kazakhstan. There are many orphans under a year, sibling groups of two, and three, and four children.
Although the resources in the orphanage are limited, the Russians and Kazakhs try to take very good care of the children both physically, socially, and medically.
Parents who have adopted from these regions are very willing to talk to you regarding their experiences both in Russia, Kazakhstan and after arriving home.
Russia and Kazakhstan
1. Single women and men can adopt children, though married couples will have an advantage.
2. All major steps must be taken by adoptive parents in person and not by agents or middlemen.
They obtain all documents to be issued after the adoption is completed, e.g. a new birth certificate,
an adoption certificate, etc. (The Russian and Kazakh authorities will provide you with these documents.)
3. Only parents may escort an adopted child outside Russia and Kazakhstan.
4. Post placement monitoring of the child for three years (reports on the child's development
and living conditions) are required. These reports are sent to the Regional Authorities - at
Russia 6, 12, 24, and 36 months
Kazakhstan 3, 6, 9, 12, 24, & 36 months.
The reports (letter) at 3 months and 9 months can be completed by parents. The reports at 6, 12, 24, & 36 months are completed by the licensed agency.
We cannot stress how important it is to complete these post-placement reports. The adoption of children by Canadian families after the completion of your adoption, depends on you completing these reports. All reports must be accompanied by pictures.
5. The child must be registered at the Russian or Kazkh Embassy on his\her admission to Canada.
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