The process of obtaining a child for adoption is rigorously controlled by the law in this country, so that, apart from some arrangements within families, any involvement in the "unofficial" placing of a child with a person or couple for the purpose of adoption is a criminal offence. Because of the vulnerability of these children, only a local authority Children Service or an Adoption Agency is allowed to place children for adoption and they are only permitted to place with persons who have gone through a rigourous process of vetting and training leading to their being (hopefully) approved by an independent panel within that Service or Agency, called the Adoption Panel.

The Old Law

Until recently one way of avoiding the need to be approved by an Adoption Panel was to adopt a child from abroad, or to actually carry out the adoption in the courts of the child's country. That is not to say that many adoptions abroad, or of children from abroad, are by persons or couples who would not be approved in this country, but the process was certainly very different to adopting within the United Kingdom until the Adoption and Children Act 2002, which was brought into effect on 31st December 2005.

Recent Changes

Thanks to that Act it is now unlawful to bring a child into this country either to adopt it here or where the child has been adopted in its own country unless the adopters have been approved by an Adoption Panel in this country. The only exception to this provision is where the adoption took place more than 6 months before the child and the adopters returned to the UK, although that 6 months period has now been extended to 12 months by more recent legislation.

The process of seeking the approval of the Immigration Authorities, becoming an approved adopter within these shores, obtaining the approval of the authorities in the child's country and dealing with the actual adoption process is complex and time consuming. The Family Law Team at Pickerings can help you with this.