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International Adoption

Canadian law allows you to adopt a child from another country if you are a Canadian citizen or permanent resident. To bring your adoptive child to Canada, you must sponsor the child for immigration. You can start sponsoring a child as soon as you decide to adopt or you can wait until after you have found a child and have started the adoption process.

There are two processes that you must go through when you adopt a child from another country: the adoption process and the immigration sponsorship process. You need to know about both.

The Adoption Process:

Adoptions are the responsibility of the provinces in Canada. You need to have a Home Study done, usually by your province, before Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) processes your application for sponsorship.

You will have to comply with the adoption laws of the child’s country of origin. You must also comply with the laws of your province. Make sure you are familiar with all of the legal requirements relevant to you before beginning the adoption process.

Find out what you must do to adopt a child from another country from your province.

The Hague Convention governs international adoptions in some cases. Before you begin your adoption process, find out if the Convention will apply to you.

The Immigration Process:

As an adoptive parent of a child from another country, you must apply to sponsor the child for permanent residence in Canada. You may apply for citizenship on the child’s behalf after the child is in Canada and has permanent resident status.

CIC will request a letter of consent from your province showing that your province agrees to the adoption. The immigration visa will only be issued after the immigration mission in the child’s country of origin receives this letter from your province.

For more information on bringing a child from another country to Canada, please see International Adoption and the Immigration Process.

Frustrated with time-consuming processes that seem bureaucratic?

These procedures help to protect children’s best interests. The only way around this frustration is to please be patient.