Important notice for adoptive parents—Before you travel

Adopting a child from another country brings joy to thousands of Canadian parents every year. CIC is proud to play an important part in helping these children join the Canadian family.

But adoptive parents should be aware that the process can be complicated and, unless the proper procedures are followed, even heartbreaking.

There are two processes involved in international adoption:

1. The adoption itself, which is governed by the laws of the child’s country of birth, the province or territory where the adoptive parents live, and international conventions;
2. The immigration process for bringing the child to Canada. Before an adopted child can be brought to this country, immigration requirements must be met and a permanent resident visa issued for the child.

Understandably, adoptive parents are anxious to complete both processes as quickly as possible. We do our best to accommodate this from an immigration standpoint and to give priority to visa processing. Time frames for the immigration process vary widely from country to country and even from case to case within a country. Canadian families planning to adopt a child in another country should understand that, even under ideal conditions, the adoption and immigration processes together will take at least six to eight months from start to finish. Depending on the child’s country of origin, it is not unusual for the process to last for two years or even longer.

In extremely rare cases, following screening by the visa office, the child’s visa may be denied, for example, due to evidence of child trafficking.

Adoptive parents should therefore exercise caution. Each country’s rules are different.

To avoid unnecessary expense and disappointment, you should not plan to return to Canada with the adopted child until you know with certainty that all immigration requirements have been met.

The Government of Canada is committed to protecting the rights of families and children. We have obligations under international Conventions to ensure that children are not abducted, bought or sold, or removed from their biological families without their biological parents’ legal consent. While long periods of waiting can seem unreasonable to a family anxious to adopt a child, extra steps in the immigration process will, in some cases, be needed to make sure the adoption is truly in the child’s best interest.

The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and its Regulations specify that children must be protected when they are adopted from foreign countries. In certain countries, lengthy investigations may be needed to determine a child’s status. This can delay a child’s entry to Canada. If a child is found not to be available for adoption, the child’s application for a permanent resident visa will be refused.

In order to be issued a permanent resident visa, a child must meet a number of immigration requirements, including a medical exam, conducted in the child’s country of origin by a doctor approved by Citizenship and Immigration Canada. The timing of the exam is another factor that can sometimes delay the immigration process.

For these reasons, adoptive parents must remember that the adoption and immigration processes are separate. If the immigration portion of the process is lengthy and you have chosen to travel to the child’s home country, you may want to return to Canada between completing the legal adoption and completing the immigration process. This is especially true when adopting from countries that do not have a well-established adoption program in place with Canada. Remember: It is mandatory for a child to have a permanent resident visa issued by the embassy before that child can be brought back to Canada.

For more information, see International Adoption.