Adoption – Intercountry adoption: adopting a tamaiti from overseas

Ngākau whakairo

How do I advocate for the rights of te tamaiti or rangatahi under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRoC)? How do I ensure te tamaiti or rangatahi connection and understanding of their whakapapa, family heritage, ethnicity, language and culture is strengthened and maintained?

Ngākau whakairo practice framework domain

Whai mātauranga

What knowledge and research am I drawing on in my assessment of applicants and their ability to meet the needs of an intercountry adopted tamaiti or rangatahi? What informs my understanding of racism and how comfortable am I with having challenging conversations with intercountry adoptive applicants?

Whai mātauranga practice framework domain

Whai oranga

Which tools and models help me to develop my understanding of the lifelong needs of te tamaiti or rangatahi to guide decision-making in ways that strengthen the oranga of te tamaiti or rangatahi and their whānau or family?

Whai oranga practice framework domain

Whai pūkenga

What skills or techniques do I use to engage with whānau and family to ensure they have all the support they need as they seek to adopt te tamaiti or rangatahifrom another country?

Whai pūkenga practice framework domain

Whai ākona

How do my experiences of loss, identity, racism and discrimination influence my mahi when working with intercountry adoptive applicants?

Whai ākona practice framework domain

The countries we have intercountry adoption programmes with are:

• Chile – Chile intercountry adoption factsheet (PDF 179 KB)
• Hong Kong – Hong Kong intercountry adoption factsheet (PDF 173 KB)
• India – India intercountry adoption factsheet (PDF 211 KB)
• Lithuania – Lithuania intercountry adoption factsheet (PDF 94 KB)
• Philippines – Philippines intercountry adoption factsheet (PDF 203 KB)
• Thailand – Thailand intercountry adoption factsheet (PDF 115 KB)

Preparing to be a caregiver or adoptive parent

Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption

Facilitating the adoption of a tamaiti from overseas

Before the intercountry adoptive applicant assessment

Before we complete the assessment for intercountry adoption, we must inform adoptive applicants about:

• the different processes that each country has
• the likely costs for which they will be responsible
• the routes available to facilitate intercounty adoption from a particular country – liaise with the New Zealand Central Authority (NZCA) for specific information about the process, requirements and routes available for intercountry adoption from a particular country.

Staff resource: Process instructions and templates for specific countries

Assessing intercountry adoptive applicants

Intercountry adoptive applicants must follow the caregiver and adoptive applicant assessment and approval process before they can be approved for an adoption.

Assessing and approving caregivers and adoptive parents

Approving intercountry adoptive applicants

Creating the overseas dossier

Once the adoptive applicants have been assessed as eligible and suited to adopt a tamaiti from another country, we must:

• prepare a Home Study report
• assemble a documentation dossier as specified by the country selected by the applicants
• liaise with the New Zealand Central Authority (NZCA) to complete the application process and requirements.

Intercountry adoption Home Study report

Overseas dossier for intercountry adoptions

The New Zealand Central Authority and accredited adoption agencies under the Hague Convention

In cases where the accredited placement agency does not fulfil this function, the social worker must:

• liaise with the NZCA to help the applicants to correspond with the overseas country
• plan their meeting with te tamaiti, their activities while in the country of origin of te tamaiti and their return to New Zealand.

The NZCA must:

• take appropriate measures to ensure any tamaiti adopted from another country has a formal record of their birth and adoptive identity
• help te tamaiti to secure New Zealand citizenship and entitlement to services.

Post-placement reporting

Where an accredited placement agency does not carry out this function, the social worker must:

• sight the adoption order or adoption finalisation document
• record details to ensure the mandate for placement reporting is established (some countries do not finalise the adoption until after the required post-placement reports are completed. Refer to the country's adoption process guidelines and liaise with the NZCA to confirm the mandate and requirements for post-placement reports for specific countries)
• supply the NZCA with accurate and timely post-placement reports as required by the country of origin of te tamaiti.