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| Provisional Regulations and Requirements by CCAA for Foreign Adoption Organizations Doing Adoption with China |
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When carrying out adoption from
Part One
Adoption Application, Certifying Documents and Home Study Report I. Adoption application documents 1. Documents required for submission: (1) Inter-country adoption application letter; (2) Birth certificate; (3) Marital status certificate; (4) Occupation, income and financial status certificate; (5) Physical examination certificate; (6) Criminal/ Non-criminal record certificate; (7) Home study report; (8) Certificate certifying the approval of the inter-country adoption by the competent authority of the country where the adoption applicant resides; (9) Copy of passport; (10) Two bareheaded photos (two inches) and six family photos. All the certificates except those required in item (9) and (10) must be produced by the competent body in the resident country and authenticated by diplomatic organization of the resident country or agencies authorized by the diplomatic organization and notarized by the embassy or consulate of the People's Republic of China in that country. For applicants who have resided in China for at least one year without interruption for work or study, they should submit, in addition to the above documents (item (5) exclusive), certificates of marital status, occupation, income, financial status and non-criminal record produced by the Chinese unit to which they belong or related department. The physical examination certificate should be produced by a medical unit at or above the prefecture (city) level. 2. Contents of documents required (1). Inter-country adoption application letter A. The inter-country adoption application should be written personally by the adoption applicant instead of being written by others or by adoption organization according to the fixed format. B. The inter-country adoption application shall be signed by the adoption applicant in his or her own hand. C. The inter-country adoption application shall include the following contents: name of adoption applicant, date of birth, place of birth and nationality, reasons for adoption, clear desire and requirements for adoption of Chinese children, a statement by the applicant promising not to abandon or maltreat the child to be adopted, and a statement by the applicant committing to ensure the equal rights for the adopted child as the biological ones and ensure that the adopted child be properly raised and educated and grow healthily. (2). Birth certificate A. An adoption applicant must provide his/ her birth certificate or a copy of the birth certificate (provide separately in the case of a married couple) produced by the competent governmental body or civil registry of the place of birth. B. If there is no such a body to produce the birth certificate, a copy of the original birth certificate notarized by the local notary public or notary should be provided. (3). Marital status certificate An adoption applicant who has married should provide the marital status certificate produced by the competent governmental body in the wedding place. If an adoption applicant is single, he/ she should provide certificate of singles. If an adoption applicant is not married, he/ she should provide certificate of being unmarried. If an adoption applicant is divorced, the applicant should provide certificate of the latest divorce. In the case that an adoption applicant has lost his/ her spouse, he/ she shall provide certificate of the death of the spouse. (4). Occupation, income and financial status certificate A. An adoption applicant should provide a certificate of occupation produced by the employer or the organization with which the application works. The certificate of occupation should include the following: occupation and post of the applicant, term of employment, annual income and prospects for continued employment (provide separately in the case of a married couple). B. In the case of adoption applicant being an employer or a professional, he/ she should provide the certificate of occupation and annual income produced by a licensed chief accountant. In the case of the adoption applicant being a licensed chief accountant himself/ herself, he/ she applicant should provide the certificate of occupation and annual income produced by another licensed chief accountant. C. If an applicant does not have any occupation, he/ she should provide a certificate of no occupation, with the contents covering current source of income and plans for taking up jobs. D. In the case that the adoption applicant is a retiree, he/ she should provide a statement of retirement, with the contents covering date of retirement, annual income before retirement, whether there is any income after retirement and income status, etc.
E. The certificate of income and financial status should be filled in according to the attached Table 1 (the annual income of an applicant should be identical with the one in the certificate of occupation. If not identical, there should be an additional statement.) F. The currency used in occupation, income and property status should be the one used for settlement by the resident country of the adoption applicant. (5). Physical examination certificate A. An adoption applicant should provide a physical examination certificate produced by a licensed doctor (provide separately in the case of a married couple). B. The physical examination certificate of the adoption applicant should be filled in according to the attached Table 2. The certificate should be written clearly and neatly. If the writing is too cramped or too slipshod to be illegible, it shall be deemed as having not provided the health check certificate. C. If an adoption applicant uses a certain drug for a long period of time, the applicant shall specify the name and function of the drug. D. If an adoption applicant used to suffer from a certain serious disease or undergo certain surgical operation, a check report shall be produced by a licensed doctor, with the contents covering when the disease was contracted or when the operation was given, what kind of disease contracted or what kind of operation received, the process of treatment and results or result of the operation, whether or not the patient has fully recovered, whether or not the patient has to continue to take medicine to control the disease and the conclusion whether or not the applicant is suitable for raising a child. E. If a single adoption applicant has a co-habitant of the opposite sex, he/ she shall provide a physical examination certificate of the co-habitant. F. The physical examination certificate should be valid not more than one year starting from the date of physical examination (the date when the examination was taken) to the logging-in date of the application documents in CCAA. (6). Criminal/ Non-criminal record certificate A. An adoption applicant should provide a criminal/ non-criminal record certificate produced by the local police in his/ her country with a signature of the qualified official (provide separately in the case of a married couple). B. If an adoption applicant has lived or worked for at least one year in other countries or regions within the recent five years, he/ she should provide a criminal/ non-criminal record certificate produced by the resident country. C. A single adoption applicant who has a co-habitant of the opposite sex should provide a certificate of criminal/ non-criminal record for the co-habitant. D. The certificate of criminal/ non-criminal record should not exceed one year starting from the producing date of the certificate to the logging-in date of the application documents in CCAA. (7). Certificate certifying the approval of the inter-country adoption by the competent authority of the country where the adoption applicant resides A. An adoption applicant should provide a valid document of approval produced by the resident country's government for adopting a child from B. An adoption applicant who has been continuously working or studying in (8). Photos The two-inch bare-headed photos should be put in a standard passport photo bag, without clipping or sticking. Family photos may be stuck to a piece of paper of the same size as the document paper. 1. A home study report should cover the following contents: (1) Meetings and interviews, including the number, time, place and ways of meetings and talks between a social worker and the adoption applicant. A social worker must meet and talk face to face with an adoption applicant and the number of interviews and meetings shall not be less than four (including family visits). (2) Adoption motivation. It includes the reasons for making the decision to adopt a child and the reasons for adopting a child from China, the understanding of inter-country adoption, the understanding and mental preparation for the possible risks and delays involved in inter-country adoption, for the prospective adoptee, and for the possible post-adoption ill-adaptation of the adopted child. (3) Family background/individual introduction. This includes the educational background, work experience, hobbies, religious belief, off-hour activities and the relationship between parents and among brothers and sisters. (4) Marital status. This includes how the husband and wife look at each other, their attitude toward marriage and methods to revolve problems arising from marriage, their satisfaction level about their marriage; in the case of a single, it should include the attitude to the current status as a single and the attitude toward possible future marriage and how to treat adopted child after marriage in the future; in the case of divorced, it should include the reasons for the last divorce or the former divorces and the number of divorces. (5) Children. This should include whether or not there are some wedlock children, non-wedlock children or adopted children. It should specify their sex, age, hobbies and education level. In the case of having children from the previous marriage, it should be specified as to whether they live together with the adoption applicant. When there are children of over 10 years of age living together, it should specify what they think of inter-country adoption. (6) Health conditions. It includes whether or not the adoption applicant has any serious diseases, whether there is any disability that makes the applicant unable to take care of himself or herself, whether there is any mental or psychological disease and whether the disease or diseases constitute factors unfavorable for raising a child. The health conditions of the adoption applicant should be identical with the Physical Examination Certificate produced by the licensed doctor. The social worker shall make an appraisal as to whether the applicant's health condition is suitable for raising an adopted child. (7) Family financial conditions. It should include the income and expenses of the applicant, such as annual income, investment income, family assets, liabilities, living expenses, and whether the income and expenditure are balanced. The social worker should make an appraisal as to whether the financial conditions of the applicant are suitable for raising an adopted child. (8) Record of maltreatment or violence or crime. This includes whether the applicant has a history of excessive drinking, drug abuse, medicine abuse, family violence, sexual abuse and maltreatment of children (even if it did not result in arrest or conviction), whether the applicant has a criminal record (including arrest or conviction), whether the applicant has received any punishment, whether the applicant showed repentance or correction after punishment. The social worker should make an appraisal as to whether the applicant is eligible for adoption. (9) Living conditions. This includes the current residence conditions, the size of the residential house, community environment, educational facilities in the community, medical facilities and public service facilities in the community, especially the attitude of the community toward accepting adopted children of other races, the conditions of each residential house, including the appraisal of the suitability of the living conditions for children, with a statement on whether the living space conforms with the requirements of the local government. (10) Nurture plan. This includes the status of the exchanges between the children, parenting experience, the prospective method of nurture for adopted child; in the case of adopting disabled or diseased children or older children, it should clarify the metal preparation, expectation and the ability of raising such children on the part of the adoption applicant. The social worker should make an appraisal as to whether the adoption applicant is suitable for adopting a child based on the nurture plan of the applicant. (11) Status of co-habitants or non-family-member co-habitant. If the adoption applicant (married or single) has any non-family-member co-habitant, the relations between them and the reasons for co-inhabitation should be clarified. For a single applicant who is co-habiting with non-family member of the opposite sex, the social worker should affirm the stand that (12) Guardian/ rearing commitments. This includes the designation of guardian/ child rearer in case things unpredictable happen to the applicant or the applicant passes away of pre-mature death, the description on the age, profession, marital status, children, health and income of the designated guardian/ child rearer. The social worker should make an appraisal as to whether the designated guardian/ child rear is suitable for the guardianship and rearing of the adopted child. The guardian/child rearer designated by a single applicant must produce a written statement on the consent for acting as the guardian/child rearer. (13) Whether the adoption applicant used to be rejected as prospective adoptive parent or has any unfavorable home study report. This includes responses of the adoption applicant to whether or not he/ she used to be refused to be a prospective adoptive parent or whether or not he/ she has an unfavorable home study report. If so, the reasons for being refused or for the unfavorable home study report should be clarified with the previous refusal report or unfavorable home study report attached. (14) Appraisal and recommendation. The social worker should make a genuine appraisal of the general conditions of the adoption applicant and give a recommendation on whether or not the applicant is suitable for adopting a child from 2. The following documents should be attached to the home study report: (1) Copy of the license of the adoption organization that completes the home study report; (2) A written announcement by the guardian/child rearer designated by the singles adoption applicant on his or her consent to the guardianship/ rearing of the adopted c hild. 3. Requirements for home study report making (1) In the case that, according to the law of the resident country, an adoption organization is responsible for the making of the home study reports on the adoption applicants, the reports should be completed by social workers employed by the adoption organizations. (2) If the law of the resident country does not require adoption organizations to complete the home study report on the adoption applicant, the adoption organization should provide active guidance to adoption applicant in offering good cooperation to the social worker for the completion of the home study report. Ⅲ. Supplementary documents and documents to be returned 1. If changes have taken place with the circumstances of the adoption applicant while the adoption application documents are processing, the adoption organization should timely report it to CCAA and submit corresponding certifying materials. 2. After receiving the notice from certain review department in CCAA for submission of additional documents, the adoption organization should submit the required supplementary documents to CCAA within 60 days (starting from the date when the notice is issued). Otherwise, the application documents shall be returned to the adoption organization that has submitted them. When the supplementary documents are completed, they shall be handled as a new application. 3. Adoption application documents examined by CCAA, which are found not conforming to the provisions of the Chinese law or not up to the requirements of CCAA and not favorable for the healthy growth of children to be adopted, shall be rejected and returned.
Part Two
Submission of Documents I. Submission of adoption application 1. Adoption organizations should submit adoption application documents to CCAA according to the provisions of Article 4 of the Measure for Registration of Adoption of Children by Foreigners in the People's Republic of 2. Adoption organizations should not submit documents for applicants who do not meet with the qualifications for adoption as prescribed in the Adoption Law of the People's Republic of 3. Adoption organizations can only submit documents for persons who have filed adoption applications directly with them. 4. The interval between the first adoption and the second adoption application in 5. The adoption application documents must be complete and valid. 6. Each batch of documents should be attached with a document list (in duplicate), with the content covering date of delivery, number of documents, name list of adoption applicants, and fee payment with the signature of the person in charge of the organization. 7. Adoption application documents should be placed in a document folder, with the cover printed with the logo of the adoption organization. Ⅱ. Expedition of adoption application processing 1. Conditions for expediting the process of adoption application The process of handling adoption application documents may be expedited if the adoption applicant meets one of the following conditions: (1) The adoption applicant applies for adopting disabled children or children of over six years of age; (2) The two parties or one party of the adoption applicant is foreign Chinese; (3) The adoption applicant has been working or studying in 2. Requirements for expediting adoption process (1) The adoption organization should learn the conditions for expediting the adoption process and submit application for expedition and related certifying documents for the qualified adoption applicant. (2) After an adoption applicant requests for adoption expedition, the adoption organization should file an application for expedition attached with the written application of the adoption applicant with CCAA. The application written by the organization should cover the name of the adoption organization, the name of the adoption applicant requesting for adoption expedition, the date of document submission, and the reasons for expedition and related certifying documents. The person in charge of the adoption organization must sign the application. Ⅲ. Suspended adoption application 1. A suspended adoption application refers to an application for suspension that the adoption applicant raises due to certain personal reasons. 2. After the adoption applicant applies for a suspension of adoption, the adoption organization should file an application attached with the suspension request given by the adoption applicant with CCAA. The application written by the organization should cover the name of the adoption organization, the name of the adoption applicant, the date of the submission of the adoption application documents, the reasons for suspension and the planned time for suspension. The person in charge of the adoption organization should affix his or her signature to the application. 3. The request for suspension of adoption should be made prior to the issuance of the Notice of Coming to 4. When an adoption applicant requests for restoring his/ her adoption application within the time limit of suspension, the adoption organization should file an application attached with an application of the adoption applicant with CCAA. The application written by the adoption organization should cover the name of the adoption organization, the name of the adoption applicant, the date of document submission, the time for handling the suspended documents and the reasons for restoring the application. The person in charge of the adoption organization should affix his or her signature to the application. After receiving the application for restoration, CCAA will vitalize and continue the suspended processing of the application documents. The adoption applicant does not need to register his/ her case again and to pay service fees. 5. If changes have taken place with the adoption applicant during the period of suspension of the case, the adoption organization should timely notify CCAA and submit corresponding certifying materials. Ⅳ. Termination of adoption application 1. Termination of adoption application refers to the request given by the adoption applicant for termination of the adoption application due to personal reasons. 2. After the adoption applicant requests for terminating adoption application, the adoption organization should timely file an application for terminating the adoption application attached with the application of the adoption applicant. The application written by the organization should cover the name of the adoption organization, the name of the adoption applicant requesting adoption termination, the date of documents submission, the reasons for adoption termination, the payment status at the time of documents submission, the name of beneficial person for accepting refund, the name of the bank and the account number. The person in charge of the adoption organization should affix his or her signature to the application. Ⅴ. Charges 1. Service charges should be paid at the same time when the adoption application documents are submitted. When a number of documents in the same batch are submitted, one cheque should be used for the payment. For documents of different batches, charges should be paid separately. No advance payment is acceptable. 2. If the payment is made by cheques, the amount written in capital letters and numbers should be identical and the person giving the cheque should sign his/ her name. The cheque must be valid within six months. 3. If telegraphic transfers make payment, the name of the adoption organization and the name of the payer should be written clearly, with a note specifying that the commission fees should be borne by the payer. After the telegraphic transfer procedures is completed, the original document for the telegraphic transfer should be faxed to CCAA or the copies of the original document for the telegraphic transfer should be mailed to CCAA together with the adoption application documents. 4. In the case that CCAA returns the payment made by the adoption applicant due to various reasons, the adoption organization should timely and in the original amount return it to the adoption applicant.
Part Three
Feedback and registration
I. Feedback of the intents of adoption applicant 1. After receiving the Letter of Seeking Confirmation from Adopters issued by CCAA and the materials of the adoptee, the adoption organization should timely convey it to the adoption applicant, and it should not delay it or sign the letter on behalf of the applicant. 2. The adoption organization should timely feedback the intents of the adoption applicant to CCAA and the time limit should not exceed 45 days (with the date on the postal stamp on the Letter of Seeking Confirmation from Adopters as the starting time). If the adoption applicant refuses to accept the placement made by CCAA, the adoption organization should mail back the letter together with the materials about the child to CCAA. 3. If the adoption applicant does not deem the placed child a suitable one, the adoption organization should timely feedback the reasons and intents of the adoption applicant to CCAA. If the adoption applicant demand a re-placement, the adoption organization should do the coordination and explanation work well. 4. If after receiving the materials about the child placed by CCAA the adoption applicant wants to know more about the child or get more related materials, the adoption organization should contact CCAA. It is not allowed to obtain information about the child through other channels or by other means. Ⅱ. Registration procedures for adoption in 1. After the applicant has received the Notice of Coming to 3. The adoption organization or the adoption applicant must abide by the rules and regulations of adoption registration authority and go through the hand-over and registration procedures within the working days and ensure a normal working order in the adoption registration office. 4. Both the husband and wife should travel to 5. If an adoption applicant gives up adoption, the adoption organization should, after getting permissions of CCAA and the civil affairs department of provincial level, help to do the follow up work well and should take the responsibility of seeing to it that the adoption applicant returns the adoptee to the party that placed out the child for adoption. The adoption organization should submit a written report to CCAA on the matter within 10 days starting from the date of the announcement of giving up the adoption. 6. In the case that the adoption applicant is unable to travel to 7. If, due to some special circumstances, the adoption applicant demands for a replacement of a child for adoption in the process of registration, the adoption organization should file a written report to the adoption registration authority and do the coordination work well.
Part Four
Placement of special- needs children In order to enable the special-needs children in the children's welfare institutions to return to families as early as possible just like normal children, CCAA has entrusted some foreign adoption organizations to seek prospective adoptive families for such children. The work should be carried out according to the requirements laid down in the Measures of China Center of Adoption Affairs for Authorizing Foreign Adoption Organizations to Seek Adoptive Families for Children of Special Needs issued by CCAA on March 29, 2002.
Part Five
Post-Placement Report I. Contents of post-placement report 1. The first page of the post-placement report should be devoted to the general information about the adoptive family and the adopted child, which should include: (1) The serial number of the Notice of Coming to China for Adoption, the original Chinese name and date of birth of the adopted child, the name of the social welfare institute that placed him/ her out for adoption, the date of adoption registration, the name of the child after adoption and health conditions at the time of adoption. (2) The name, current profession and family address of the adoptive parents. (3) The nationality of the adopted child. (4) The name of the organization that submits the post-placement reports, the date of family visits by the social worker, the date of the home study report and the sequence number of the report. 2. The post-placement report should mainly contain the following: (1) The health conditions, physical development and intellectual development and educational situation of the adopted child. (2) The attachment of the adopted child with the adoptive parents, family and the community, the adjustments in work and life of the adoption parents, and the method of rearing and educating the adopted child by the adoption parents. (3) The status of naturalization of the adopted child. (4) Major changes that have taken place with the adoption family, including marital status of the adoption parents, changes in jobs, living environment and health conditions. (5) Other matters which the social worker deems as necessary to report. (6) General assessment made by the social worker. Ⅱ. Requirements for the submission of the post-placement report 1. The adoption organization that submitted the adoption application documents to CCAA should timely submit two post-placement reports for every adopted child to CCAA. 2. The adoption organization should send a social worker to visit the adoptive family in the sixth and 12th month after the placement of the adopted child and file the post-placement report with CCAA within three months after each visit. If the adopted child has not been naturalized one year after the placement, the adoption organization should send a social worker to visit the adoptive family every six months and file a post-placement report until the adopted child is naturalized. 3. The post-placement report should be real, specific and comprehensive. The social worker should prepare the report based on the actual visits, recording faithfully what he or she sees and hears in the family and reflecting objectively the changes of the adoptive family after the adoption and the life and growth of the adopted child. The social worker or the person in charge of the adoption organization should sign the post-placement report. 4. Certificates of naturalization, such as copy of citizenship certificate, copy of the family registration book, copy of the passport of the adopted child, are required in addition to the post-placement report in one of the following cases: (1) The adopted child cannot be naturalized automatically in the receiving country according to its law after his/ her arrival; (2) The adopter has lived in another country other than the country of nationality for more than one year; (3) The adoptive parents submitted the adoption application documents together, but only one of the parties traveled to 5. The post-placement report should be meanwhile attached with four photos together with captions, including group photo(s) of the adopted child and the adoptive parents. 6. The post-placement report should be translated into Chinese and the translation must be true to the original version. The post-placement report should be printed in paper of size A4. The sequence of arrangements for packing is the Chinese translation, the original copy, naturalization certificate and photos. 7. When replacement or death occurs when the adopted child has not come of age, the adoption organization should file a special report with CCAA. 8. The adoption organization should cooperate with CCAA in completing some special sample survey of the adopted children.
Part Six
Contact persons of adoption organizations in 1. In order to ensure a healthy development of inter-country adoption, the adoption organizations should keep direct contacts with CCAA. 2. If a contact person in 3. Procedure for putting on record
(1) An adoption organization should submit to CCAA a Power of Attorney for its contact person in (2) The contact person of an adoption organization should fill out the Recording Table for Contact Persons of Adoption Organizations in (a) Personal commitment letter; (b) Copy of certificate of schooling; (c) Copy of ID; and (d) Three two-inch color photos of the recent period; 4. Requirements for work (1) Abide by the laws and regulations of (2) Love inter-country adoption, safeguard the rights and interests of (3) Actively cooperate with CCAA and adoption registration organs and do not interfere with the normal work order; 5. Adoption organizations should strengthen the management of their contact persons in
Part Seven
Points for Attention 1. When carrying out adoption activities in 2. When carrying out adoption activities in 3. Adoption organizations should keep a good communication and exchange channel with CCAA and do not spread rumors and refuse to take rumor for granted. 4. Adoption organizations cannot select or designate children for applicants. 5. Adoption organizations are not allowed to interfere in the inter-country adoption work of the civil affairs departments and social welfare institutions at all levels. 6. Adoption organizations should not transfer the qualifications for cooperation with CCAA. If an adoption organization merges with other adoption organizations or other changes have taken place, they should notify CCAA in time. 7. Adoption organizations are not allowed to make the materials of the adopted Chinese children published and spread in commercial media. 8. Adoption organizations are not allowed to make improper publicity about adoption in
February 1, 2003 |
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