China Center of Adoption Affairs - Revised Intercountry Adoption Requirements

Revised Intercountry Adoption Requirements

The CCAA has promulgated the following new intercountry adoption requirements, set to take effect on May 1, 2007.

• Prospective adopters must be married for at least two years prior to the adoption, with marriage defined as being between a man and a woman. If either the husband or wife has been divorced in the past, the prospective adopters must be married for at least five years prior to the adoption. If either the husband or wife has been divorced more than twice, the couple is precluded from adopting a Chinese child.
  • Single persons will no longer be eligible to adopt Chinese children, although they were previously allowed to by the CCAA. In fact, approximately one-third of all children adopted from China in the past were adopted by single parents. This restriction is due, in part, to the belief that the child will be without a parent if the single adopter dies. Chinese law has always precluded homosexual individuals or couples from adopting children.
• Both the husband and wife must be at least 30 years of age, and both must be under the age of 50. If a couple is adopting a special needs child, neither spouse can be older than 55 years of age.
  • The age restriction is meant to lessen the chances that a child will lose a parent before turning 18 years of age, or that a child will be burdened with the responsibility of providing for elderly parents.
• Both the husband and wife must be physically and mentally fit, and must not have any of the following conditions:

1. AIDS;
2. Mental handicap;
3. Infectious disease that is actively contagious;
4. Blindness in one or both eyes or wearing a ocular prosthetic;
5. Hearing impairment in both ears or the loss of language function; those adopting children with hearing or language function loss are exempt if they have the same conditions;
6. Non-function or dysfunction of limbs or trunk caused by impairment, incomplete limb, paralysis or deformation;
7. Severe facial deformation;
8. Severe diseases that require long-term treatment and that affect life expectancy, including malignant tumors, lupus erythematosus, nephrosis, epilepsy, etc.;
9. Major organ transplant within the past ten years;
10. Schizophrenia;
11. On medication for more than two years for severe mental disorders, such as clinical depression, mania, or anxiety disorder;
12. Body mass index (BMI) greater than 40.

• One spouse must have stable employment. The family’s annual income must be $10,000 per household member (including children), and the family’s assets must total at least $80,000. The requisite family income excludes welfare income, pensions, unemployment insurance, government subsidies, etc.;
• Each spouse must be a high school graduate, or have vocational training equivalent to that of a high school graduate;
• A couple must have fewer than five children in the family under 18 years of age, and the youngest child should be at least 1 year of age. Families adopting special needs children will be exempt.
• Neither spouse may have a criminal record, as well as any of the following histories:

1. Domestic violence, sex abuse, child abandonment or child abuse (even absent an arrest or conviction for such behavior);
2. Use of narcotics, like opium, morphine, marijuana, cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, etc., or any medication for mental illness that has addictive qualities;
3. Alcohol abuse. If prospective adopters do have histories of alcohol abuse, they must show that they have been sober for at least ten years.

• Prospective adopters must understand the responsibilities of adoption, the expectation to provide a warm family environment for the orphaned child, and must be able to provide for the proper development of the child. Prospective adopters must also have an understanding of intercountry adoption, and must be prepared for potential risks associated with intercountry adoption, such as potential diseases, developmental delays, post-placement maladjustment, etc.;
• In their adoption application letter, the prospective adopters must clearly indicate that they are willing to allow post-placement follow-ups and to provide post-placement reports as required by the CCAA;
• The fixed number of years or age requirements that prospective adopters must meet, as will be indicated in their adoption application letter, shall be dated from the day when the adoption application documents are logged in at the CCAA.

The new CCAA requirements are in response to an increase of adoption applications that have been submitted by prospective adopters. The requirements are also due, in part, to a decrease in the number of available children for adoption. The decrease in available children has been attributed to increased wealth of Chinese citizens, such that they are able to pay the “social compensation fee” to have more than one child under China’s one-child policy.

The CCAA claims that the rationale for the new requirements is to protect the best interests of children, as well as to shorten the waiting time for the most qualified applicants.