Adoption in Ukraine - overview
The following information about adoption of children on the territory of Ukraine is written according to Ukrainian family codes.
Adoption means accepting a child in the family on the rights of a blood child with all ensuring rights and responsibilities. For parents it means the highest responsibility for the child’s destiny and full development.
Brothers or sisters of the child for adoption on the file of the adoption center can not be separated, apart from special cases. The adoptive parent has to be not less then 15 years senior to the adoptive child. The quantity of the children one person can adopt is unlimited.
The following individuals can’t be adoptive parents in Ukraine:
- impaired or disabled;
- deprived of parental rights;
- individuals who have already been adoptive parents and the adoption was abrogated due to their fault;
- individuals, who are registered or are under medical treatment in psychoneurologic or narcological dispensary;
- drug or alcohol abusers;
- having no permanent place of residence or income;
- other individuals, whose interests contradict the child’s interests.
Preferred adoptive parents are relatives, individuals, who are adopting several brothers and sisters; Ukrainian citizens; married couples. Any commercial mediation activity related to adoption in Ukraine is strictly prohibited.
Child’s consent is needed for adoption, excluding cases when due to the age or health grounds the child is not able to express his/her opinion. Also, the consent for adoption from the tutor/guardian or boarding school is needed, thus such a consent can be obtained by court or tutorship authority (in case the adoption is in child’s favour).
Court decision on adoption is made considering the health grounds, financial conditions and marital status of the adoptive parents, their reasons for adoption, child’s health and personality grounds, period of time during which the adoptive parent has been already taking care of the child, attitude of the child to the adoptive parents.
The court has no right to refuse adoption in virtue of that the adoptive parents already have or may have their own children.
Adoption preferences
Permits the child to feel him-/herself a full family member.
Preservation of all relations and succession rights, including entering emancipated age.
Possibility to assign the family name of the adoptive parent to the child, change his/her name, father name, and, in some cases, date of birth.
Adoption peculiarities
The government gives very little aid after adoption: post-childbirth leave and childbirth pay offs in case an infant was adopted.
In comparison with other forms of arrangements, in this case the candidates have to meet the most stringent requirements of their material status and living conditions.
Not every child deprived of parental care can be adopted.
