International Adoption and UK Immigration

Posted onJuly 18, 2024

As specialist Immigration Solicitors and Family Lawyers, we receive inquiries about international adoption and immigration or UK entry clearance for adopted babies to be brought back to the UK once the adoption process has been completed in the baby’s country of birth.

International adoption and UK immigration are complicated topics. If you are contemplating adopting a baby from overseas it is best to talk to expert Immigration Solicitors and Family Lawyers before you start the overseas adoption process so you understand what's involved and the timescales.

UK Online and London-Based Immigration Solicitors

For immigration law advice call London-based OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.

Our lawyers speak Arabic, Armenian, Farsi, French/Mauritian Creole, Spanish, Tamil Tagalog/Ilonggo, Urdu/Punjabi

How are you adopting a baby from overseas?

You may think that all adoptions are the same. They may all have the same effect – growing your family but there are four different types of overseas adoption. The country you choose to adopt from dictates the type of adoption process you will follow. That in turn dictates how complicated the process is for you to secure entry clearance for your adopted child and British citizenship for them.

Whilst you don’t need to understand the complexities of international adoption law it does help to know the type of overseas adoption order you will be obtaining and the implications for your child’s legal and immigration status and entry clearance. That information may enable you to choose a country where it is easier to bring your child into the UK or prepare you for the potential complexities and delays that come with your chosen country.

The four types of international adoption

There are four types of international adoption:

Hague Convention Adoption – the country you are adopting from must be a signatory to the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption 1993
Overseas adoptions recognised by UK law – the UK government keeps lists of countries where it recognises adoption orders made overseas. Our Family Law Solicitors can tell you if your proposed country is a Hague Convention country or if your overseas adoption order will be automatically recognised in the UK
Overseas adoptions not recognised by UK law as the country where you adopted from is not a signatory to the Hague Convention and is not on the UK government list of countries where the overseas adoption order is recognised by the UK
De facto adoptions under the immigration rules. A de facto adoption is not a legal adoption but can best be described as a family arrangement. In the immigration rules a de facto adoption occurs where the adoptive parent/s have been resident overseas for at least 18 months and have been living together with their de facto adopted child for the 12 months immediately before the immigration application and have assumed the role of parent/s whilst caring for the child. This means there has been an assumption by the adoptive parent/s of parental responsibility for the child

British citizenship and international adoption

If you are adopting from overseas your priority will be to obtain British citizenship for your child so you can get them a British passport.

An adopted child from overseas can either get British citizenship automatically or an application will need to be made for the child’s registration as a British citizen.

Your child will be an automatic British citizen if either:

The adoption order was a Hague Convention adoption and at least one adoptive parent is a British citizen. If the adopters are a couple both parents must be habitually resident in the UK at the time of the adoption order
The adoption order is made in the UK and at least one adoptive parent is a British citizen

When your adopted child is an automatic British citizen, you can apply for a British passport without the delays involved in first making a registration application.

The registration application may take time and you will need to fully address the points in the Home Office guidance for the registration of children as British citizens. This can be complicated if you have an overseas adoption order that is not recognised as legal in the UK.

It is best to understand the legal complexities and timescales involved so you can ensure that you have the funds and time available to stay in the country you have adopted from whilst the passport, registration or UK entry clearance is sorted out.

UK entry clearance for children adopted from overseas

Appendix Adoption of the immigration rules sets out the rules relating to the grant of entry clearance for children adopted overseas and where adoptive parent/s are seeking entry clearance for their child.

The rules depend on the status of the overseas adoption order and if the UK will need to make a UK adoption order to ensure that the adoption is recognised in UK law.

The best scenarios are where a child has been adopted in a Hague Convention country that finalised the adoption process. Accordingly, the child is a British citizen and won't need entry clearance. If the Hague Convention country requires the making of a UK adoption order to complete the adoption process the Home Office will normally grant limited entry clearance to give time to make the UK adoption order application.

In scenarios where the adoption order was made in a recognised or unrecognised country, different rules apply on UK entry clearance.

Occasionally our Family Law Solicitors will read stories in the papers of parents trapped in overseas countries with their adopted child and unable to start family life in the UK because they have not appreciated the complexities of UK immigration laws or the intricacies of international adoption. If you are contemplating growing your family through international adoption, we recommend speaking to our specialist Immigration Solicitors and Family Lawyers for an appraisal of what is involved and to discuss how our experts can sort out all your immigration and family law requirements and the timescales involved.

UK Online and London-Based Immigration Solicitors

For immigration law advice call London-based OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.

Our lawyers speak Arabic, Armenian, Farsi, French/Mauritian Creole, Spanish, Tamil Tagalog/Ilonggo, Urdu/Punjabi

Immigration Law Firm 2024 - OTS Solicitors

International Surrogacy as Your Route to Parenthood

International Children Law

International Adoption and Immigration