Adopting in Nunavut: International Adoption

The Department of Health and Social Services in Nunavut oversees all adoptions in the territory. At the present time, there are no private licensed adoption agencies in the territory and families hoping to adopt internationally must employ the services of agency from southern provinces. The Department of Health and Social Services does assist families with their homestudies and oversees adoption placements once the child joins his/her family in Nunavut.

Adopting a child from abroad is a complicated process. Nunavut's laws, federal immigration laws and the laws of the child's country must all be observed and met for the adoption to be legal and finalized. Nunavut is a partner in the Hague Convention and follows its laws and guides for adoption practices. If a family in Nunavut adopts from a country where the convention is not in force, the same principles and practices outlined in the Hague convention are honoured and followed wherever possible.

With the increase of child abduction and trafficking around the world, many countries have signed the Hague Convention in an effort to make international adoption a safer and more secure process. The Hague Convention is an international agreement which lays out guidelines to govern adoption processes in these countries and to protect the best interests of children. The Convention also has safeguards in place to protect birth and adoptive families but its main goal is to ensure that an international adoption is in the best interests of a child and that his/her fundamental rights are protected. More information about the Hague Convention.

Canada has been a partner in the Hague Convention since 1993 and all provinces and territories follow the Convention's guidelines. Canadians can adopt from countries that have not ratified the Hague Convention. These adoptions have similar steps but lack the assurances of Hague Convention adoptions.

According to Citizenship and Immigration Canada's web site, as of December 23, 2007, anyone adopted by a Canadian citizen after February 14th, 1977 can apply for a grant of Canadian citizenship without first becoming a permanent resident. Some new adoptions, however, will still need to use the immigration process. The following explains the two processes and will assist you in deciding which to pursue.

The Citizenship Process:

You can apply for citizenship for an adopted person if:

The adopted person does not meet the requirements for the citizenship process if:

The Immigration Process:

You can use the immigration process to apply for permanent resident status for the adopted child if:

The adopted person does not meet the requirements for the immigration process if:

For more information regarding immigration issues, contact Citizenship and Immigration Toll Free at: 1-888-242-2100

The expenses for international adoptions are quite high and will vary based on the requirements of the licensed adoption agency, the child's country of origin and several other factors. In most international adoptions, adoptive parents must travel to the country which adds to the expenses as well as fees for accommodation. Other expenses adoptive parents incur include home study and agency fees, fees for documents and reports, examinations, and translation and authentication of Adoption Dossier documents, immigration processing fees and child foster or medical care. On average, most international adoptions take approximately 1-2 years to complete and can cost anywhere from $18,000 to $50,000.

The children who are available for adoption internationally may be infants, toddlers and older children. Usually poverty and the lack of family services are the main factors in making these children available for adoption. Adoptive parents must be aware that these children have special needs.

After the adoption has been completed, many families need assistance in dealing with post-adoption issues. For example, older children may need to talk about their earlier experiences. They may need professional counseling to help them deal with their feelings and adjust to their new families.

In most international adoptions, the child is of a different race or culture and adoptive families need to be prepared for dealing with such issues.

Some adoptive families will face different attitudes from their relatives and the community towards those who are culturally or racially different. Both you and your adopted child also need to be prepared for inquiries from others (often inquisitive strangers) about the child's origins and adoption. It's also important to recognize that children of an interracial adoption will face struggles with their identity in their teen years. That's why it's very important for the child's adoptive family to teach their child about his or her country of origin and instill a pride in his/her culture. It's important for the family to learn about and honour and incorporate some of the child's culture into their family life.

When hiring a licensed private adoption agency, it's important adoptive parents do their research and ensure that the agency they choose has a good reputation, reasonable policies and payment schedules, as well as staff who are compassionate and knowledgeable. The agency you choose is ultimately responsible for the total management of your adoption process until the adoption is completed and your child safely enters Manitoba.

Your licensed agency is also responsible for arranging the preparation and submission of follow up reports where required by the child's country of origin.

STEP 1: Decision making! First and foremost, you need to choose the country from where you want to adopt. Each country has its own expectations of potential adoptive parents. For example, some countries require adoptive parents include a psychological report or that the applicant(s) be of a certain age or married for a set period of time. A licensed international adoption agency will be able to assist you in this area.

STEP 2: Contact the Department of Health and Social Services and fill out the required application forms, complete medical and police checks as well as get three reference letters of non-relatives for each person. You will also be required to supply a photo of your home and family. Forms and paperwork should be promptly submitted to the Director of Adoption.

STEP 3: The Home Study Report. Once your application and supporting documents have been received and reviewed, the Director will then request Health and Social Services' local office to conduct a homestudy for your family. Nunavut has its own homestudy format and a licensed social worker will meet with your family for several interviews. Topics covered will include your relationship with your spouse and extended family, your home and community, hobbies and interests, your childhood, parenting expectations and views on fostering and adoption. Once your worker has gathered enough information based on your meetings, he/she will write the homestudy report and make recommendations about the type of child who would best fit with your family. Your homestudy will be submitted to the Director of Adoption for review and approval.

STEP 4: Hire an Adoption Agency. Since there are no licensed private adoption agencies in Nunavut, you will have to employ the services of a licensed agency from a province like Ontario or British Columbia. A directory of licensed international adoption agencies can be found in each province's section on this web site.

STEP 5: Adoption Dossier. A dossier refers to the paperwork requested by the child's country of origin. Your home study report is just one of the many documents that will be included in your dossier. Your adoption agency will work with your family to collect and complete all of the necessary authentications and translations and to ensure your dossier is complete. During this time, prospective adoptive parents should also be researching the processes of Citizenship and Immigration to Canada.

STEP 6: Wait for a match! Once your dossier has been completed and forwarded to the child's country, you'll wait a period of time for a child to be referred as a match for your family. Once your adoption agency and Nunavut's Director of Adoption have reviewed and approved the referral, you will be able to review the referral. (Sometimes, a country will send the child proposal directly to the Director of Adoption, and the Director presents the the child to your family.)

A referral for a child contains the child's description, a photograph (and maybe a video) as well as the child's medical and social histories. Your adoption agency's professionals will be on hand to review the information with you and discuss any concerns or issues in the referral. If there are any concerns, you should do some research and consult with professionals like your family doctor or a pediatrician.

STEP 7: You will be asked to submit a Letter of Acceptance/Decline to your agency who will then forward it to the Central Authority in the child's country of origin. If you decline the referral, your agency will request that the country refer another child. If you accept the referral, your agency will forward the Letter of Acceptance to the child's country.

STEP 8: Adoptive parents are responsible for their child’s entry into Canada. As of December 23, 2007, families can now choose from two processes: citizenship or immigration. Detailed information can be found here about Citizenship and Immigration Canada. For more information regarding immigration issues, contact Citizenship and Immigration Toll Free at: 1-888-242-2100

STEP 9: Travel! Your child's country will advise you and your agency on when you can travel to pick up your child. Depending on the country, you may be required to spend a certain amount of time in the country. During this time, you will be able to bond with and form attachments to your child as well as learn more about their heritage/culture. In most cases, you will also attend a court session where the adoption will be finalized.

STEP 10: Post-Placement. Once you've returned home with your child, your family will be required to submit post-placement reports to the child's country of origin and Nunavut's Director of Adoption. Most countries require that a social worker submit these reports which detail the child's safety and well-being, as well as include several photographs. These post-placement reports are often mandatory and some countries require the family to continue sending reports about the child(ren) on their own for several years (sometimes until the child is 18 years of age).