About adopting a child in a non-convention country

If you are a foreigner interested in adopting a South African child, but your country has not signed the Hague convention, you can adopt through the Competent Authority or the International Social Services (ISS) in your country of residence.

What you should do

• Contact the Competent Authority or the ISS in your country of residence.
• The Competent Authority or the ISS will refer you to an accredited adoption organisation in your country for assessment and  screening to determine if you are suitable to adopt a child.
• If the adoption organisation finds you to be fit and proper to adopt, it will compile a home study report and forward it to the South African Central Authority (SACA).
• SACA will forward the report to the child protection organisation which has an adoption working agreement with the foreign agency to look for a child who  is available for adoption.
• If there is a child who is available for adoption, , the child protection organisation will compile a child study report  and forward it to SACA for approval of inter-country adoption (Article 17)
• The child protection organisation will forward the report to the foreign agency to match the child with the prospective parents.
• If you are still interested in the adoption, the Competent Authority in your country of residence or the ISS will issue Article 17, granting you permission to adopt
• The section 17 from your country’s Competent Authority or ISS will be sent to the accredited child protection organisation. The adoption agency in South Africa will inform you to travel to South Africa for the finalisation of the adoption in the children’s court.
• The court will finalise the adoption and court documents will be forwarded to SACA for verification and registration of the adoption.
• SACA will then issue the Certificate of Conformity.
  

The foreign adoption agency will provide you with after-care services for a period of five years .

Timeframe

It differs from one case to another.

How much does it cost

You must pay to an accredited child protection organisation in respect of an inter-country adoption.  Group orientation   R2250.oo per session  Interview/counselling  R250.00 per hour  Home visits     R250.00 per hour  Home study report   R500.00 per report  Court processes         R500.00 per day  Birth registration    R170.00 per hour  Administration costs   R170.00 per hour  After care services  R500.00 once-off payment  Origin enquiry/tracing  R200.00 per hour

Forms to complete

All forms are available at your nearest Department of Social Development office.

Who to contact

Toll Free Line: 0800 60 10 11