Adoption
When you adopt a child, you take legal responsibility for the child even though they are not your biological child. Adopting a child means that someone else is now legally responsible for raising your child.
You can adopt a child from your own family (for instance, a cousin), your partner’s child, or a stranger. Either a child from the Netherlands or one from another nation can be adopted.
Adoption can take four various forms: closed adoption, open adoption, adoption abroad, and adoption within the country.
Who can adopt?
- individuals with Dutch nationality or whose primary residence is in the Netherlands; a man and a woman, or a couple that consists of two men and two women. You must have been living together for at least three years prior to the request, and you must have taken care of and raised the child together for one year. Whether the partners are wed or not is irrelevant.
- You are eligible to apply for adoption if you live with the woman who gives birth. This can be carried out either before or after the baby is born.
- an individual female or male. If you have taken care of and raised the child for a year, you can begin the adoption process.
There must be a minimum age gap of 18 years between the adoptive parent and the child, and the adoptive parent must be at least 18 years old. Only those who possess the required social and psychological traits are eligible to adopt a kid. A judgment from the court is required to validate this. The adoption requires the agreement of children 12 and older.
The procedure
You must file a request with the court in order to ask for adoption or to have one recognized. A lawyer will be required.
The process entails a number of procedures and is subject to a number of regulatory restrictions. It typically takes between three months and more than a year. This depends on the complexity of the situation, such as whether foreign documents are required.
The process for adopting a child you do not know differs from the process for adopting a child you already know (such as a family member or the child of your spouse).
When does a foreign country’s law apply?
To determine whether adoption is legal, the Dutch judge will apply either Dutch law or the legislation of another nation.
The legislation of that nation will be used when both parties have the same nationality or have their primary home in the same nation. For instance, if both you and your partner are citizens of the US, US law will be followed.
Dutch law will be used where one or both partners are Dutch nationals or have their primary home in the Netherlands.
How to adopt a child from another country?
Through Foundation Adoption Service, a request to adopt a child from another country is made. Additionally, this organization provides potential adoptive parents with general information about adoption through the distribution of pamphlets and the planning of informational evenings. The entire adoption process can be divided into nine parts, starting with the application and ending with the kid joining the family. A Dutch kid is adopted through a court, where the adoption petition is also filed.
After adoption
The parents must register the child with the civil registry [Burgerzaken] in the municipality where they live no later than five days after arriving in The Netherlands.
Finding assistance after the adoption is vital to many adoptive parents. Utilize all the resources at your disposal, whether they be other adoptive families, support groups, advocacy organizations, your religious or community services, or anything else.