Criteria for adopting from India
India a country of 97 million people, with a quarter children growing up without parental care.
Rajkot, India's Street Kids
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India has one of the highest orphan populations in the world - 25 million in 2007 according to UNICEF. In 2006 only 3,332 adoptions (853 international, 2479 domestic) took place. HIV/AIDS is having a horrendous impact in India and it is believed that the number of parentless children will continue to rise into the foreseeable future.
www.indianorhanages.net lists 749 orphanages which are approximately half of the 1400 officially registered institutions. Other children grow up in private or charity homes and a huge majority live on the streets and in slums of the major cities.
The children are delightful and beautiful and those up to 12 years old are available for adoption from orphanages that are approved by CARA - Central Adoption Resource Agency (Indian's Adoption Authority) and through Recognised Indian Placement Agencies (RIPAs).
To adopt from Indian you must comply with both UK law and Indian law.
In India for any waiting child an effort is initially made to find an adoptive family domestically. If that is not possible, an attempt is made to place that child with a Non Resident Indian (NRI), and if no NRI parents are available, then the child can be matched with non-NRI or foreign national families.
Indian adoption law is governed by the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act 1956. Where 'Hindu' includes Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and Brahma /Arya /Prarthana Samaj. All other religious communities can only take a child in guardianship under the Guardian and Wards Act 1890 although this will be changing in 2011.
For those looking to adopt from India you must fulfil these criteria:
Marital requirements
A couple who have been married for a minimum of 2 years.
Unmarried couples will not be permitted to adopt.
Single persons (never married, divorced or widowed) may only adopt a child of the same gender. A single male is usually not eligible to be an adoptive parent. An exception to this rule is the noted Bollywood dance instructor Sandip Soparrkar, who adopted a young boy in 2007. This was an very exceptional case.
Age
To adopt a child in the 0-3 years age-group, the maximum composite age of the prospective adoptive parents (PAP) should be 90 years wherein the individual age of the PAPs should not be less than 25 years and more than 50 years.
To adopt children above 3 years of age, the maximum composite age of the PAPs should not be more than 105 years wherein the individual age of the PAPs should not be less than 25 years and more than 55.
Single applicants may not be less than 30 years of age and not more than 50 years. The maximum age will be 45 years to adopt children in the 0-3 years age group and 50 years for children above 3 years.
The age requirements may be relaxed in exceptional cases such as adoption of older children, sibling groups or children with special needs.
All PAPs should be at least 21 years older than the child who they are adopting.
Residency Requirements
CARA does not have any residency requirement when adopting, although some RIPAs (Recognised Indian Placement Agencies) require prospective adoptive parents to reside with their adopted child for seven days from the time of identifying the child to the time of leaving India.
Income Requirements
There are no income requirements for inter-country adoptions from India.
Financial Requirements
PAPs should be financially able to look after a child and this should be examined in the Home Study
Health
PAPs health should be medically fit to care for a child and this should be covered in the Home Study Report
Same sex couples
Same sex couples are not eligible to adopt from India
Second adoption
A second adoption from India will only be considered only after the legal adoption of the first child is completed, except in the case of siblings adopted at the same time.
