Criteria for adopting from Russia
There are more than one million children in Russian orphanages and of those over 700 thousand are available for adoption.
Russia, or the Russian Federation (as it is officially called), is the world's largest country and is an independent republic in eastern Europe and northern Asia. It spans 11 time zones and nearly half of the circumference of the Earth.
Since the break of the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) in 1991, Russia has permitted foreign citizens to adopt their children.
There is a state controlled international adoption system in place which ensures the safety and legitimacy of the children available for inter-country adoption and makes Russia one of the leading countries that place adoptive children.
Each year more and more Russian children find their forever families in the UK and according to initial 2010 statistics almost half the UK';s inter-country adoptions for last year were from Russia.
Russia is made up of 46 regions which each have their own charter and regulations and thus some regions will permit adoptions to the UK, where others do not. These are not fixed and change from time to time as political parties in the region shift and change.
To be able to adopt from Russia you need to be able to fulfil both the requirements of the UK and the Russian Federation:
Marital requirements
Russia accepts both married couples and single applicants to adopt.
There is no restrictions on the length of time you have been married or how many marriages between you.
Single men are legally permitted to adopt, although in practice this very rarely happens.
Age Requirements
There are no age requirements for married couples.
For single applicants there must be a minimum 16 year age difference between the prospective parent and the prospective child.
There is an unofficial guideline that adoptive mothers should be no more than 45 years older than the child they wish to adopt. There is no limit on the age of the prospective father. This is taken on a case by case basis and is in no official way enforced.
Residency Requirements
There are no requirements to reside in the country for inter-country adoptions from Russia
Prospective adoptive parents will have to travel to Russia at least twice during the adoption process.
Income Requirements
There are no income requirements for inter-country adoptions from Russia although you must show documentary evidence that you will financially be able to look after the child.
Health Requirements
To adopt from Russia, you need to be physically and emotionally fit. If you have tuberculosis (active and chronic), an illness of the internal organs or nervous system, dysfunctional limbs, some infectious diseases, are drug and alcohol addictive, suffer psychiatric disorders or face any disability that prevents you from working - you may be disqualified from adopting.
Same sex couples
Same sex couples are not eligible to adopt from Russia
Second adoption and or siblings
Russia welcomes the adoption of siblings at the same time as well as second and third adoptions on non related children.
CHILDREN who can be adopted internationally
Russian children must meet specific requirements before they are eligible for international adoption. You cannot adopt a specific child in Russia unless he or she is off the Central Data Base.
The Russian government maintains a data base of children without parental care. Under Russian law, a child must be registered first on the local databank for one month and the regional databank for one month before their information is filed in the Federal databank.
If no Russian families come forward to domestically adopt the child within the following six months, the child then becomes eligible for inter-country adoption.
Thus a child is released off the data base after eight months of being registered. There is no restriction as to the age of a child on registration thus the minimum age a child becomes available for inter-country adoption is 9 months although in reality they are more likely to be one year plus.
