# Adopting overseas - where do I start



## Richmar (Dec 17, 2005)

Hi, several failed treatments so have been thinking about adopting. We would like to adopt from overseas but do not know where to start and what is involved. Can anyone help? Thanks in advance.


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## superal (May 27, 2005)

Hi

If you look on the main adoption and fostering board and go to page four - there is a section about adopting overseas this may help you.

Sorry to hear your news about your failed treatments, I hope you find what you are looking for with the help of adoption.  You'll meet lots of new friends here who will help you through the process, I only wished I'd found this sight many years ago!
Love
Andrea
xx


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## Lauren (Jul 2, 2004)

Hi Richmar, 

Have sent you a personal as I picked up a posting from you on the negative board.  Hope it is a little bit helpful.

Lots of love
Lauren x


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## loulack (Nov 30, 2005)

We had failed ICSI and are about to try again but also want to explore plan b which is adopting abroad. I do think we should start a thread for people adopting abroad as there does not seem to be one. Did you find any good information?


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## superal (May 27, 2005)

Hi 

Have you looked on page 4 of the main board - when you click onto Adoption and fostering a list of new subjects come up that are popular at the moment.

If you look at the left hand side of your screen it will say pages 1,2,3,4, etc - click on page 4 and it should take you to some topics about adopting overseas, Milktray one of our members posted on one of these threads and she has listed an address to get in touch with via the internet.

Hope that makes things a bit clearer.


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## Jaybee (Jun 4, 2004)

Hi
We have also been considering adoptig overseas and I found the intercountry adoption centre (http://www.icacentre.org.uk) very good. Their advice line is particularly helpful.

Wishing you all lots of luck

Jaybee


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## van (Sep 18, 2004)

also - look at the DfES website

http://www.dfes.gov.uk/intercountryadoption/index.shtml

which has a lot of information on what to do and about the countries you can adopt from.

We are currently going through an intercountry adoption - we are hoping to adopt from China. We have recently passed panel and are now heading toward the beaurocratic nightmare of getting the papers sorted for China - if all goes well we should be heading out to China in just over a year.

We are adopting through an agency, PACT, which has regular pre-homestudy adoption courses and does the homestudy etc. 
http://www.pactcharity.org/

If there is anything I can do to help please ask!


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## roze (Mar 20, 2004)

Hello,

We are still having donor ET, but this is likely to be our last attempt. We are considering adoption, but realise we cannot start until some time after we terminate our IVF.  We have considered China. It would be helpful to know more about peoples experiences of this. Is it normal to have to wait a year before going over there, after being accepted?

would appreciate any links, also any agencies that do home studies in the London boroughs, as unfortunatelt PACT does not.

many thanks


Roze


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## van (Sep 18, 2004)

Hi Roze
We are going to China because it is a tried and tested route for intercountry adoption and there is a VERY strong post-adoption network back here in the UK.

As for the wait - unfortunately there is a lot of beaurocracy to deal with post panel.  Papers go first to the DfES for the certificate of eligibility and then China have a LOT of pre-requisites re heath checks, blood tests, financial information etc (see the China sheet on the DfES website!) and that all gets compiled and notarised before going back to DfES and the Chinese Embassy (as we aren't at that stage yet I haven't learnt why...head in sand kind of reaction   )  

After all that the papers are sent to the CCAA (I think it is China Centre for Adoption Affairs) in Beijing.  It takes about 4 months to get the paperwork to China from passing panel.  The CCAA then do the referrals for placement - it used to take about 8 months but that time seems to be lengthening at the moment, but we are all waiting to see what is happening.  

I was reassured by someone on another site who said that they had delay upon delay upon delay, but after they met their daughter it was obvious that she was meant to be with them and the delays were some paranatural way of making sure that she was matched with them!  I like that thought.

I understand that adopting from Russia is a lot quicker, but is more expensive.  I also understand that, in view of the underlying issues in Russia, babies and children adopted from there are more likely to have other problems such as fetal alcohol symdrome, whereas that is not the problem in China, where the children are abandoned as a result of the "one child policy".

I can't help re PACT though, but understand that you can ask your Local Authority to arrange the homestudy, etc.  Have you spoken to PACT, as they may be able to tell you of other agencies which can help?

All the best
Van
XX


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