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Costa Rica Adoption

Currently in Costa Rica, adoption requirements and standards are being reviewed to comply with The Hague Adoption Convention, in order to make adoption procedures safer and more reliable. Costa Rica is studying to eliminate adoptions arranged by attorneys (known as Private Adoptions) after several fraudulent cases were discovered. For this, the Costa Rican National Council on Adoptions strongly discourages private adoptions. Many people may see these new guidelines as too strict, but they are necessary to protect the child and prospective parents from scams and fraud that could hurt them both. These actions were taken to avoid many issues such as fake agencies forging documents and offering abducted or non-existent children for adoption and scamming hopeful prospective parents throughout the world. This will help minimize child abuse, abduction and illegal human trade.
To adopt a child in Costa Rica you will need to visit the country personally for an extended period of time while you complete the necessary legal requirements. We can help you during this process by arranging your accommodations in Costa Rica, you may also contact our In-House lawyer for further information regarding requirements, adoption time frame, laws and any other legal advice you may need.
The following steps are necessary for anyone interested in adopting a Costa Rican child, in addition to fulfilling the Costa Rica adoption requirements:

Meet the child

• Present formal consent for the adoption at the family court.

• Obtain a decree of abandonment from the legal guardians of the child.

• Obtain a certified copy of the final adoption decree from the family court

• Register the adoption at the local Civil Registry

• Obtain a birth certificate from the Civil Registry with the new name of the child

• Obtain PANI* [1] authorization for the child to leave the country

• Obtain a passport for the child.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR ADOPTIVE PARENTS

1. Prospective adoptive parents must be at least 25 and under 60 years of age and if currently married it should be for at least 5 years.

2. Single parents are eligible.

3. Both prospective adoptive parents (or the parent in case the candidate is single) must be in the country to sign the official consent documents before the Costa Rican court.This initial process can take at least 15 days.

4. At the end of the process, one of the adoptive parents, or the sole parent if it is a single parent adoption, must be in Costa Rica to:

A. Finish the paperwork for the adoption

B. Obtain a travel document for the child

C. Complete emigration procedures at the corresponding international entity.

This entire process may take from 4 months to a year if all the requirements are met, but could take longer on specific cases. Currently the price range is between $5000 and $10000.
The best way to go about international adoptions is to fully research any adoption agency or facilitator you plan to use for adoption services. For U.S based agencies, to contact the Better Business Bureau and licensing office of the Department of Health and Family Services in the state where the agency is located, you can do so at National Adoption at http://naic.acf.hhs.gov/general/nad/index.cfm. You may also want to contact the U.S. Embassy in San Jose Costa Rica to make sure if the agency or facilitator has been the subject of an investigation brought to the attention of the Embassy.

Please be aware that all the information provided may change depending on the resolutions of the Hague Convention. Please feel free to contact our Lawyers for legal aid at any time.