Child Adoption From Thailand

In addition to child adoption domestically, many prospective adoptive parents look overseas for their child adoption options. One country where foreign child adoption has grown popular in recent years is Thailand. However, the child adoption process in Thailand is fairly involved.

Child adoption from Thailand is not a simple procedure. It may take up to two full years for the processing of the Thai child adoption procedures are met. (This does not even take USA immigration child adoption laws into consideration) These statements are not designed to discourage one from taking part in Thailand’s child adoption program, it is merely provided so one can understand the process involved.

Under Thailand’s law, there are four major requirements that a foreign couple must meet in order to process a child adoption claim: The couple must be married; the couple must be at least fifteen years older than the child they wish to adopt; the couple must be at least twenty five years of age; and the couple must meet their country/state’s domestic eligibility requirements to adopt.

Additional supplementary requirements include a variety of substantiating documents (proof of citizenship, marriage, legal status, etc) must accompany all the required forms that must be submitted to the Thai Embassy and to the United States Department of State. As stated before, the child adoption procedures in Thailand are more involved than those in other countries.

Thai child adoption via the Thai government must be processed through the Child Adoption Center of the Department of Public Welfare. Private child adoption agencies are limited to the following three: the Holt Sahathai Foundation; the Thai Red Cross Foundation; and the Pattaya Orphanage.

For complete requirements and further information regarding Thai adoptions, it is recommended to contact the Department of State as it may provide the most detailed and complete answers available.