Overview

What’s Involved in Adopting a Child From Georgia?

In 2002, Americans adopted 56 children from the Republic of Georgia. However, on September 25, 2003, Republic of Georgia President Eduard Shevardnadze signed amendments to the Georgian adoption law mandating a minimum six-month waiting period between the time that a child is relinquished for adoption and the time that he can be approved for an international adoption. Georgia adoption law is currently being revised and the information given below is based on pre-2003 procedures.

In order to adopt a child in Georgia, the following procedures must be followed:

A mother who wishes to give up her child for adoption must contact a public notary on her own initiative to relinquish her child. By law, she must wait 6 weeks after the birth to formally give up her child.
A child relinquished for adoption is frequently placed with a private foster family while an adoptive family is located and the adoption proceedings take place. These are unofficial foster parents. The Georgian Ministry of Education does maintain a list of authorized foster parents, and usually children from institutions are placed in these limited spaces. Currently, U.S. adoption agencies working in Georgia are placing children in private homes. Many American adoptive parents meet these informal foster parents they travel to Georgia to complete their adoption. The consular section of the American Embassy recommends adopting parents confirm on which date their child has been placed in foster care.
After a parent-child match has been made, the adopting parents’ dossier must be submitted to the Ministry of Education in order to obtain that office's statement consenting to the adoption. It usually takes 2 to 3 weeks of documentation review before the Ministry issues the statement of adoption consent, although the length of this process can fluctuate.
After obtaining authorization from the Ministry of Education, the dossier must be submitted to the Regional Court that has jurisdiction over the child’s residence. (Note: No single Regional Court handles all adoption proceedings for Georgia.) A court session will be scheduled in the following weeks.
All the procedures prior to this stage may be conducted by the adoption agency without the presence of the adoptive parents. However, the adopting parents must be present at the court session.
After the court has approved the adoption, copies of all the documentation are taken to the regional registration department, where the new birth certificate and the adoption certificate are issued. The adopting parents must be present for this. A new Georgian passport, based on the new birth certificate, will be issued for the child.

In a Nut Shell

Children Available: Healthy children, both boys and girls, from six months of age are available for adoption from Georgia. Older children and special needs children are also available for adoption.

Parent Requirements: Married couples, single men, and single women may adopt from Georgia. Parents must be at least 25 years old and at least 16 years older than the child to be adopted.

Travel Requirements: Both parents must travel to Georgia. One trip is required, with about two weeks spent in Georgia.

Time Frame: Child referrals usually happen about three months after your dossier is received in Georgia. Once you accept a referral, it takes about eight weeks before you are invited to travel to Georgia to bring your child home.

Number of Children Adopted by Americans in 2002: 56

Additional Information: Many of the children available for adoption from Georgia are in foster care.

Credits: The International Adoption Guidebook, © Mary M. Strickert