Start your adoption journey with us
If you can provide a safe, stable, loving home for a child, chances are you can adopt.
UK Law
Under the Adoption and Children Act 2002 any person who is habitually resident in the UK must:
• be assessed by a registered adoption agency which can be a local authority (LA) or an independent adoption agency (PdB Foundation) and approved as suitable to adopt
• receive from the Department for Education a Certificate of Eligibility confirming that:
a) they have been assessed and approved in accordance with Adoption
Agencies Regulations 2005
b) if an adoption order is granted in the overseas country, subject to the
immigration requirements, the child will be allowed to enter and remain in
the UK
Get in touch for your adoption pack. We will support you through to the completion of your adoption.
Requirements
- You need to be between the ages of 25 to 55 when starting your adoption process with us (if you are over 45, you are strongly encouraged to adopt in the older age group of kids)
- You must hold a UK passport and have a permanent home (resided at least 2 years)
- You can adopt if you are employed or self-employed
- You must pass the extensive DBS-Check and not have any crimes including sexual, violent or drug offenses
- Medical conditions that do not impact on the applicants’ suitability as adoptive parents will not generally preclude applicants from adopting
- Prospective adopters are welcome whether they are single, married or in a long-term live-in relationship.
- We would expect that if you were in a live-in relationship that you have lived together for at least 1 year at point of application and for there to be evidence that it was a stable and enduring relationship.
Adopted children have often experienced considerable disruption in their lives and ensuring that your situation is stable is an important part of the assessment.
- A child moving in with their family can challenge any relationship so there would need to be evidence that you have managed a variety of situations together.
- We also welcome applications from single people who have support from family, friends, or communities.
After matching with your child
After matching with your child
Once matched, you are required to visit the child in their own country and confirm in writing that you’ve visited them and want to proceed with the adoption.
You can request to have one of our companions with you.
(£2200 per companion)
Local Regulations
After matching with your child
You may need to go through local regulations and processes in the country you’re adopting from.
An assigned companion can help you understand these better and smoothen the transition.
Fees
Fees
We charge a non-refundable fee of £4800 for processing an application to adopt a child from overseas.
The fee includes case management but does not include legalisation, notarisation or translation costs.
Keep in mind that you can opt to have one or more companions with you through out your journey which will be £2200 per companion.
Moving to another country after adoption
If you’ve adopted a child – either in the UK or overseas - and then travel or move to a third country, the adoption may not be recognised in that country.
If you have any doubts you should get independent legal advice.
Staying in touch with birth family
The vast majority of children will remain in touch with their birth families.
This could be sending and receiving letters on a regular basis once or twice a year, engaging in a virtual way on a virtual communication platform or for some children it will be ‘in person’ arrangements.
Research has shown that adopted children need to stay in touch to have a healthy sense of their identity and that it does in fact strengthen the relationship with the adopters.
All adopters need to be open to some type of arrangements for staying in touch with people from the child’s past.
That could be birth parents, siblings living elsewhere or other relatives.
Taking time off work
We recommend that at least one adopter has time off work following a child moving in with their family.
A child will need time to build a relationship with their new family and it will take time for them to feel safe and secure.
It is difficult to say how long this will take but 12 months is not unusual.
If an older child is moving in with their family and attends school, then after a period of settling in it may be possible to work and still be there for the child at either end of the school day.
Our Countries of Adoption
eSwatini (formerly Swaziland) 🇸🇿
Namibia 🇳🇦
Mozambique 🇲🇿
Zambia 🇿🇲
The Hague Convention
Protection of Children and Co-operation in respect of Intercountry Adoption
We work within the international framework of the Hague Convention.
Whether you will require a visa to bring the child back into the UK will depend upon your nationality.
This will also determine whether you can apply for a British passport for the child in South Africa.
In general, if you are a British Citizen, and you are habitually resident in the UK and a full convention order is granted, then you will not require a visa and can apply for a British Passport for the child via the British Consulate:
South Africa, in Pretoria
Namibia, in Windhoek
eSwatini, in Mbabane
Zambia, in Lusaka
Adoption Support following Placement
Following the child/ren's arrival in the UK our team undertakes a home visit to meet with you and your child/ren and to assess their integration into the family within three months of you returning to the UK.
Follow up reports are required for 3
years at the following intervals:
First two years: Two reports per year
Third year: Final report
A lot of children will have suffered some form of neglect or abuse prior to coming into your household and therefore may have health, emotional, or behavioural challenges as a result. A lot of patience and understanding will be required from you and your family.
Many of our children are of black or mixed heritage so transracial and transcultural families need to keep in mind all of the potential additional challenges that your child could encounter when joining your family.