Romania: Requirements that foreigners must meet in order to be able to adopt children residing in Romanian orphanages; the circumstances under which parental consent (one or both parents) of children residing in orphanages is required before they can be adopted by foreigners; the age of majority; whether there are persons at or above the age of majority residing in orphanages and, if so, whether their consent is necessary before they can be adopted by foreigners (January 1995 - February 1999)
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 February 1999 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | ROM31089.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Romania: Requirements that foreigners must meet in order to be able to adopt children residing in Romanian orphanages; the circumstances under which parental consent (one or both parents) of children residing in orphanages is required before they can be adopted by foreigners; the age of majority; whether there are persons at or above the age of majority residing in orphanages and, if so, whether their consent is necessary before they can be adopted by foreigners (January 1995 - February 1999), 1 February 1999, ROM31089.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ab2028.html [accessed 22 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
A 24 August 1995 [Montreal] Gazette article states:
Romanian law restricts adoption to couples who have been married a minimum of three years. There can be no more than 35 years' difference between the child and the adoptive mother. International adoption agencies hold to these rules.
Most disturbing of all is the listing of Romanian orphans as 'adoptable' or 'non-adoptable' by a local committee. 'Adoptable' children are those without physical or psychological disabilities along with those who have tested negative for hepatitis and the AIDS virus. Some infants, who were perfectly healthy at birth, were forgotten and never placed on the adoption lists. Left without proper stimulation, they have never learned to walk or talk. They are now on the non-adoptable list. At home, Canadian immigration laws restrict the entry of adopted children with disabilities, though many willing Canadian couples are affluent enough to pay the adoption fee, which is $15,000 minimum, plus adoption expenses.
A 20 September 1998 Dallas Morning News article states:
The Wilkinsons already had begun proceedings for a domestic adoption through Hope Cottage Pregnancy and Adoption Center in Dallas when the agency approached them with the option of adopting a child from Romania....
That was more than a year ago, and the couple spent the next several months completing stacks of paperwork required by both the U.S. and Romanian government(everything from fingerprints and criminal background checks to proof of income and good health.
All along, the Wilkinsons were expecting to adopt just one child, and the day before Thanksgiving, the couple received a description and photos of Zane, who was 5 months old.
But soon after the eager parents agreed to adopt Zane, the Romanian government put a temporary stop to all international adoptions while it evaluated and made changes to its regulations. The couple was forced to wait and worry about Zane until April, when Romania reopened its borders to international adoption(but there was more.
A brand-new law required that families adopting a child from an orphanage also adopt any siblings of that child also living at the orphanage. And only then did the Wilkinsons learn that Zane had an older brother.
The Wilkinsons would be forced to wait until July before the adoptions could be finalized and they could be allowed to travel to Romania and bring their sons home.
In an 11 February 1999 telephone interview, the consul of the Embassy of Romania in Ottawa stated that the age of majority in Romania is 18.
No additional information on the requirements that foreigners must meet in order to be able to adopt persons residing in Romanian orphanages, nor information on the circumstances under which parental consent of children residing in orphanages is required before they can be adopted by foreigners, and whether there are persons residing at or above the age of minority in orphanages in Romania, could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
The Dallas Morning News. 20 September 1998. Amy Roquemore. "Couple Surmounts Legalities in Boys' Adoption." (NEXIS)
Embassy of Romania, Ottawa. 11 February 1999. Telephone interview with the consul.
The Gazette [Montreal]. Final Edition. 24 August 1995. Sharon Bradley. "Starved for Love. Their Clothes Are Ragged; Their Eyes, Empty. Yet Adoption Rules Are Preventing Romanian Orphans from Finding Caring Parents." (NEXIS)
Additional Sources Consulted
Electronic sources: IRB databases, Internet, NEXIS/LEXIS, REFWORLD, WNC.
Transitions [Prague]. January 1996 - October 1998.
Uncaptive Minds [New York]. Spring 1995 - Fall 1997.
Resource Centre country file on Romania. January 1995 - November 1998.
Unsuccessful attempts to contact other sources.
