Adoptions in the Dominican Republic are governed by Law #136-03. All adoptions must be done through an official Dominican government entity called CONANI (?Consejo Nacional para la Ni?ez y la Adolescencia? - National Council for Children and Adolescents). Private adoptions are not possible under the Law, unless the adoption takes place within the family. All children are assigned to the adopting parents by CONANI.
Adoptions in the Dominican Republic are ?privileged,? meaning that the adopted child will have the same rights as a biological child in his or her new family. Adoptions are also irrevocable.
The adoption process is divided in two main phases:
a. Administrative Phase: A child will be assigned to the family by CONANI upon filing and approval of the adoptive parent's adoption dossier.
b. Judicial Phase: The attorney for the adopting parents must submit a petition to the Court with all the documentation. The Court will examine the documentation to ensure that all legal requirements have been met and will approve or reject the petition. If the file is incomplete, the Court may grant the petitioner ten days to complete the file.
The general requirements for a national adoption are the following:
(1) The adopting parents must be married, having lived together as a couple for at least five years, if one of them is a foreigner, and 3 years if they are both Dominicans,
(2) The adopting parents must be at least thirty years old and no more than sixty years old.
(3) The age difference between the adopting parents and the adopted child must be at least fifteen years.
(4) The child?s parents must consent to the adoption. In case of orphans, the authorization is obtained from the Court of Children and Adolescents (?Tribunal de Ni?os, Ni?as y Adolescentes.?)
(5) The adopting parents must live with the child in the Dominican Republic for at least sixty days. This period is reduced to thirty days if the child is twelve years old or older.
(6) Children twelve years old or more must approve their own adoption.
(7) The adopting parents? biological children who are twelve years old or older must give their opinion on the adoption
Total time for the adoption procedure varies. Most cases take from nine to twelve months, depending on the how fast the required documentation is obtained and on the availability of the adopting parents. Dominican families will be preferred to non-Dominican families. For more information
For more information on Dominican Adoptions please feel free to visit Guzman Ariza's overview on the matter at
Dominican Adoptions. Even though it was prepared for international adoptions, most part of the process is very similar.
Regards,
Alfredo
