Hannah BetsonConsidering Adoption defines it as “International adoption, or intercountry adoption, is the adoption of a child from another country. These children are usually adopted from orphanages and are eligible for adoption because their birth parents were unable to care for them due to financial, legal, or emotional issues. International policies have led to a decrease in international adoptions in recent years, but it is still an entirely viable option for hopeful parents”.
If you adopt a child who lives in a country outside Ireland, the process is called intercountry adoption. If you adopt a child who is a resident of Ireland, it is called domestic adoption. Between 1992 and 2014, 1628 children were adopted from Russia by parents habitually resident in Ireland.
I conducted an interview with Deirdre Betson, who lives in Ireland, about her experience with adopting a child from Russia in 2010. Her son is one of the 1628 children welcomed into Ireland.
International Adoption in Spain
To adopt a child in Spain, you must have full civil rights. There are many stringent steps to follow, here are a few examples:
- One of the parents must be at least 25 years old.
- Both must be more than 15 years older than the adopted child.
- The social services of the respective Autonomous Community (region) will determine through a rigorous evaluation process if the family is suitable to adopt the minor. The evaluation includes a psychological and economic certificate. This includes the emotional state, maturity, nationality, or economic status of the couple, among others.
- Depending on the Autonomous Community, the mother should not be over 40 in the case of babies. Each community sets the details of the criteria, for example, in Andalusia, the difference between mother and child cannot exceed 42 years.
- Both parents must have lived together for at least two years.
