Full adoption

What is full adoption?

Adoption is complete when relations are established between the adopted person and his descendants /children and grandchildren/ and the adopter and his relatives, as between true relatives.

Who can be adopted in full adoption?

• in order to be adopted, a person must not have reached the age of 18 when the application for adoption is submitted;

• the adopted person must be at least 15 years younger than the adopter;

• the adoptee must be registered in the register of children for full adoption;

• the adopter must be registered in a national register of adopters for full adoption.

What does the adopter need to do?

Anyone who wishes to adopt a child under the conditions of full adoption must submit an application to the "Social Assistance" Directorate at their permanent address for permission to be entered in the register of persons for full adoption. For its part, the "Social Assistance" Directorate conducts a social survey on the suitability of the person to adopt a child. If the person who wishes to adopt a child has received permission from the "Social Assistance" Directorate, he is entered in the register ex officio.

How long is the permission to enter an adopter in the full adoption register valid for?

The permit is issued for a period of two years, after which it is necessary to apply again by submitting an application to the "Social Assistance" Directorate.

How is adoption allowed?

1. In order to allow the adoption of a child, the consent of:

• the adopter;

• parents of adoptees;

• the spouses of the adopter and the adoptee;

• adoptions if he has reached the age of fourteen.

or

2. in order to allow the adoption of a child, only an opinion can be given when:

• has a guardian or trustee;

• the parents are minors, placed under limited guardianship or deprived of parental rights;

• the spouses of the adopter and the adoptee are placed under limited guardianship.

The consent or opinion may be given directly before the court or by a written declaration that is notarized.

Can adoption consent be withdrawn?

The biological parent can withdraw his previously given consent for full adoption with an application with notarization of the signature until an application for adoption is submitted, respectively until consent for adoption is given by the Council on International Adoption. This Application is submitted to the Social Assistance Directorate with a copy to the Regional Social Assistance Directorate.

It is also possible for a child to be adopted without the express consent of the parent, when the same parent permanently does not take care of him and does not provide maintenance or brings him up in a harmful way.

How is an adopter defined in a full adoption?

An Adoption Council is established at the Regional Directorate for Social Assistance, which, within one month from the entry of the child in the register, determines suitable adopters for him in accordance with the order of entry of the adopters in the register, the preferences expressed by them, as well as the circumstances relevant to the child's interest .

The Regional Social Assistance Directorate notifies the first suitable adopter in writing and provides him with the child's data, after which the Social Assistance Directorate at the child's current address provides assistance in establishing personal contact.

The adopter has a period of one month from the receipt of the notification, in which he can submit an application for adoption to the District Court at the location of the regional directorate, through the regional directorate.

The Directorate, for its part, sends the application for adoption together with the file within three days of receipt.

What happens when the offer is rejected?

In the event that the notified adopter refuses the offer in writing or does not submit an application for adoption to the court, the regional directorate for social assistance notifies the next suitable adopter within 14 days. The act of refusing or not submitting an application to the court is recorded in the National Register of Adopters for full adoption.

The adoption of the child is allowed by the court if it is in his interest.

The decision is announced at the court session and after its entry into force is sent ex officio to the municipality at the permanent address of the adopter, as well as to the relevant regional directorate for social assistance, and when the adopter is a foreigner - to the Capital Municipality and the Ministry of Justice.