The Philippines is a country that few people in BC have adopted from however, appears to have an organized intercountry adoption process. The cost is very reasonable and families can speak with others who have completed an adoption there for first hand experience. The process appears to be quite long especially for young children. The dossier and all communication is handled through official channels as the Philippines is a Hague signatory country.
Eligibility Requirements
- Applicants must be married for at least 3 years. If one of the spouses has been divorced, the second marriage must have completed at least 5 years.
- If one spouse has had more than one divorce, they will not be considered.
- Applicants must be 27 years of age and able to care for their dependents. There must be at least 16 years age difference between the child and adoptive parent.
- Applicants must have religious affiliations to a church for at least 5 years to adopt from the Philippines.
- Preference is given to Filipino applicants, however, Caucasian applicants do not appear to wait long.
- Single applicants are able to adopt from the Philippines. They must be willing to accept an older child (6 years old and up), of either gender, with minor correctable medical conditions or difficult background.
Children Available
At this time the Philippines is only accepting applicants who wish to adopt children 3 years and older (*see below). Children with special needs and sibling groups are available. The children come from private homes as well as government facilities, although everything is handled through the government Inter Country Adoption Board (ICAB). The children are mostly of pure Filipino descent but also mestizos of American, Spanish or Japanese blood.
* As of May 1, 2009 the Philippines has put a moratorium on accepting applications from parents who want to adopt children 0-2 years of age, with or without medical/developmental concerns. This moratorium is due to the large number of unmatched approved adoption applications of Prospective Adoptive Parents in that age category. ICAB has stated that it will resume accepting new applications in this category, after it has processed at least 50% of the existing families in our current list.
Waiting Period
The information profile from the Philippines states the wait to be one year after documents have been accepted by ICAB, however, we have seen waiting periods vary from 1 1/2 to 3 years.
Fees
Applicants will pay $6,000 plus post-placement reports to Hope Services. This $6,000 includes the $3,000 fee for B.C. Approval and $3,000 for the Intercountry Fee. In addition, there will be approximately $3,200 USD to the Philippines. For sibling groups, fees are charged at a reduced percentage for subsequent children. All travel costs and arrangements are the responsibility of the family. Other costs incurred include: Criminal Record Search, Medical Report, and Immigration fees. Please contact us for a complete breakdown of the fees.
Summary of Process
For detailed process information, please refer to separate form: “Overview of Steps for a Philippines Adoption”.
- Make application to Hope Services and fulfill BC requirements for legal adoption
- Provide documents to Hope Intercountry Worker to fulfill Philippine requirements
- Complete sponsorship application from Canadian Immigration.
- Your proposal will come from ICAB (Inter Country Adoption Board) in the Philippines to our office. We will contact you with the information.
- There are three post-placement reports required at 2, 4, and 6 months after arriving home with your child.
- The adoption is then finalized in Canada and a copy of the Adoption Order must be forwarded to Victoria to be sent to the ICAB.
- Adoptive parents must travel to the Philippines and are expected to stay for at least one week.