Step-by-step adoption procedure in Bulgaria:
- The Swedish agency will send us the dossier with all the required registration documents.
- Once the dossier has been received and translated, our team will submit it to the Bulgarian Ministry of Justice along with an initial application. Then, the candidates will be enrolled in a Register, which is effectively a waiting list for adoptive parents. This enrolment should take place within 2 months of FNA receiving the documents, provided they are in the proper form.
- The waiting period for a child proposal is counted from the enrolment in the Register and will vary in each case. The timeframe depends on the children currently available (e.g. age, gender, health condition) and the candidates on the waiting list (overall preferences, desired age, number of candidates).
- The Adoption Council will review applications by order of enrolment, and will match candidates to appropriate children. Once a proposal has been made, the “Child Proposal” pack of documents will be received by FNA and will be translated and passed on to the candidates. It will include a Child Proposal Certificate, a full-length photo and detailed report about the child.
- The next step is for the candidates to meet the child. This will take place in the course of 5 working days, during which a specialist from our team will accompany and provide support to the candidate-adopters.
- If the candidate-adoptive parents refuse to adopt the child, the waiting period starts over again. However, they may keep their place in the line if they have not been informed about significant health problems of the child, if the proposed child’s characteristics clearly do not match the family’s initial wish and in case the candidates have applied for a child with a special need and have subsequently decided not to adopt them.
- If the candidate-adoptive parents agree to adopt the child, they will have to sign the relevant documents given by FNA – usually while here in Bulgaria. To proceed further, a “Certificate of consent for proceeding with the adoption” issued by the the Social Welfare Committee. Then, we will submit the documents to the Bulgarian Ministry of Justice for the issuanse of the final consent of the Minister of Justice.
- The dossier will then be sent to Sofia City Court and an attorney-at-law from our team will represent the candidate-adoptive parents in court as well as perform all procedural actions until the court decree enters into power.
- When the adoption decree becomes effective (7 days after the judgement is enacted), FNA will help obtain a Certificate of Completion, a new birth certificate and passport of the child.
- The adoptive parents will then have to travel to Bulgaria to pick up their child and finalize the passport issuing procedure. They will travel back home afterwards.
- FNA will need six post-adoption reports on the child’s development and well-being within the course of 3 years after adoption.
Required Documents
- “Certificate of consent” issued by the Social Welfare Committee;
- “Certificate” (stating that the candidate-adoptive parents have not been prohibited to exercise their parental rights) issued by the Family Law secretary at the regional Social Administration;
- “Social Report” prepared by a social worker at the municipal Social Welfare Committee
- In case the home study report is issued more than one year prior to submission, an updated HS report or a document, confirming that there are no significant changes in the circumstances, described in the HS report is required;
- “Medical Certificates” for both candidates; In the medical certificate, the doctor's signature and seal have to be notary certified (so the notary's seal, signature,etc. should practically follow the doctor's signature on the medical certificate).
- “Certificates of Criminal Record” for both candidates issued by the Swedish National Police Board;
- “Marital Status Certificate” (for married couples) i.e. an Extract of the Population Register issued by Swedish Tax Agency;
- “Authorization of Representation” by the candidate-adoptive parents to Family National Association;
- “Declaration of Information” according to Art. 20, Clause 10 of Ordinance No.2/2014;
- Declaration about the characteristics of the desired child(ren) and the applicant's motivation to adopt;
All documents must be sent in original and apostilled.
Requirements for candidates
Bulgarian legislation does not set any significant restrictions to the candidate-adoptive parents. They must be above 18 years of age, to be at least 15 years older but not more than 50 years older than the adoptee and to meet all requirements of the applicable Swedish laws.
Single candidates can also apply for adoption.
Swedish legislation requires candidate-adoptive parents to be above 25 years of age.