VIDA -
Lithuania
Recognizing that the child for the full and
harmonious
development of his or her personality should grow up in a family
environment, in a atmosphere of happiness, love and understanding.” (UN
Convention of the Rights of the Child,
Preamble)
Intercountry adoption in Lithuania is regulated by
the
Hague Convention of 1993 on Protection of Children and Cooperation in
Respect of Intercountry Adoption and legal acts of the Republic of
Lithuania.
Lithuania distinguishes its adoption program as a
program for children, which closely adheres to the International
declaration of the Rights of Children. Therefore adoption is viewed
positively.
The Adoption Agency, under the Ministry of Social
Security and Labour, acting as Central Authority in accordance with the
Hague Convention is responsible for organizing intercountry adoption in
Lithuania. The Agency aims at coordinating the activity of the regional
(town) municipal children rights protection agencies including the
protection of the children’s rights and lawful interests in the field
of adoption, as well as organization of intercountry adoption.
The Children
The majority of children placed through this
program are
12-24 months old at time of assignment. Average processing time is one
year after the papers are registered and the family is assigned a
registration number. Families 25-50 are preferred. A family
can
be considered for more than one child if they are siblings or it is in
the best interest of the children to be placed together. Children live
in government-run orphanages in various regions throughout Lithuania.
Families who will consider children 5 or over or
infants
and toddlers with minor correctable problems generally are given
priority.
The adoption of the child shall be established
only for
those children inscribed in the registry (list) of children for
adoption. Only under-aged children, not less than three months old,
shall be allowed adoption (Lithuania families only). Foreign families
may adopt a child on the condition that the application to adopt or
take foster care has not been received from Lithuanian families within
the period of 6 months from the moment the child was entered into the
waiting list. Thus the children referred for Foreign families are 10
months of age and older.
Who is eligible?
Adopters must be adults of both sexes up to the
age of
fifty, properly prepared to adopt a child. The court may give the
permission to adopt the child for persons who are older than the
established age in exceptional cases.
Only spouses shall have the right to adopt. Single
person or one of the spouses shall be allowed to adopt the child only
in the exceptional cases.
- Unmarried couples are not eligible.
- Lithuania Adoption Procedures:
The main purpose of adoption is to protect
interests of the adoptable child providing him/her with the loving
family.
According to the Lithuanian laws citizens of
foreign
countries may adopt children from Lithuania only if the country they
live in has ratified the Hague Convention or if the legal procedure for
adoption in his native country meets the requirements fixed by the
Hague Convention. United States citizens are therefore eligible.
Prospective parents must register before beginning
any
adoption proceedings. The application can be written in your language,
with the translation into Lithuanian. The translation is generally done
in Lithuania. The application is registered according to the
application receiving date. The representatives of the prospective
adoptive parents registers on their behalf, with a power of attorney.
At the time of registration, prospective adoptive parents provide a
statement in which they specify the age, health condition, sex or other
qualities they are seeking in an adopted child. Along with the
statement, prospective adoptive parents must present a legalized
dossier.
Once the documents are registered, the family will
receive a referral in approximately one year from the date of
registration unless the case is prioritized because the family will
consider minor correctable problems or older children. The Lithuania
Adoption Agency enters foreign families into the waiting list according
to the date of the submission of the complete set of documents.
Approximately one year from this date, or sooner
if the
child is older or has a correctable problem, the Lithuania Adoption
Agency informs the Representative of the prospective adopters about the
possibility to adopt a specific child. A report on the child includes
information about child background, health state, life history,
parents, etc.
Citizens of foreign countries meet with the
proposed
adoptable child. The Adoption agency issues a special permission for
meeting a particular child. During this trip the family will affirm
their interest to adopt the child. The representative will then request
a court date.
If the citizens of foreign countries agree to
adopt
proposed child, they inform the Adoption agency. They must also submit
a permission issued by their state authority on the adoption of a
particular child, the confirmation that their country will recognize
the adoption of the particular child and assurance that the official
permission to enter the country and reside in it permanently will be
issued to the child.
Note: Throughout
the process your representative handles
the transfer of documents through the various government offices and to
the official in charge of the orphanage. A court date can be set after
this processing and verification of documents occurs. Therefore several
months will pass before a court date is given-Approximately 3 months.
After seeing the child and making your
declaration, you
then return home to wait. Only after all steps or review are completed,
a court date is set. After the court hearing (your second trip);
generally it takes 40 days to complete the process.
The decision of the court is the basis for the
Service
of Act of Civil Status to change the record of birth of the adoptive
child. One parent can remain for 40 days. Accommodations are reasonable
by US and European standards and a family may decide to stay, rather
than make a third trip.
After the judge approves the adoption and after
expiration of the 40-day period, the adoptive parent (and their
representative), present the Adoption Decree to the Vilnius Civil
Registry Office in order to obtain a new birth certificate and an
adoption certificate within the period of three working days. The
decision of the court shall be basis for the Service of Acts of Civil
Status to change the record of birth of the adoptee and to issue a new
certificate of birth. Both parents must appear at the Registry Office
with their passports and marriage certificate, or one of them must
submit the power of attorney for the other. This completes the adoption
process.
*Because all decisions of Lithuanian District
Courts are
subject to appeal to the Supreme Court within 40 days, the Adoption
Decree issued by the Vilnius District Court will not become final for
40 days. During the 40-day period, the adopted child will remain in the
custody of the institution where he or she resided prior to the
adoption hearing. After 40 days, absent any appeals from any party, the
adoption will become final.
Travel
Lithuania requires two trips for both parents.
First
trip is to meet the child referred and to agree to adopt the proposed
child.
The first trip is to visit the child referred and
the
orphanage. You travel to Vilnius, and are met by the representative and
taken to the facility where the child is residing. The whole trip
usually involves three to five working days. After registration, the
process takes an average of 12 months to referral.
Approximately 3-6 months later the second trip
occurs.
The adoptive parents receive a court date and are required to appear at
court. There is a 40 day period for the administrative procedures to be
completed before the family will receive the final adoption order and
have permission to apply for the visa to bring the child home.
While it may add to the expense and inconvenience
of the
adoption process initially, we strongly suggest that both parents
attend the adoption hearing and that both return to complete the
immigration visa process in Vilnius and Warsaw. In the case of a
married couple, both parents must see the child before the US visa can
be issued if the child is to be considered adopted abroad.
|
