January 13, 2005
INTERNATIONAL ADOPTION IN ONTARIO
The Ministry of Children and Youth Services processed 695 international adoptions in 2003
In March 2000, Ontario implemented the Intercountry Adoption Act. The act helps to ensure that children who are adopted internationally are safe and that adoptive families are not taken advantage of. Under the act, the Ministry of Children and Youth Services approves home studies of prospective parents, approves matches between children and adoptive parents and licenses adoption agencies in Ontario.
Since the act was implemented the government has collected a processing fee of $460 for international adoptions by a relative and $925 for non-relative adoptions. As of January 13, 2005, this fee will no longer be collected on any international adoptions.
Steps in adopting a child from another country:
- Under the Intercountry Adoption Act all applicants (relative and non-relative) must:
- Apply to an adoption agency licensed by the Ministry of Children and Youth Services
- Have an adoption home study completed by an approved adoption practitioner
- Apply to Citizenship and Immigration Canada to sponsor a child to be adopted
- Apply to the Canadian Embassy abroad for an immigrant visa for the child to enter Canada.
Applicants will continue to incur some expenses related to agency fees and their own travel costs, but they will no longer pay a fee to the provincial government.
- The adoption agency must:
- Submit the application to the adoption authority in the child's country of origin
- Obtain a child proposal from the foreign adoption authority.
- The Ministry of Children and Youth Services must:
- Approve the parents' "suitability and eligibility" to adopt
- Approve the child proposal where the child's country requires it
The adoption is completed in the child's country of origin. O n average, it takes about 12 to18 months from when an application is made until an international adoption is complete.
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Contacts:
Lisa Clements
Minister's Office
(416) 212-7118
Anne Machowski-Smith
Ministry of Children and Youth Services
(416) 325-5156
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