Russia

Russia has been open for international adoption for over fifteen years. There are many regions in Russia from which families can adopt. Only children who have been placed in state recognized orphanages are available for foreign adoption. There are numerous programs available to BAAS families who wish to adopt from this country.

CURRENT STATUS

As of 2 years ago, all agencies that wish to continue working in Russia have been mandated to apply for NGO accreditation with the Russian Ministry of Justice.   Over the past 10 years, Bay Area Adoption Services has developed strong working relationships with several partner agencies that are accredited by the Ministry of Education—which is the clearing department for Russian adoptions.

TYPES OF CHILDREN

Many abandoned and relinquished children are available for adoption. Sibling groups and older children are also available. All children must be residing in recognized state institutions in order to be internationally adopted.  Children 13 months and older can be adopted.  The average age of “infants” being assigned for foreign adoption is between 15-18 months.  Each child made available for foreign adoption must first have his name in the National Russian Federation Data Bank for six months and it must be determined that there is no current Russian family available for placement.  In certain regions of Russia, some background information will be available on the child.

REQUIREMENTS

• Married couples and single women only
• Must be no older than 47-48 to adopt infant

TIME LINE

A family begins by initiating their paperwork for the homestudy process with Bay Area Adoption Services, as well as eventually applying to CIS for immigration approval. Midway through this process (4 months), the family can begin compiling their dossier to send to Russia. Wait time between when dossier arrives in Russia and family is matched with a referral: 5 to 12 months for a girl; 2 to 6 months for a boy.

Family then prepares to make their first of two required trips to Russia. The 1st trip consists of 3 to 7 business days. Family returns to US and waits another 2 to 4 months for return trip. Second trip consists of 20-25 days in country.  Parents must travel to orphanage city and to Moscow.  If married, both parents must make both trips.

FEES

Fees are approximately $25,000 to $30,000 for entire process which includes: BAAS homestudy services, travel, stay in country, foreign program fee and legalizations of paperwork.

Four post placement visits with the social worker are mandatory after finalization of adoption.

Parents are also requested to have a mandatory physical exam done in Russia during the adoption process.  Physical exam fees will vary from region to region.

• Please note that this information is subject to change without notice as changes occur in government/country regulations and/or adoption procedures. For the latest information, please call BAAS directly.

• Please note that this information is subject to change without notice as changes occur in government/country regulations and/or adoption procedures. For the latest information, please call BAAS directly.