Children and adoption

Documents that should be submitted when applying for adoption of children in China

A foreigner who is to adopt a child in China shall, through the government of the country where he or she resides or an adoption organization delegated by the government of his or her host country, convey an application for adoption and submit the adopter's family situation report and a certificate to an adoption organization delegated by the Chinese government. The adopter's application for adoption, the family situation report and the certificate refer to the following documents that are issued by the competent agencies of the country where the adopter resides and, authenticated by a diplomatic department of the country where the adopter resides or by an agency authorized by the said diplomatic department, and authenticated by the embassy or consulate of the People's Republic of China stationed in that country: (1) an application for inter-country adoption; (2) a birth certificate; (3) a certificate of marital status; (4) a certificate of profession, income and property condition; (5) a certificate of health examination; (6) a certificate indicating whether the adopter has ever been subjected to criminal punishment; (7) a certificate certifying the approval of the inter-country adoption by the competent authority of the country where the adopter resides; (8) a family situation report, including the status of the adopter, the qualification and appropriateness of the adoption, family background, medical history, adoption motive and features suitable for taking care of the children.

Foreigners who have continuously lived in China for more than one year for work or study and are to adopt children in China shall submit the documents stipulated in the preceding paragraph except for the certificate of health examination, and shall also submit certificates indicating such particulars of the adopter as marital status, occupation, income or property condition and whether they have ever been subjected to criminal punishment, which are issued by the Chinese units to which they belong, and certificates of health examination issued by medical units at or above the county level.