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EmailINTERCOUNTRY ADOPTION
SERBIA
March 2006
Disclaimer: The following is intended as a very general guide to assist U.S. citizens who plan to adopt a child from a foreign country
and apply for an immigrant visa for the child to come to the United States. Two sets of laws are particularly relevant: 1)
the laws of the child’s country of birth govern all activity in that country including the adoptability of individual children
as well as the adoption of children in country in general; and 2) U.S. Federal immigration law governs the immigration of
the child to the United States.
The information in this flyer relating to the legal requirements of specific foreign countries is based on public sources
and our current understanding. It does not necessarily reflect the actual state of the laws of a child’s country of birth
and is provided for general information only. Moreover, U.S. immigration law, including regulations and interpretation, changes
from time to time. This flyer reflects our current understanding of the law as of this date and is not legally authoritative.
Questions involving foreign and U.S. immigration laws and legal interpretation should be addressed respectively to qualified
foreign or U.S. legal counsel.
Prospective adoptive parents are advised to fully research any adoption agency or facilitator they plan to use for adoption
services. For U.S.- based agencies, it is suggested that prospective adoptive parents contact the Better Business Bureau
and/or the licensing office of the appropriate state government agency in the U.S. state where the agency is located or licensed.
PLEASE NOTE: Kosovo remains part of Serbia and Montenegro but is governed by the UN Mission in Kosovo. (Kosovo also has local provisional institutions of government that fall under the ultimate authority of the UN.) The United States has an office in Pristina that provides limited services to U.S. citizens in Kosovo. Immigrant visa applications for Kosovars are processed at the U.S. Embassy in Skopje, Macedonia.
PATTERNS OF IMMIGRATION OF ADOPTED ORPHANS TO THE U.S.: In Fiscal Year 2005, the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade issued just eight orphan immigrant visas. Because U.S. immigrant visa statistics for orphans do not distinguish between Kosovars and other residents of Serbia and Montenegro, it is not possible to know whether any of the children were from Kosovo.
ADOPTION AUTHORITY IN KOSOVO:
Adoption Coordinator
Social Services Division
Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare
011-038-504-604-4680 (Monday –Thursday; callers must speak Albanian)
Adoptive parents may also contact the Centers for Social Work in the municipality from where they are adopting after first establishing contact with the adoption coordinator in Pristina.
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR ADOPTIVE PARENTS: Prospective adoptive parents must first be approved to adopt by their home countries. For U.S. citizens, this means obtaining an approved I-600A from the local office of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) covering their U.S. residence.
At this time, Kosovo has not established any age or civil status requirements although it is preferred that at least one of the prospective adoptive parents be not older than 55 years. Kosovo authorities have not identified any medical ineligibilities that would disqualify prospective adoptive parents.
RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS: There are no residency requirements for intercountry adoption.
Prospective adoptive parents are advised to fully research any adoption agency or facilitator they plan to use for adoption services. For U.S.-based agencies, it is suggested that prospective adoptive parents contact the Better Business Bureau and state adoption licensing/accrediting office in the state where the agency is located.
ADOPTION FEES IN Kosovo: Authorities in Kosovo have not established any fees related to adoption services.
ADOPTION PROCEDURES:
The Center for Social Welfare (CSW) in each municipality actively searches for a Kosovar family permanently residing in Kosovo to adopt a child in need of a family. The CSW tries to find a family with the same ethnic, cultural, religious and linguistic background as the child. After efforts to locate a family in each of the 31 municipalities are exhausted, the child is then referred to the Intercountry Adoption Board for approval for the child to be adopted internationally.
Prospective adoptive parents must submit all documentation to the Social Services Division at the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, where they will be entered into a database.
Parents and children are matched based on the needs of the child. After an initial match is made, the prospective adoptive parents can communicate with their prospective adoptive child. If the match is successful, it will be reviewed and approved by the Adoption Board. After receiving Adoption Board approval, the CSW will complete adoption requirements and issue an adoption decree.
Adoptive parents are required to travel to Kosovo to complete adoption requirements such as signing documents and applying for birth certificates, etc.
DOCUMENTS REQUIRED FOR ADOPTION IN KOSOVO:
- Written request for adoption – signed by both spouses;
- Marriage certificate;
- Birth certificate for each spouse;
- Identification document (true copy of ID and passport, issued by State or Federal government agency) for both spouses;
- Proof of Nationality;
- Medical certificate regarding health condition and adoption capability – for both spouses, i.e. general health, illnesses that might impact on ones ability to care for a child;
- Evidence of economic condition (i.e. property ownership, bank statements);
- Letter of employment and with salary or income information (for both spouses, if applicable);
- Statement from local police authorities that applicants have no criminal record;
- Certificate from a competent authority certifying that parental rights have never been taken away from either spouse;
- Home Study by competent adoption authority in the parents’ place of residence.
Note: All documents must be translated into Albanian or Serbian depending on the child’s nationality.
The documentation noted above should be original and not older than 6 months.
All documents must be translated into Albanian or Serbian (depending on the place of origin for the child). If a child’s
nationality is unknown, then documents only need to be translated into Albanian.
AUTHENTICATING U.S. DOCUMENTS TO BE USED ABROAD: The language describing the process of authenticating U.S. documents to be used abroad is currently under review. Please click on the following link for more information until the new language is finalized. http://travel.state.gov/passport/get/get_840.html
SERBIAN AND MONTENEGRIN EMBASSY AND CONSULATES IN THE UNITED STATES:
U.S. IMMIGRATION REQUIREMENTS
Prospective adopting parents are strongly encouraged to consult U.S. CSI publication M-249, The Immigration of Adopted and Prospective Adopting Children, as well as the Department of State publication, International Adoptions. The U.S. CSI publication is available at the U.S. CSI Web site. The Department of State publication International Adoptions can be found on the Bureau of Consular Affairs Web site, http://travel.state.gov, under “International Adoptions.”
Before completing an adoption abroad, adoptive parents are strongly encouraged to read the flyer How Can Adopted Children Come to the United States at http://travel.state.gov for the requirements for filing I-600 petitions for orphans adopted by U.S. citizens.
APPLYING FOR A VISA FOR YOUR CHILD AT THE U.S. EMBASSY IN MACEDONIA: Immigrant visas for Kosovar residents are issued at the U.S. Embassy in Skopje, Macedonia. Please visit the web site for the U.S. Embassy in Skopje, Macedonia for information on how to apply for an immigrant visa for your adopted child at http://skopje.usembassy.gov/ The Embassy is located at:
bul. Ilinden bb 1000
Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
Tel:+389 2311- 6180
Fax:+ 389 2 3213-767
Email: consularskopje@state.gov
U.S. OFFICE IN KOSOVO:
Dragodan-Arbëria, Nazim Hikmet 30, Pristina
Tel: + 381 38 549 516
Fax: + 381 38 548 614
e-mail: consularpristina@state.gov
http://pristina.usmission.gov
ACQUIRING U.S. CITIZENSHIP: The language describing the acquisition of U.S. citizenship for adopted children is currently under review. Until the new language is finalized, please click on the following link for further information. http://travel.state.gov/family/adoption/info/info_457.html
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Specific questions about adoption in Kosovo may be addressed to the U.S. Office in Kosovo. General questions regarding international adoption may be addressed to the Office of Children’s Issues, U.S. Department of State, CA/OCS/CI, SA-29, 4th Floor, 2201 C Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20520-4818, toll-free Tel: 1-888-407-4747.
Useful information is also available from several other sources:
- Telephone:
- Toll Free - For information on international adoption of children and international parental child abduction, call Overseas Citizens Services at 1-888-407-4747. This number is available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays). Callers who are unable to use toll-free numbers, such as those calling from overseas, may obtain information and assistance during these hours by calling 1-317-472-2328.
- U.S. Department of State Visa Office - recorded information concerning immigrant visas for adopting children, (202) 663-1225.
- DHS Citizenship and Immigration Services - recorded information for requesting immigrant visa application forms, 1-800-870-FORM (3676).
- Internet:
- Adoption Information Flyers: the Consular Affairs web site, at: http://travel.state.gov/ contains international country adoption information flyers like this one and the International Adoptions brochure.
- Country Specific Information: The State Department has general information about hiring a foreign attorney and authenticating documents that may supplement
the country-specific information provided in this flier. In addition, the State Department publishes Country Specific Information
for every country in the world, providing information such as location of the U.S. Embassy, health conditions, political situations,
and crime reports. If the situation in a country poses a specific threat to the safety and security of American citizens that
is not addressed in the CSI for that country, the State Department may issue a Travel Alert alerting U.S. citizens to local
security situations. If conditions in a country are sufficiently serious, the State Department may issue a Travel Warning
recommending that U.S. citizens avoid traveling to that country. These documents are available on the Internet <http://travel.state.gov > at http://travel.state.gov or by calling the State Department's Office of Overseas Citizen Services Toll Free Hotline at
1-888-407-4747. This number is available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal
holidays). Callers who are unable to use toll-free numbers, such as those calling from overseas, may obtain information and
assistance during these hours by calling 1-317-472-2328.
- US CSI web site - http://uscis.gov/
