Russia is a country rich in history, culture and treasures. With borders longer that any other country in the World and an area covering over 6.5 million square miles. Russia stretches into two continents, Europe and Asia divided by the Ural Mountains.
Program Status: Due to changes in Russian Adoption law in Dec 2012, we are not currently accepting new applications for our Russian adoption program.
The Children:
Children available for adoption from Russia range in age from 8 months to 16 years of age. The children of Russia are as diverse as its land with about seventy-five distinct nationalities. With the influences of all of these nationalities, Russia provides a unique mix of many children. Children from Russia may be Slavic, Asian, Gipsy, or Mid-Eastern or an intriguing combination of all.
Prospective parents:
Single women and couples who have been married for at least two years can apply to adopt from Russia. Families of any size are eligible to adopt from Russia. The younger prospective parent cannot be more than 45 years older than an adoptable child, some regions do allow up to 47 years difference. Parents must be at least 16 years older than the child to be adopted. Russia also allows unrelated children to be adopted at the same time.
Trip Process:
Russia requires three trips to complete the adoption. All trips begin with arrival to Moscow where you will be met by your coordinator. Your coordinator will be traveling with you to your region of adoption and will be assisting you with the legal process. You formally accept a child on the first trip, then return home to wait for the papers to be filed in court and a court date to be set. On the second trip to Russia you legally adopt the child, receive their visa, and bring your child home. Some regions allow one parent to travel on the first trip, but both parents have to be present at the court hearing.
Timelines:
The time to adoption varies with document preparation completion, age of child, gender of child, political climate and region. The most desired child in adoption is an infant girl thus creating the longest wait. Generally there is very little wait for older children. As a general rule of thumb most adoptions are complete within one year.
