Czech Republic

Adoption contact

  • UMPOD
  • Office for International Legal Protection of Children

Adoptees

  • Children of various ages, 2 to 5 years on an average.
  • Families needed especially for children more than 4 years old.
  • Also siblings, special-needs children and children with no nationality.
  • Most of the children have minority backgrounds (incl. children of Romani background).

New applications

  • UMPOD accepts about five new applications per year.

Waiting time

  • UMPOD does not give estimates on waiting times, as the time varies depending on the content of the application, the wish concerning a child and the child’s needs. The adoption process seeks the family that is best suited for a child.

Requirements set to applicants

  • Married couples (man and woman) or single applicants.
    A single applicant can be of either gender.
  • Same-sex couples cannot adopt.
  • The age difference between the applicants and the adoptee should be about 40 years.
  • No limitations regarding the children already in a family.
  • The applicants should be in good physical and mental health.

Adoption process in Czech Republic

Compiling the documents

  • After the permit to adopt is granted, the applicants start compiling the documents according to the instructions from their adoption service.
  • The applicants acquire the necessary documents themselves, have them notarized and submit them to the intercountry adoption service.
  • All documents are translated into Czech by an authorized translator. The applicants pay the translation costs and the Apostille costs.
  • After the documents are legalized in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and in the Czech Embassy, the adoption service sends the application to the contact.
  • The applicants submit a psychologist’s statement, not older than one year. UMPOD has a specific form (Recommended framework for assessment of applicants from the psychological point of view), which the psychologist can utilize when giving the statement.

Waiting time

  • The adoption contact will give information about approval of the application and about registration of the applicants on the list of those waiting for a proposal for a child, within about two months.
  • The proposals are not sent in the order of registration of the applications; instead, the most suitable family from among the applicants is found for each child.
  • The length of the waiting time from registration of application to receipt of proposal for a child varies depending on the applicants’ wishes and the children who need adoption.

Proposal for a child

  • The governmental adoption authority of Czech Republic, UMPOD, accepts the proposals for a child.
  • UMPOD applies no queue order, but always makes its choices considering all the applicants in the registry.
  • UMPOD’s psychologist always gives a written statement on a child.
  • If a child already has a sibling in a certain family, an effort is made to place the other sibling in the same country and environment.
  • When the information of a proposal for a child has come, the adoption service conveys the information to a Finnish paediatrician for evaluation and makes the proposal to the family after the doctor’s evaluation.
  • The family must make its decision of accepting or rejecting the proposal within 60 days from receipt of the proposal.

Adoption journey

  • The adoption journey can generally start within 2 to 6 weeks from acceptance of the proposal for a child.
  • The applicants are in charge of all their travel arrangements, in accordance with the instructions from the adoption service.
  • The adoption journey generally lasts for 2 months (8 weeks).
  • The adoption journey includes several meetings between the adoptive parents and the child, the foster family or children’s home, the UMPOD lawyer and psychologist, other UMPOD staff, and authorities.
  • If the applicants already have children, these must be present in the meetings for no less than three weeks.
  • The length of the adoption journey is affected by the schedule of the decision by the City Court of Brno.

Arrival in Finland

  • The child arrives in Finland with its adoptive parents as an EU citizen, holding the passport of Czech Republic and with an interim document from the City Court of Brno concerning assignation to the care of the adoptive parents before the confirmation of adoption; the family receives this document during the adoption journey in Czech Republic.

After arrival in Finland

  • A social welfare officer of the adoption counselling visits the family home and writes follow-up reports after
    1) 1 month
    2) 3 months
    3) 6 months
    4) 12 months
    5) 24 months.
  • Depending on the child’s age, the following follow-up reports are also written:
    when the child turns 7
    when the child turns 11
    when the child turns 14
    when the child turns 18.
  • After approval by the Czech Republic adoption authority UMPOD, the adoption is officially confirmed in a Finnish district court after the first three follow-up reports (in about 6 months) from the child’s arrival in Finland. The social welfare officer of the adoption counselling writes a statement to the district court for the confirmation of adoption on the basis of the first three follow-up visits.