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India Alert

The Ministry of Children and Family Development, Adoption Services would like to bring the following information to the attention of adoptive parents who are considering adoption from India:

  • The Hague Convention requires our Ministry, the central authority for British Columbia, to receive approval and documentation from India’s central authority before we are able to issue a Notification of Agreement letter to Immigration Canada.
  • Three and a half years after implementing the Hague Convention , India has not yet established a consistent procedure for relative/private adoptions. There is an established process in place for non-relative adoptions.
  • Many relatives have successfully completed the requirements for a home-study study in Canada. However, the vast majority of these families have not received the necessary approval from India’s central authority for these adoptions.
  • India’s central authority has advised some families that Canadian citizens must obtain an order from a competent court in India appointing the prospective adoptive parents as guardians of the child, and giving them permission to take the child to Canada for adoption purposes. The families have also been requested to sign undertakings stating they will complete the adoption in BC courts.
  • A few families, in addition to obtaining an adoption deed under the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, have received additional orders through Indian civil courts. In these few cases, India’s central authority has granted approval of the adoptions, after reviewing the Indian civil court orders. Although BC families with completed homestudies may wish to also obtain a court order in India,there are no assurances that obtaining a court order in India will result in India’s central authority providing approval for the adoption. India’s central authority has stated that each application for family adoption will be dealt with on a case by case basis.
  • Relevant authorities in both India and Canada have been advised that there have been significant delays in processing relative/private adoptions because there is no established and consistent procedure.
  • The Director of Adoption with the Ministry of Children and Family Development will continue to monitor and update information pertaining to adopting from India.