ADOPTION PROCESS 

• There is one legal adoption agency in Ukraine: the government-operated SDA.in Kiev. This is the only organization which may legally show photos or files of available children and help you identify a child for adoption.
• In order to identify a child for adoption, the parents must first have their application and dossier approved by the Adoption Center in Kiev.
• Both parents must travel in person to Ukraine to identify their child and to attend the court hearing. There is no legal procedure for adoption by guardianship or by proxy in Ukraine.
• The total adoption process in Ukraine takes approximately 4 - 6 weeks typically, but may take longer on occasion.

CHILDREN TO BE ADOPTED 

• More boys are available than girls.
• Two or more siblings may be adopted in the same court hearing (in the same court region).  A second fully apostilled dossier is needed if they are residing in the same orphanage.  
• The children should keep Ukrainian citizenship until 18 years of age.
• The U.S. has passed a law which grants adopted children U.S. citizenship automatically upon adoption.

ADOPTIVE PARENTS 

• There is no upper age limit for adopting parents - they should be deemed physically able to raise the child to adulthood.  (This may change in the 2007-2008).
• Parents must be 15 years older than the adopted child.
• Parents are responsible for registering the child with the Ukrainian Consulate in the country of residence within one month after adoption, and for sending yearly updates to the Ukrainian Consulate.
• Ukraine requires no post-placement  from a licensed agency or social worker.

The following is a typical schedule for adoption in Ukraine, based on approximately 4.5 weeks in Ukraine (time frame varies dependent on many factors) :

This schedule is subject to many variables of course, dependent on both the parents and the bureaucracy in Ukraine, but is currently typical.