Every so often, our Mongolian lawyers receive an inquiry from a foreign couple, usually from the USA or Europe, seeking to adopt a Mongolian child. When we get one of these inquiries, the first thing we do is explain some of the background to the international legal issues to the couple, then we get into the specifics of international adoption in Mongolia.
The adoption of a Mongolian child by a foreigner is governed under a few international Hague Conventions and by the Mongolia Family Law, Law on Legal Status of Foreign Nationals, and specifically by the Regulation on Procedure for Adoption of a Mongolian Child by Foreign Nationals.
From the international perspective, Mongolia has ratified the “Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Inter-country Adoption” and the “United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child”. These two international conventions set specific rules for the protection of children and outline the rights and responsibilities of countries as regards international adoption.
In the event of suitable adoptive parents cannot be identified in the country of origin of the child, international adoption is allowed. Under these conventions, the best interests of the child is the primary consideration, and is a basic right of the child to be adopted and must be confirmed by the prospective adoptive parents. In an international adoption, the prospective adoptive parents must meet the legal adoption requirements of their country of residence. The adoption must also meet the same safeguards and standards as applied to internal adoptions within the child’s country of birth.
So, for foreign couples considering adoption of a Mongolian child, the first step will be to obtain adoption approval in the country of the couple’s current residence. In our next post we will review the specific international procedures, and local Mongolian process for adoption.
We live in the UAE which does not recognise adoption. As long as we have a letter of no objection from our home country, we can proceed with an expatriate adoption. Does Mongolia have any residential restrictions on where prospective adoptee parents can live?
No. there is no residential restriction on where the adoptee parents live. However, the following persons are prohibited to adopt the Mongolian child:
• foreign nationals above 60 years old;
• a person whose rights to be parent restricted or deducted;
• a person whose the adopted child returned due to her/his guilty plea;
• a person having a full civil incapability or limited capacity by the court decision;
• a person who convicted of a criminal offense;
• a drug abuser, drinker;
• a person with mental illness, AIDS or tuberculosis etc
In addition, it is also prohibited to adopt the child to foreign single man. The Mongolian child could be adopted to family living together over 5 years or single woman.
Please contact our Mongolian Lawyers at mail@lehmanlaw.com for assistance.