INTERCOUNTRY ADOPTION


SPAIN AND ANDORRA


August 2008


Disclaimer: The following is intended as a general guide to assist U.S. citizens who plan to adopt a child from a foreign country.  Three sets of laws are particularly relevant: 1) the laws of the child’s country of birth govern all activity in that country including the eligibility of individual children for adoption, as well as the adoption of children in that country in general; 2) the laws of the adoptive parents’ state of residence establish qualifications they must meet in order to adopt; and 3) U.S. immigration law governs the immigration of the child to the United States.  In addition, the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption, to which the United States became a party on April 1, 2008, establishes legal and regulatory requirements for intercountry adoption. 

The adoption of children from countries that are party to the Hague Convention must follow the procedures outlined by the Convention, and its U.S. implementing legislation, the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 (IAA).  More information on the IAA and the Convention can be found on our website under Hague Adoption Convention. 

 The information in this flyer relating to the legal requirements of specific foreign countries is based on public sources and our current understanding.  It does not necessarily reflect the actual state of the laws of a child’s country of birth and is provided for general information only.  Moreover, U.S. immigration law, including regulations and interpretation, changes from time to time.  This flyer reflects our current understanding of the law as of this date and is not legally authoritative.  Questions involving foreign and U.S. immigration laws and legal interpretation should be addressed respectively to qualified foreign or U.S. legal counsel.


THE HAGUE CONVENTION ON INTERCOUNTRY ADOPTION:

Spain is a party to the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (the Convention) and with which the Convention is in force for the United States. 


TRANSITION CASES: Under U.S. law, an adoption case involving a Convention country already in process on April 1, 2008 when the Convention entered into force with respect to the U.S. did not/not change into a Hague case on that date. These transition cases will continue to be processed in accordance with the immigration regulations for orphan adoptions which were in effect at the time the case was filed, explained in the State Department Flyer How Can Adopted Children Come to the United States 

If the Application for Advance Processing of an Orphan Petition (I-600A) or Petition to Classify an Orphan as an Immediate Relative (I-600) was filed before April 1, 2008, then the Convention and the IAA will not apply to that case.  The Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) considers a case properly filed when USCIS receives an application or petition along with any required filing fee.  The filing date is stamped on the application or petition to show the time and date of actual receipt.   For further information on transition cases, please see theFAQs: Transition Cases and the Hague Adoption.


PLEASE NOTE: There are not enough children available for adoption to satisfy the demand of Spanish prospective adoptive parents.  Therefore, adoptions in Spain by foreign parents are exceptionally rare. 


PATTERNS OF IMMIGRATION OF ADOPTED ORPHANS TO THE U.S.:    Within the past five years, no Spanish children have received orphan visas to immigrate to the United States.  Some U.S. citizens residing in Spain have adopted children from third countries such as China and Colombia, and the U.S. Embassy in Madrid is able to assist such families in obtaining the required U.S. immigrant visas for the children then to be able to immigrate to the United States.


ADOPTION AUTHORITY IN SPAIN: Each of the 17 Autonomous Communities in Spain is the Central Authority for its territory.  The national-level Central Authority for transmission of communications, the Dirección General del Menor y Familia in Madrid, is the office responsible for transmitting requests from prospective adoptive parents to the Central Authority in the appropriate Autonomous Community.


ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR ADOPTIVE PARENTS: To be eligible to adopt any child, a prospective adoptive parent must be at least twenty-five years old and be at least fourteen years older than the adoptee.  If a married couple wishes to adopt, at least one of the two must meet the twenty-five-year age requirement.  

Under Spanish law, the prospective adoptee must be younger than eighteen years old.  An exception can be made to these conditions when a child has lived with the prospective parent(s) continuously since before turning fourteen.  It is important for American prospective adoptive families to note, however, that U.S. law required adoptive children to be under age 16 at the time of adoption except in special circumstances outlined in the law.

Prospective parents may not adopt their own descendents or immediate blood relatives, and may not adopt second-degree relatives (i.e. niece, nephew) by blood or marriage, unless they are orphans.


RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS:  Adoptive parents must be legal residents of Spain and must remain in Spain throughout the adoption proceeding if it takes place in Spain.


TIME FRAME:  Approximately 15 months.


ADOPTION AGENCIES AND ATTORNEYS:  Because Spain is a Convention country, adoption services must be provided by an accredited agency, temporarily accredited agency, approved person, supervised provider, or exempted provider. These terms are defined in 22 CFR Part 96 and explained in the Department’s website brochure “A Guide for Prospective Adoptive Parents.”  For purposes of this document, accredited agencies, temporarily accredited agencies, and approved persons are referred to with the shorthand term “accredited adoption service providers.”

It is essential that prospective adoptive parent(s) seeking to adopt from a Convention country use an accredited adoption service provider.  The Department maintains a current list of accredited adoption service providers.  The list of accredited adoption service providers is also provided on the website of the Hague Permanent Bureau at www.hcch.net.


ADOPTION FEES IN COUNTRY: From 12,000 to 20,000 Euros.


ADOPTION PROCEDURES:  Spain is divided in to 17 Autonomous Communities, each of which has its own governmental entity in charge of adoptions.  A list of these offices may be found at:  http://madrid.usembassy.gov/cons/acsentities.html.  A judge may authorize an adoption only with the approval of this agency.  Prospective adoptive parents must apply to the agency in the community in which they wish to adopt.

To receive approval from the appropriate agency, that agency must find that the prospective parent(s) are capable of carrying out the duties of a parent.  The parent(s) begin the process by filling out an application for adoption. 

Approval from the agency is not required in the following circumstances:  if the child is an orphan and related to the parent(s) by blood or marriage, if the child is the child of a prospective parent’s spouse, if the child has been kept by the prospective parent(s) legally in a pre-adoptive status or has been under the parent(s) care for more than one year, or if the child is underage but considered independent.

If a U.S. citizen residing in Spain wishes to bring a child adopted in another country to reside in Spain, and requires periodic monitoring of the adoption, a list of the officially accredited adoption agencies can be obtained through the Dirección General del Menor y Familia Servicio de Adopción Internacional y Acogimiento Familiar at C/ Agustín de Betancourt 4, 28003 Madrid, tel.: 91 363 2300.  Americans residing in Spain who wish to adopt a child from another country should also refer to the Department of State adoption flyer for the child’s country of origin.


DOCUMENTS REQUIRED FOR ADOPTION IN SPAIN:  The following documents must accompany the application:

  1. birth certificate;
  2. marriage certificate (if applicable);
  3. police record;
  4. medical certificate; and
  5. bank statements.

When the application is complete, a team from the Autonomous Community adoption authority will carry out a psycho-social study of the prospective adoptive parent(s), assessing their ability to adopt, and will make a judgment on their capacity to be parents.  Next, the agency will present its assessment along with the application, and accompanying documents, to the court with jurisdiction in the Autonomous Community. The court will make the final judgment on the adoption application.


AUTHENTICATING U.S. DOCUMENTS TO BE USED ABROAD:  For more information on authenticating U.S. documents to be used abroad, please see the Judicial Assistance section of our website.


EMBASSY OF SPAIN IN THE UNITED STATES:

Embassy of Spain
Consular Section
2375 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20037
Telephone: (202) 728-2330
Fax: (202) 728-2302

Spain also has Consulates in:   Albuquerque, Anchorage, Atlanta, Boise, Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Corpus Christi, Dallas, Detroit, El Paso, Honolulu, Houston, Kansas City (MO), Los Angeles, Miami, Mobile, New Orleans, New York, Newark, Pensacola, Philadelphia, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, San Juan (PR), St. Louis, and Seattle.


U.S. IMMIGRATION REQUIREMENTS:    As of April 1, 2008, U.S. citizens wishing to adopt in a Convention country must begin the process by filing with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) a form I-800A Application for Determination of Suitability to Adopt a Child from a Convention Country.  Prospective adoptive parents are strongly encouraged to consult the Department of Homeland Security, USCIS website  to download forms and filing instructions.


U.S. EMBASSY IN SPAIN:   Americans living or traveling abroad are encouraged to register with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate through the State Department’s travel registration website, https://travelregistration.state.gov/, and to obtain updated information on travel and security within the country of travel.  Americans without Internet access may register directly with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate.  By registering, American citizens make it easier for the Embassy or Consulate to contact them in case of emergency.  The Consular Section is located at:

American Embassy Madrid
American Citizen Services
C./ Serrano, 75
Madrid
Tel: 011 34 91 587 2200
Fax: 011 34 91 587 2243


APPLYING FOR A VISA AT THE U.S. EMBASSY IN SPAIN:  U.S. consular officers give each U.S. immigrant visa petition careful consideration to ensure that the legal requirements of both countries have been met.  Consular officers are specifically trying to ensure the protection of all parties to the adoption:  the prospective adoptive parent(s), the biological parent(s), and the child.  Interested U.S. citizens are strongly encouraged to contact U.S. consular officials in Spain before formalizing an adoption agreement involving a Spanish child, in order to ensure that appropriate procedures have been followed which will make it possible for the Embassy to issue the child a U.S. immigrant visa.

Note: Visa issuance after the final interview now generally takes at least 24 hours and it will not normally be possible to provide the visa to adoptive parents on the day of the interview.  Adoptive parents should verify current processing times at the appropriate consulate or embassy before making final travel arrangements.


ACQUIRING U.S. CITIZENSHIP: Please see the Child Citizenship Act of 2000 for further information on acquisition of U.S. citizenship for adopted children.


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Department of State Office of Overseas Citizens Services - For information on intercountry adoption and international parental child abduction, and security information for U.S. citizens traveling abroad, call Toll Free 1-888-407-4747. This number is available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. EST/EDT, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays). Callers who are unable to use toll-free numbers, such as those calling from overseas, may obtain information and assistance during these hours by calling 1-202-501-4444 .

  • U.S. Department of State Visa Office - For information on immigrant visas for adopted orphans, call (202) 663-1225. Press 1 for additional information on visas, and press 0 to speak to a Visa Information Officer, available 8:30 a.m.  - 5:00 p.m. EST/EDT, Monday through Friday (except Wednesdays 11 a.m. - 12:00 noon)
  • U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) - recorded information for requesting immigrant visa application forms, 1-800-870-FORM (3676).
  • National Visa Center (NVC) Public Inquiries (603) 334-0700, Email: nvcinquiry@state.gov.
  • Country Specific Information - The State Department has general information about hiring a foreign attorney and authenticating documents that may supplement the country-specific information provided in this flyer. In addition, the State Department publishes Country Specific Information for every country in the world, providing information such as location of the U.S. Embassy, health conditions, political situations, and crime reports. If the situation in a country poses a specific threat to the safety and security of American citizens that is not addressed in the CSI for that country, the State Department may issue a Travel Alert alerting U.S. citizens to local security situations. If conditions in a country are sufficiently serious, the State Department may issue a Travel Warning recommending that U.S. citizens avoid traveling to that country. These documents are available on the Internet at travel.state.gov or by calling the State Department's Office of Overseas Citizen Services Toll Free at 1-888-407-4747. This number is available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays). Callers who are unable to use toll-free numbers, such as those calling from overseas, may obtain information and assistance during these hours.
  • USCIS web site