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Requirements

Canadian couples wanting to adopt from China must satisfy the following marital and age requirements:

  • Married for a minimum of two years if there were no previous marriages for the husband or wife.
  • Married for a minimum of five years if there were no more than two previous marriages for either the husband or wife.
  • Must have reached the age of 30 years and be under 50 years of age.
  • Must have reached the age of 30 years and be under 55 years of age to adopt a special needs child.
  • Must have sufficient resources to adopt a child and no criminal record or history of criminal activity.

Applicants must be mentally and physically healthy and are required to satisfy a thorough medical exam in order to qualify. The Chinese Centre of Adoption Affairs (CCAA) have outlined specific medical and mental health conditions they will not accept – please discuss your concerns with CHOICES prior to beginning the adoption process.

Singles, Common-law or same-sex couples are ineligible to apply as per China’s new adoption law.

The Children

The vast majority of children are female and are under two years of age. The children live in orphanages and are generally well cared for. However, due to living in an institution, some children may have developmental delays.

Information on China's Special Needs Children

When families are adopting a special needs child, they specify the specific gender, age, and medical condition of the child they can handle.

  • All special needs condition are minor and correctable
  • Older children (8 to 15 years of age) are considered "special needs" due to age.
  • About half of the children available for adoption that have special needs have a cleft pallet. The number is equally the same between boys and girls and the age range for this is from 2-4 years old. Older children usually would have had a cleft pallet operation but requires further monitoring. Younger children normally had lip repairs done but not a pallet repair.
  • Another 25% of special needs mostly experience congenital heart disease which is found to be genetic. This condition means that a valve in the child’s heart does not close properly between the chambers or that there is a hole in the child’s heart. These conditions normally require surgery.
  • The rest of the children with special needs range from having: hepatitis B, clubbed foot which requires painful surgery, hemangioma which is a prominent birth mark, usually on the forehead, and an albino child.
Information on China's Waiting Child Program

Download information about the Waiting Child Program (PDF).

Estimated Cost

Please contact CHOICES to discuss fees for this program.

Process

Once you have completed your application package including your home study and submitted it to CHOICES, the Ministry of Children and Family Development will send your completed dossier to China. Once your application is submitted to the CCAA, the documents are reviewed and, if everything is in order, approved. Once a child has been matched to your application, a proposal and photo will be sent to you. Once you accept the proposal, the CCAA will issue a Notice of Coming to China for Adoption of Children, and you will travel to China to meet your child. Your facilitator will assist you in making travel and accommodation arrangements while in China. The finalization of the process takes place in China, where you appear in court to complete the adoption.