Legislation and Central Body

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Italy ratifies The Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Inter-Country Adoption (Hague convention) on 31st December 1998 and it goes in force on 16th November 2000. Central body in Italy, under the Convention, is defined the Commission for international adoptions in Rome. International adoptions in Italy are only possible through the mediation of Italian accredited organization, which received permit for mediation from the Commission. Their license is permanent until there are reasons for its revoking.

Requirements towards the adopters

  1. The candidate-adopters must be spouses, who are married from at least three years, without having factual separation in the last 3 years. It is not possible for a married candidate-adopter, who is married and in situation of terminated cohabitation to adopt.
  2. Spouses, who are not in a factual separation, who are eligible to raise, educate and support in material manner the minor child, who they want to adopt.
  3. The adopters must have Home Study from the local social-law service.
  4. To be announced for eligible to adopt with decision from the Court for minors.

Age requirements

The minimum age difference between the adopter and the child must be 18 years.

The maximum age difference between the adopters and the child must be 45 years for one of the parents and 55 years for the other, as this border can be changed if the spouses are adopting two or more children, or if they already have biological or adopted child.

Permit for adoption

The spouses, candidate-adopters are submitting an application to the respective areal Court for minors. The Court redirects them to the Social service according their place of residence, which can evaluate their capability to care for a child and to raise him/her. The Social service makes a report from the examination, after preliminary meetings with the family and sends it to the Areal Court for minors. The Court issues or denies the Certificate for eligibility based on the report and personal meeting with the candidates.

Families received Certificate for eligibility in term of one year after the issuance must notify Italian agency by their choice, which is licensed to work with the respective country. When they do that, the received certificate for eligibility is termless and is not necessary to be renewed.

Required documents for signing in the Register of MOJ

  1. Application to MOJ.
  2. Certificate for eligibility.
  3. Certificate stating that the parental rights were not revoked.
  4. Home Study, issued by competent authority.
  5. Official medical certificate.
  6. Certificate for Conviction of the adopter.
  7. Marriage certificate for the adopters.
  8. Declaration for AMOR under art.20, p.10 from Regulation№ 2 from 24th October 2014.
  9. Notarized Power of attorney in favor of AMOR.
  10. Copy from identity document.
  11. Contract with AMOR for mediation in international adoption.
  12. Attachment №1 about the exact amount of fees and expenses, necessary for the performing the mediation.
  13. Photos of the family and the home, no more than 6-8.

More detailed information about the required documents can be found in section Procedure – Required documents

Acknowledgement of the decision

The decision for allowing the adoption of the Bulgarian court, which went in force, is fully recognized in Italy, which means that the relative connections with the biological family are terminated and with the new family are established such as with consanguinity.

In all cases when adopted child enters Italy, all documents proving the finalized procedure in Bulgaria must be presented to the respective areal court for minors, based on which the court announces final decision for the adoption, which decision, in legal means has a declarative and not a constitutive character.

Citizenship and status of the adopted child

The adopted child receives Italian citizenship from the date of which the Bulgarian court decision enters in force. The decision of the Italian court of minors defines the citizenship status of the child – enacts that he/she is to be signed in the municipality by the permanent address of the adopters and so officially to be placed in his/her new family.