CHILDREN: Boys and girls 12 months to 14 years old at the time of the referral, as well as siblings groups, are looking to be adopted. After authorization Bulgarian authorities will provide a report on the child, including a photo, name and ID, health, ethnic, religious and cultural background, family background and information about birth parents and other family members including and reasons for abandonment.
ADOPTION PROVISIONS: Adoption of a Bulgarian child by foreign adoptive parents is final. The rights and obligations between the adoptee (and his descendants, children, grandchildren, etc.) and his relatives by birth shall terminate, except the impediment to marriage due to relations by blood.
PARENT REQUIREMENTS:
- Married couples and single parents may adopt.
- Applicants must be at least 25 years old to adopt.
- It is acceptable to have children already at home.
- There are no religious restrictions.
- At least one parent must be a US citizen.
REFERRAL TIME: By law you should get a referral within 3 months after the notification of your registration with the Ministry of Justice. At present your waiting time will depend on the age of a child you are looking to adopt, and may be up to a year for children under the age of 3.
HOW IT'S GOING TO WORK: Two trips are required in order to complete your adoption from Bulgaria. You will not need a visa to travel to Bulgaria.
FIRST TRIP: You should be ready to travel within 1 month after accepting your referral. This trip is expected to be 5 to 7 days long. During this trip you will meet with your prospective adoptive child and, should you chose to adopt this child, sign your commitment forms infront of a Bulgarian notary. Signing of your commitment forms officially initiates your adoption process.
ADOPTION FINALIZATION: Your commitment form, which you signed during your first trip, as well as all of your other relevant documents are submitted to the Ministry of Justice for approval by the Adoption Council. Once approved, the Ministry of Justice directs their final opinion to the Sofia City Court and your court date is scheduled. At that court hearing an attorney from a Foreign Service Provider will represent you and your adoption will be finalized under Bulgarian law. Once the court decree and your child's new birth certificate are issued, it's time for your second trip.
SECOND TRIP: This trip is usually scheduled 4 to 5 months after your first trip and should be about 7 to 10 days long. In the course of the aforementioned waiting period, your child will be issued appropriate Bulgarian documents and this trip is when you will visit the US Embassy in Bulgaria and a medical clinic to obtain certain documents necessary for your adopted child to travel to the US.
It is possible to have ONLY ONE parent to travel to Bulgaria for either or both trips, it is also possible to arrange for a representative to establish contact with a child. These options may be available depending on family circumstances, determination will be made of a case-by-case basis.
ADOPTION AUTHORITIES: The procedure for adoption of Bulgarian nationals by foreign citizens is defined in Chapter XI of the Family Code of the Republic of Bulgaria and Ordinance No.3 for the Conditions and Procedure for Giving Consent to the Adoption of Bulgarian Nationals by Foreigners. At present Bulgarian Ministry of Justice is the central deciding authority when it comes to accepting Dossiers from prospective adoptive parents and authorizing child referrals. There is a Commission that meets several times a week deciding on the referrals to be submitted to the Ministry of Justice of Bulgaria for authorization, the results of each meeting of that Commission are posted on their website.
PROCESS: Bulgarian adoption process is straight forward. After your Dossier is prepared by World Links, a formal application will be submitted to the Bulgarian Ministry of Justice for registration in the Register of Candidate Adoptive Parents. After a verification process, an official notification of registration will be issued.
Based on the information you provided Bulgarian adoption authorities will select a child from their databank and send a proposal to the Minister of Justice for the authorization procedure. After Minister's approval you may request an interview/personal contact with the child. The personal contact shall take place for at least 5 days.
After the personal contact/meeting, you can either accept the referral or decline it. Your written consent or dissent will be sent to the Ministry of Justice. If you chose to accept the referral, documents are normally executed within 2 months time, with a possible one months extension. If you chose to decline the referral, you will be registered under a new number in the Register of Candidate Adoptive Parents, the procedure is the same as described above.
ASSOCIATED EXPENSES:Homestudy fees:
Homestudy fee is $1500, document expertise fee is $500.
If your Homestudy is prepared by another agency World Links charges $350 review fee.
Adoption expenses in the United States:
| Apostillization of your documents | Depends on state; ranges from FREE to $25 per document. |
| USCIS approval | $670, plus $80 per every household member over the age of 18 for fingerprinting. |
| FBI clearances | $18 per every household member over the age of 18 |
| State criminal clearance | Depends on state |
| Sexual abuse clearances | Depends on state |
| Medical exam | Your medical practitioner's standard fees. |
| Child's immigration visa | US Embassy charges $400 per visa |
| Child Medical (this is a requirement of the US Embassy) | US Embassy approved clinic chargers about $125 per child for evaluation, varies with age |
Foreign country program expenses:
International Program Fee of $5,600.00
Expenses incurred in care of the child:
This category applies if you request extra care for your prospective child.
Translation and document expenses:
Translation and legalization fee is 1,200Euro
Contributions to child welfare service programs in the child's country of origin
You are not required to make donations to child welfare programs, to orphanages or other institutions. You may do so if you choose and your donations will be greatly appreciated.
Fees for Post Placement and Post Adoption reports:
Post Adoption Report processing fee is $250 per report. Post Adoption Report preparation fee is charged by your homestudy agency.
Third Party Fees
Attorney fee is 1,000Euro
Foreign service provider fee 2,000Euro
Foreign service provider's administrative fee is 3,000Euro
Judicial Fee 800Euro
Escort Remuneration 50Euro per day
Additionally you may incur driver and translator fees if you require transportation and escort services beyond those directly required for your adoption.
Travel and accommodations expenses:
World Links bases these estimates on the average amounts associated with the minimal required travel and accommodations, and can not account for personal taste and preferences of airlines, hotels, meals, and entertainment.
Airfare to Bulgaria is approximately $900.00 per person round trip.
Accommodations in Bulgaria average about $180 per day.
In-country transportation is not included in these fees.
Agency Fee:
Agency Fee is $6,400.00 for all programs.
Estimated total cost of your adoption from Bulgaria is around $32,000.00 depending on Euro to US Dollars exchange rate.