[une_autreamelie]

My husband and I are New Zealanders who live in Japan. We would like to adopt from another country (not NZ or Japan). Can anyone help with this? We don't know where to begin.

[Jackobanzi]

That is a fantastic question! I almost blew past your thread, then it caught my eye at the last minute. Don't get too excited, though - I don't have any concrete advice for you.

Let me first say that I really, truly sympathize with your (assumed) frustration at the lack of information you are facing right now. I am an American living abroad and (hopefully) adopting, and I almost lost my mind trying to figure out how. My job is one step easier than yours. I'm adopting from the country in which I live, so I can do a good bit of running around on my own.

ANYWAY, my best advice to you is to pretend you live in New Zealand and contact an agency in New Zealand that deals with international adoptions. If there is a home study requirement, there are people who fly to you to do the home study of your current home. Without living in the country you're adopting from, you will almost certainly need an agency or a fantastic in-country contact and/or lawyer to help you out.

Good luck!

[DorothyD]

This egroup group is dedicated to Americans living abroad to share personal information and support about the adoption process with others in need.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/adopti...ericansabroad/

[sak9645]

Remember that you will be dealing with the laws of three countries.

1. You will have to understand the adoption laws of the country where your child is. Each country has its own laws regarding what children are adoptable, what qualifications prospective parents must have, what the adoption process is like, and so on.

2. You will have to deal with the laws of New Zealand, since you will be perceived as a New Zealander by foreign governments, and since you will probably want to be sure that your child can have citizenship rights in New Zealand and can enter the country should you ever choose to return there.

3. You will have to understand the laws of Japan, so that any child you adopt can enter the country to reside with you there.

Even though you are not an American, you may find that the U.S. State Department website gives some good information on the adoption laws of many of the countries from which people adopt. You can also participate in listservs and bulletin boards for people adopting from various countries, such as China, Russia, and so on.

You can probably get information about laws pertaining to New Zealanders adopting internationally from the Department of Child, Youth, and Family Services of your government. Go to www.gov.nz to start your search.

Regarding Japan, contact the entity that issued you a visa to enter the country, and ask what its requirements would be if you adopted a child from, say, China, and wanted to bring him/her to live with you in Japan.

Sharon

[une_autreamelie]

Thanks everyone. I'm starting to wade through and have been presented with some good contacts. Good luck to everyone else, too!