ADOPTION

The Philippines is not a country specified on the UK Adoption ‘Designated List’. British Citizens adopting in the Philippines need to apply for an adoption order in a UK court if they return to the UK in order for that the adoption be recognised in the UK. Children adopted from the Philippines should travel to the UK on a Philippine passport. A successful adoption order made in the UK court confers a claim for British Citizenship to the child if one of the parents is a British national. Any applicant for the UK adoption order must be habitually resident or domiciled in the UK. For more information please contact the Inter-Country Adoption Team at the Department for Children, Schools and Families.

British legislation on intercountry adoption applies to all persons who are “habitually resident” in the UK. Habitual residence is a legal concept that is defined by case law. Whether a person is considered habitually resident, will depend on all of the facts of their individual case – there is no single definition. British nationals who are habitually resident in the UK are not required to comply with the relevant British adoption legislation and can adopt under the laws of the Philippines. Non-habitually resident British nationals wishing to adopt children in the Philippine can obtain from the embassy a “letter of no objection”, which may be required to satisfy the requirements of the local authorities. The wording of the letter is standard worldwide and the embassy cannot deviate from the set form of words. Before the embassy can issue this, the prospective adoptive parents must provide the embassy with a sworn statement, attested by a lawyer that they have the sought independent legal advice on their status under UK law and they can confirm that they no longer habitually resident in the UK.

ADOPTION CERTIFICATE REQUIREMENTS:

1.    Sworn statement from a lawyer. The suggested standard wording for such statement is:

2. Original or photocopy/photocopies of current passport/s (detailed page only) of prospective adoptive parent/s.

3. Pay Consular Certificate - Fee 2 (a) “Letter of No Objection”

Please refer to the attached Consular Fees table

Payable in Cash or Manager’s Cheque.

** If submitting via courier, please enclose a courier pre-paid pack.