Colombia Adoption

Colombia Adoption Process

Colombia’s international adoption process is done in accordance with the Hague Convention guidelines on intercountry adoption of children.

Families can start by completing a free pre-application to determine if they meet the basic eligibility requirements.  They will need to meet both U.S. and Colombian requirements. Once eligibility is confirmed, they can move forward with completing the full adoption application. Submitting this application marks the first official step in the Colombia adoption process.

Dossier

The first stage of adoption from Colombia involves assembling a collection of documents called a dossier. These documents must undergo several levels of authentication by U.S. government offices to ultimately serve as the legal framework for your adoption process. This stage can take several months to complete and includes a finalized copy of the home study assessment. America World’s team will review the dossier documents before the finished dossier is forwarded to our foreign-supervised provider. Once our provider in Colombia receives your dossier, she will translate it and forward it to the Instituto Colombiano de Bienestar Familiar (ICBF), which serves as Colombia’s central adoption authority, along with an application for enrollment in the country's official waiting list for prospective adoptive families. The dossier can also be sent to any IAPA (private institution) from which children are referred for adoption.

Waiting

After your dossier is registered with the ICBF, you begin stage two of adoption in Colombia – the waiting stage. The process of matching a family with a child is called the referral process. The wait time for a child referral varies, depending on the number of eligible and available children for adoption, as well as the characteristics of the child each family is seeking to adopt. The referral of a child typically includes several photos, a medical profile, a brief biography of the child’s life, a developmental and social report, and other general information, all of which will be translated.

Travel

After carefully reviewing a child's referral and deciding to accept the match, you will begin to prepare for the trip to Colombia. Both parents must travel for the initial bonding period (8-11 days), and then one parent may return home while the other stays for the duration of the trip, which can take up to an additional 6 weeks. The average stay in Colombia is currently 4 weeks (28 days), but could be longer depending on court assignments, holiday schedules, and many other factors. It is highly encouraged for current children in the home to accompany the adoptive parents for at least the bonding period. If the spouse decides to return to the US after the bonding period, it is also heavily suggested that another friend or family member join the spouse in Colombia throughout their stay.

Post Adoption

Following the adoption of a child or children from Colombia, 4-6 post-adoption reports will be required, written by a social worker following a home visit. These visits will occur every six months, in addition to any specific visits needed for the family’s state of residence. Families must provide at least 10 photos of the child with their adoptive family and in their new environment to accompany the reports.