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Adoption

Every child a home

Every child deserves a home.  Wereldkinderen supports projects in countries where it operates as a child welfare organisation. The starting point is that the projects focus on and are successful in the field of family strengthening and local family replacement. 

If growing up with the biological family or in a foster family in the country of origin is really not possible, Wereldkinderen mediates in inter-country adoption. The best interests of the child always come first. An important aspect of this working method is that we look for suitable adoptive parents for a child that is eligible for adoption, and not the other way around.

Personal attention, quality & professionalism

Wereldkinderen offers you personal attention, quality and professionalism. Established in 1971, Wereldkinderen is the longest-standing inter-country adoption license holder in the Netherlands. Years of experience, expertise and the presence of a professional team allow us to support you well during the adoption process.

Choice for Wereldkinderen

If you have been granted a Permission in Principle and your situation matches our basic principles, you can start an adoption procedure through Wereldkinderen. You can sign up as a Friend of Wereldkinderen to register.

Adoption procedure

On 16 April 2024, a motion was passed calling on the government to ‘come up with a new plan to phase out inter-country adoption in a careful manner’. It is no longer possible to sign up for FIOM's mandatory information course and get a Permission in Principle, if you do not already have a BKA-number. Prospective Adoptive Parents who are already in procedure, will be allowed to proceed for the time being.

Costs

The rates for an adoption procedure vary per country. In the overview you can see which costs are applicable.

The costs do not include travel expenses and subsistence and costs for documents and legalizations.

Adoption procedure

The steps to be taken

Step 1

Application: permission to adopt (Permission in Principle). This needs to be done through FIOM

More info
Step 2

After having been granted Permission in Principle, you choose a license holder

Step 3

Registration at Wereldkinderen and placement on the general waiting list

Step 4

Intake and sending documents to the country of origin

Step 5

Matching and proposal of a child

More info
Step 6

Aftercare and follow-up reports

Wereldkinderen also contributes to this via adoption and projects abroad.

Established in 1971

We provide a professional finalizing of the entire adoption procedure. We only ask a small effort of you regarding preparing the necessary documents. We provide ‘the tour of The Hague’

Frequently asked questions adoption

I would like to adopt a child. What should I do now?

The starting point for adopting a child is the Stichting Adoptievoorzieningen. Choosing Wereldkinderen as your licensee, or choosing another licensee, is a step you take at a later stage.

Is it possible to adopt a child when you are single or when you are a homosexual couple?

The conditions are determined by the country of origin, from which you would like to adopt a child. This varies per country. You can read all about these conditions on the pages regarding the countries of origin.

What are the costs for an adoption?

The costs vary per country. You can read about it in the overview.

What happens if an adoption does not run in accordance with the Hague Adoption Convention?

Wereldkinderen only cooperates with countries that have ratified the Hague Adoption Convention. This means these countries have appointed a Central Authority that is responsible for the adoption. When we suspect that an adoption is not in accordance with the Hague Adoption Convention, then we report this to the Central Authority. The CA in the Netherlands then contacts the CA in the country concerned. If Wereldkinderen has a partner organisation in this country, then we contact this particular partner organisation in order to share our surmises about this. We will then discuss this further and we report this at our CA. If necessary, Wereldkinderen will stop the procedures, either for the time being or indefinite.