Bulgarian Program


	NEW! — Bulgarian Adoption Program

INTRODUCTION
In our commitment to assisting an orphan child find their family, we are pleased to offer a program in Bulgaria. We are working with an accredited agency in this country. The shared mission will provide you with experienced, licensed agencies in both countries. Bulgarian adoption law was recently revised to make the process more timely.

A child may be adopted from this country if he /she is at least one year old and
has been registered with the Ministry of Justice. The adoptive parents may select the gender of the child. The children typically have black or brown eyes, black or brown hair and are usually of Bulgarian, Turkish or Roma descent.

The Dossier along with the petition to adopt is submitted to the International Adoption Council. The Council will make the referral of a child within approximately four months. The prospective adoptive parent will receive the child’s picture, video and a medical report. After reviewing this information, the parents may decide to accept the referral.

The parents then travel to meet with the child for a required, five day period and confirm that they wish to pursue the adoption of this child. The document to petition the Court is prepared to formally initiate the adoption process prior to the parents returning home. Our US representative will accompany the parents throughout the trip. Visas are not required for travel to Bulgaria.

The parents return to the US and shortly thereafter, a court date is established and is typically six weeks later. An attorney from the Bulgarian agency represents the adoptive parents at court. They have two choices. One is to make the trip, which involves three days in-country to bring their child home. The other is to have the child escorted to the US.

Bulgaria requires post placement reports for two years following the court date.
As in all international programs, it is necessary to be flexible regarding timing and process, particularly as new adoption laws are being implemented.

THE BULGARIAN ADOPTION PROCESS:

If the adoptive parents wish to pursue adopting a child from Bulgaria, the attorney prepares a contract for intermediation in international adoption and a warrant of attorney for the prospective adoptive parents to sign.
The adoptive parents will receive detailed information about the necessary adoption documents in conformity with the Bulgarian law. All the documents shall be apostilled.
Documents will be translated by a licensed translator and notarized in Bulgaria.
All documents will be submitted to the Ministry of Justice and the adoptive parents receive an incoming registration number.
The adoptive parents are informed when their names are entered in the foreign adopters register of the International Adoptions Department in the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Bulgaria.
When the Counsel of International Adoption proposes a child, the adoptive parents receives the child’s dossier.
If the adoptive parents agree to adopt the proposed child, they travel to Bulgaria and visit the child for five days (by Bulgarian law). By the end of the visits, a written consent will be submitted to the International Adoption Department in the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Bulgaria.
The attorney represents the adoptive parents in the Bulgarian court.
After the court hearing, all documents will be prepared for the child to leave Bulgaria (court decision, new birth certificate, adoption certificate, passport, etc.)

TRAVEL IN BULGARIA

If the adoptive parents like the proposed child, “Future” organizes their stay in Bulgaria – hotel reservations, transportation to the place where the personal contact with the child will be established.
Throughout the entire stay in Bulgaria, beginning when they arrive at the airport, the adoptive parents will be escorted by an English speaking representative of “Future”.
A “Future” representative accompanies the adoptive parents to the orphanage to receive the child and afterward to the airport.