New Appendix Adoption

Intercountry Adoption Applications – New Appendix Adoption 2024

The new Appendix Adoption came into effect on 6^th June 2024 and sets out the routes in which parents who are British citizens or settled in the UK can bring an adopted child or prospective adopted child into the UK.

These routes are as follows:

• Hague Convention Adoptions – this refers to the process whereby parents resident in the UK have approached an adoption agency to be assessed and for help in identifying a child in a particular country for adoption;
• Recognised Overseas Adoptions – allows for settlement or temporary permission as a child who has been adopted according to the laws of the child’s country of origin or residence, this being a country whose adoptions are recognised under relevant UK legislation;
• De-facto adopted children – a category that recognises the situation where parents living overseas will have cared for a child in an adoptive way but without access to a legal system in which formal adoption can take place. 
• Coming to the UK for adoption – a category that allows a child to come to the UK for the purpose of being adopted.

The changes introduced by Appendix Adoption include:

• Reducing immigration eligibility requirements from both the Hague Convention and Recognised Overseas Adoption routes. This includes removing the requirements for the child to have the same rights and obligations as any other child of the marriage or civil partnership; being adopted due to the inability of the original carer to care for the child; that there has been genuine transfer of parental responsibility and the requirement for the child to have lost or broken ties with their family of origin. These requirements are unnecessary as they are matters that are considered, as appropriate, as part of the formal adoption procedure.
• Clarifying that, where one parent is on a route to settlement, the child will need to meet the financial requirements of the route that their parent is on.
• Confirming that where a child has entered the UK under Appendix Adoption and has been granted temporary permission (for the adoption to be completed in the UK or because one parent has temporary permission on a route to settlement), the child will be able to settle on the route their parent is on or under provisions in Part 8 of the immigration rules once the adoption is complete and their parent has settled.

Intercountry adoption applications can be complex and is a specialised area of immigration law. Our team will assist you in the meticulous preparation of your application and supporting documentary evidence to ensure you achieve your desired outcome as quickly as possible. Please contact BHD’s Private Immigration Departments in London & Croydon to find out more about the services and competitive rates we offer.