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Index >Adoption Procedures

Adoption Procedures

Taiwan organizations which provide international adoption service work with foreign agency or governmental authority instead of individuals. If you are interested in adopting children from Taiwan, please first seek the service of international adoption agency or governmental authority in the country of your residence.

Adoption in Taiwan
In Taiwan, adoption is an agreement between biological parents/legal guardians and the adoptive parents in relation to the well-being of the child to be adopted. The adoption process is completed by obtaining a civil ruling and certificate of civil ruling from the Court and registering the adoption at the local Household Registration Office. The articles of law relating to adoption in Taiwan are found in the Civil Code Part IV Family, Articles 1072-1083 and Children & Youth Welfare Act, Articles 14-17.
Eligibility Criteria for Adopters
  • A single parent may (has the rights to) adopt children in Taiwan.
  • Where a married person adopts a child, he or she must do so jointly with his/her spouse.
  • The adoptive parent must be at least twenty years older than the person being adopted. If the married couple wants to adopt, one should be at least twenty years older and another one is sixteen years older than the person being adopted.
Documentary Requirements for Court

  • Home study： One original copy and a Chinese version of home study report from the social welfare agencies/authority
  • Taiwan household certificate of the child
  • Certificate of Good Conduct/Police or Criminal Clearance
  • Medical reports of applicants
  • Financial statement ( Statutory declaration of asset and liabilities)
  • Photo copies of applicants’ passports
  • Notarized contract between the biological parent(s) / guardians and adoptive parent(s)
  • Power of Attorney (if the adoptive parents will not appear in court hearing).
  • A certificate or a certified letter that states the family is approved as adopters according to the adoption laws of the family’s country of residence. The certificate or the certified letter should be issued by the authority, social welfare department or consul.
※ Adoption contract and all of the original documents of applicants should be notarized by Taiwan consul / representative located in applicant’s country of residence and must be translated into Chinese.
Court Procedure Regarding Adoption
    There are three major steps in the court procedure regarding adoption:
  • The first step is to file the adoption case at the local district court. The court hearing date may be scheduled one to two months later.
  • During this waiting period, the court will assign the social worker from local bureau of the social affairs or a designated agency to conduct a home visit to biological family, child and prospective adoptive parent(s). If the adoptive parents do not reside in Taiwan, social worker will conduct investigation report and make recommendation to court base on adopter’s home study instead. Civil ruling will be issued one to two months after the hearing date and a certificate of civil ruling will be issued ten days after the civil ruling is received by all parties.
  • The third step is to submit original civil ruling, certificate of civil ruling, and power of attorney, and register the adoption at household registration office in Taiwan.

Passport and Immigrant Visa for the Child

Persons wishing to adopt a child in Taiwan should follow through and complete legal adoption procedures in Taiwan and obtain a Taiwan travel document for child. Doing otherwise and take child out of Taiwan is illegal. It is recommended that biological parent(s) apply for child’s passport before adoption, because it is usually faster. Foreign adopters applying for child’s VISA after adoption sometimes face problem concerning different spellings of child’s name in English due to various romanization systems. It may prolong the adoption process. Adoptive parent(s) can apply for child’s Taiwan passport at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by submitting the household certificate, and, if the adoptive parent(s) are not going to appear, the guardian's copies of passport and power of attorney.