Hague status: Ratified
Residency requirements: China does not require that prospective adoptive parents reside in China for a specified period prior to completing an adoption. However, in order to finalize an adoption, at least one adopting parent must travel to China to execute the required documents in person before the appropriate Chinese authorities. If only one member of an adopting married couple travels to China, that person must have in his/her possession a power of attorney from the other spouse, notarized and authenticated by the Chinese Embassy in Washington or one of the Chinese Consulates General elsewhere in the United States.
Age requirements: Both parents must be between the ages of 30 and 50. Those couples who apply to adopt a special needs child must be between the ages of 30 and 55.
Marriage requirement: Chinese law permits adoption by married couples, defined as one man and one woman. They must adopt the child jointly. In addition, they must have been married at least two years. If either person has previously divorced, the couple must have been married at least five years. No more than two divorces are allowed.
Income requirement: At least one member of the couple must have stable employment. The total value of family assets must be at least $80,000. The family’s annual income equals at least $10,000 for each family member in the household (including the child to be adopted). Annual income excludes welfare, pensions, unemployment insurance, Government subsidies and the like. Both prospective parents must be high school graduates or have vocational training equivalent to a high school education.
Health requirement: Both partners must be physically and mentally fit, with none of the following conditions:
- AIDS;
- Mental disability;
- Infectious disease that is actively contagious;
- Blind in either eye;
- Hearing loss in both ears or loss of language function (those adopting children with hearing or language function loss are exempted from this requirement);
- Non-function or dysfunction of limbs or trunk caused by impairment, incomplete limbs, paralysis or deformation;
- Severe facial deformation;
- Severe diseases that require long-term treatment and that may affect life expectancy, including malignant tumors, lupus, nephrosis, epilepsy, etc;
- Major organ transplant within ten years;
- Schizophrenia;
- Severe mental disorders requiring medication for more than two years, including depression, mania, or anxiety neurosis; and
- Body Mass Index (BMI) of 40 or more
Other requirement: The family must have fewer than five children under the age of 18, and the youngest is at least one year old (those adopting special needs children are exempted from this requirement).
Neither partner may have a significant criminal record, and both must have a history of honorable behavior and good moral character with no evidence of:
- Domestic violence, sexual abuse, abandonment or abuse of children;
- Use of narcotics or any potentially addictive medication prescribed for mental illness;
- Alcohol abuse, unless the individual can show she/he has been sober for at least ten years
Note: Applications from persons with past criminal records will be considered on a case-by-case basis if the individual has fewer than three minor criminal convictions (none in the last ten years) and fewer than five minor traffic violations.
The prospective parents must demonstrate the ability to provide a warm family environment capable of meeting the needs of an orphaned child and providing for her/his development, and an understanding of the special risks (including potential diseases, developmental delays, and post-placement maladjustment) that could come with inter-country adoption.
The couple must provide an adoption application letter that makes clear the applicants’ willingness to allow post-placement follow-ups and provide post-placement reports as required.
Note: In each instance above where a specific age or time span is cited, it will be computed from the time that the CCAA officially logs the adoption application documents.
