Order Recognising a Foreign Adoption

International adoption of children creates complex legal issues. Great care is needed to navigate the various laws and regulations concerning adoption and legal parentage across different jurisdictions, potential criminal sanctions and citizenship, nationality and immigration issues that can arise.

Some forms of international adoption are automatically recognised under English law, including:

• Adoptions from countries which are listed in the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption (the Convention of 29 May 1993 on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption).
• Adoptions from countries listed in The Adoption (Recognition of Overseas Adoptions) Order 2013.
• Adoption orders from Scotland, Northern Ireland, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands.

However, not all foreign adoptions are automatically legally recognised under English law. In such cases, it may be possible to seek an order from the English Family Court recognising a foreign adoption under English common law. These cases create complex legal issues due to international conflicts of law, policy and practice, uncertainty about an adopted child’s legal parentage, identity and status and the legal rights and responsibilities of the child’s parent/s. They can also create complex legal issues about an individual’s domicile, habitual residence and tax status, particularly for those people or families with an international lifestyle. As such expert legal advice and assistance is recommended with any application to recognise a foreign adoption under English common law.

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