Adopt a child in a non-convention country

Who to contact

About adopting a South African child in a non-Convention country

If you are a foreigner interested in adopting a South African child, but your country has not signed the Hague Convention, you can adopt through the competent authority or the International Social Services (ISS) in the country where you live.

What you should do

Contact the competent authority or the ISS in the country where you live.
The competent authority or the ISS will refer you to an accredited adoption organisation in your country for assessment and screening to determine if you are suitable to adopt a child.
If the adoption organisation finds you to be fit and proper to adopt, it will compile a home study report and forward it to the South African Central Authority (Saca).
The Saca will forward the report to the child protection organisation which has an adoption working agreement with the foreign agency to look for a child who is available for adoption.
If there is a child who is available for adoption, the child protection organisation will compile a child study report and forward it to the Saca for approval of inter-country adoption (Article 17 of the Hague Convention)
The child protection organisation will forward the report to the foreign agency to match the child with the prospective parents.
If you are still interested in the adoption, the competent authority in the country where you live or the ISS will grant you permission to adopt.
The permission from your country’s competent authority or ISS will be sent to the accredited child protection organisation. The adoption agency in South Africa will inform you to travel to South Africa for the finalisation of the adoption in the children’s court.
The court will finalise the adoption and court documents will be forwarded to Saca for verification and registration of the adoption.
The Saca will then issue a Certificate of Conformity.
The adoption agency in the country where you live will provide you with after-care services for five years.