How does an adoption procedure work?

Full adoption

In a full adoption, all legal ties to the biological family are severed and the child is given a new family. It must be a minor child, who will continue to bear your name following the full adoption. He or she (and also his or her descendants) will be fully equalised with your own children and also acquire the same rights. Inheriting from the biological parents/family is no longer possible as a result of full adoption. Finally, full adoption is normally irrevocable: once adopted, you remain adopted. It can only be revised if the adoption came about through abduction, sale or trafficking of children.

Regular adoption

In a regular adoption, the child retains legal ties with his or her biological parents and family. The child can be given your name, but can also keep his or her own name. It can involve both minor and adult children. Moreover, the adoptee can also inherit from the new family as well as from the biological family. However, the bond between the child and the relatives of the adoptive parents is much more limited. For example, the child has no right to the inheritance of blood relatives of the adopter. Finally, this form of adoption can be revoked, provided there are very important reasons. 

Who all can adopt?

The following people can, by law, adopt:

• Married couples;
• Legal cohabitants;
• De facto cohabitants (living together for at least three years);
• Single adults.

In addition, if you wish to adopt a minor child, you must be at least 25 years old and at least 15 years older than the child you wish to adopt. 

If it is the child of your spouse or cohabiting partner, these rules are more flexible: you must be at least eighteen years old and at least ten years older than the child you wish to adopt.

Moreover, you can only adopt after you have followed the preparation programme required by law (only applies if you wish to adopt a minor child) and been declared suitable by the family court.

Preparation programme (minor adoptee)

If you meet the conditions described above, the first step in the adoption procedure of a minor child is to apply and register for the preparation programme. For this, you need to fill in the application form from Kind & Gezin, Flemish Centre for Adoption (VCA) and send the form to this authority. The VCA will register your application, after which you will have to pay an amount of EUR 250.00 for the compulsory preparation programme at the Adoption Support Centre.

The preparation programme lasts one day and is organised at various locations in Flanders.

During this preparation programme, you will receive information about adoption, the adoption triangle, pedagogical and psychological aspects of parenting, the procedure, the legal consequences and possible aftercare. Only the person who effectively wishes to adopt the child should participate in this programme. Therefore, if you wish to adopt your partner's child, your partner does not have to follow the preparation programme.

After following the preparation procedure, you will receive an attestation from the Adoption Support Centre. This certificate is valid for one year.

Please note: you do not need to follow the preparation procedure if you wish to adopt an adult child. In that case, you can apply directly to the family court!

The family court

After you have completed the preparation programme, you should file a petition at the family court.

With the certificate of your preparation from Steunpunt Adoptie, you will submit an application to the family court in the district where you live. For this procedure, you must pay a roll call fee of EUR 165.00.

You must enclose the following documents with your application:

• A certificate of nationality;
• A certified copy of your own birth certificate;
• An extract from the marriage certificate or the population register showing that you are legally cohabiting, or proof that you have been effectively cohabiting for at least three years;
• A statement of the child's habitual residence;
• A certified copy of the child's birth certificate;
• The certificate of preparation.

In the case of an adoption of a known child or a child with whom there is already a socio-affective bond, in most cases, a social investigation is no longer ordered by the family court. However, it may still be ordered to determine your suitability as a prospective adoptive parent.

The social investigation will mainly be ordered in case of the adoption of an unknown child. Again, the Flemish Centre for Adoption (VCA) will receive this order which will then appoint the service to carry out the social investigation.

Moreover, a child cannot be adopted until the required consents are given. If the legal parent(s) refuse to consent to the adoption, the adoption can only be pronounced after a thorough social investigation. The child himself or herself must also consent to the adoption, if he or she has already reached the age of 12.

After all formalities have been completed and the family court has thoroughly examined your file, the family court will issue the adoption judgment.

The public prosecutor will then inform the registrar of births, marriages and deaths in the municipality where you reside so that the child can be registered there in the population register. The municipality then provides a copy of the adoption judgment to the Federal Central Authority, where the adoption will be registered. Finally, the Federal Central Authority notifies the Flemish Adoption Centre of the adoption.

What is the duration of the whole procedure?

As you have undoubtedly noticed while reading this Fact, an adoption procedure does take some time to complete. You should allow for about one year to complete the whole procedure, from preparation to obtaining the adoption judgment.