The Kazakhstani Program
Adoption Horizons received a license from the Ontario Ministry of Children and Youth Services to facilitate adoptions from the Republic of Kazakhstan on September 9, 2005 and currently works with several regions in the Northern and South-Eastern parts of the country.
Children available
Children become available for international adoption at the age of 6 months and older after being registered for three months with the Regional Data Bank and three months with the Central Data Bank. All children reside in state-run orphanages. Republic of Kazakhstan is a multicultural country and children come from a broad range of ethnic and cultural backgrounds.
Travel requirements
According to the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan, prospective adoptive parents are required to travel to the country to meet with the adoptive child daily for the bonding period of two weeks in duration. Both parents must be present for the court hearing to finalize the adoption. Therefore there are two travel options available: 1) one trip for approximately eight weeks; 2) two trips, first trip for four weeks and second trip for several days just to pick up the child.
Immigration requirements
It is mandatory that Canadian DMP examines the child for the Canadian Immigration purposes. Immigration medical clinics are located in Almaty and in Karaganda. Therefore, Canadian DMP will be able to examine the child shortly after parents meet with the child. The results of the medical exam will be sent to London, England, where Canada’s High Medical Commission is located. Adoptive parents will receive a copy of the medical report. When the child’s medical is approved, arrangements can be made for the court hearing.
Length of process
The whole process takes approximately 8 months after a Homestudy is completed. However, each case is unique and time length may vary depending on the child requested.
Eligibility criteria
The Kazakhstan government accepts applications from married couples and single prospective adoptive parents, physically and emotionally healthy. Upper age limit for female applicants is 48 years old.
Specific program requirements
The Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan currently does not allow disclosure of information on children available for adoption. Prospective adoptive parents may specify the age and sex of the child they wish to adopt. However, no photographs, videos or medical information on a specific child will be presented to the applicants prior to their first trip to Kazakhstan.