ADOPTING IN BRAZIL

BRAZIL ACCEPTS:

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Childless married couples

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Married couples with children

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Single people

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Same sex couples

COFA Cognac is accredited by Brazil

A HISTORY OF ADOPTION IN BRAZIL

 

COFA Cognac has been accredited in Brazil since 1986. We began working in the country’s northern states following a major drought. AAAs are not currently authorised to have direct contact with care institutions. Children are available for international adoption via the central Brazil authority (ACAF) once the child’s original family has been stripped of its parental rights by a judge. We are accredited in every Brazilian state. On location, our representatives support families through a 60-day stay in Brazil (30 days for a “co-living workshop,” and 30 days for administrative procedures).

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Children are granted dual citizenship.

Adopted children retain dual citizenship their whole lives and future parents may also acquire Brazilian citizenship if they declare their children to the Brazilian Consulate.
Special provision for boys: they must take specific steps in the year of their eighteenth birthday to register for military service. They will not be obligated to carry out their service, this is only an administrative formality.
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HC is signed in 1997 and fully implemented as of 1999.

DISTRIBUTION OF ADOPTIONS

In 2019

7 children (7 boys) were adopted, distributed among 5 families (3 families with 1 child, 2 families with 2 children).

IMPORTANT: in 4 out of 5 families (80%), the eldest child is more than 11 years old.

Adoptions in Brazil from 2012 to 2018

112 children (47 girls and 65 boys) were adopted, distributed among 64 adoptive families (29 families with 1 child, 23 families with 2 children, 11 families with 3 children, 1 family with 4 children).

IMPORTANT: in 41 out of 64 families (64%), the eldest child was more than 10 years old, in 20 families out of 64, the eldest child was between 5 and 9.

CONDITIONS FOR ADOPTING

Who can adopt?

  • Married couples, with or without children, are accepted irrespective of how long they have been married.
  • Couples living in a stable relationship.
  • Single people are accepted.
  • Applications from same sex couples are accepted.

Adoption applicants must be aged 18 or over.
There must be an age difference of at least 16 years between applicants and children.

 

Which children can be proposed for international adoption?

The following children may be adopted internationally:

  • Children with no known parentage,
  • Orphans,
  • Children who have been declared as judicially abandoned,
  • Children whose parents or legal representatives have given their valid consent to their adoption,
  • Adoptees who are older than 12 years of age must personally consent to their adoption.

How old are the children who are available for international adoption?

By virtue of a decision taken by the CEJAI [Brazilian state commission for international adoptions] in November 2007, children available for international adoption must now be at least 5 years of age, except in the case of siblings of different ages. It must be noted that in the State of Rio de Janeiro, children available for adoption must be at least 9 years of age, subject to the same exception regarding siblings of different ages.
The evolution of international adoption in Brazil is characterised by the prevalence of siblings of 2 to 4 children. Children who are available by themselves are generally aged 9 or over.

 

How are children cared for in Brazil?

Adoptable children are most often found in public institutions, and sometimes in private institutions approved by a federated State.

ADOPTING IN BRAZIL

To study a case, COFA Cognac requires applicants to send by regular mail only:

  • a letter explaining their adoption project,
  • their agreement and attached information sheet,
  • their social and psychological evaluations,
  • one or two photographs of the applicant(s),
  • a stamped envelope for our response.

BIBLIOGRAPHY