FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
1. Who is able to adopt?
Married couples and singles. There is no requirement regarding the length of marriage or prior divorces.
2. Is it possible for us to undertake actions for adoption directly in Bulgaria?
That is absolutely forbidden (and is a violation of the law)!
3. Length of process?
The waiting time is dynamic and varies. It depends on the number of children and the number of prospective adoptive parents in the register. It also depends on the readiness of the adoptive parent(s) to adopt a child with special needs or older children for whom the wait is shortened significantly.
4. Profile of Children:
While children can be as young as 12 months at the time of referral, the majorities of children that are referred are older and with some special needs.
5. Ethnic background:
Children come with Bulgarian, Turkish and Roma background. The majority of the children are Roma.
6. How children are received into care:
Most of the children are placed into institutions or foster families after being abandoned or relinquished by their parents. The reasons for abandonment are numerous: poverty, unemployment, single parenthood and others. Children are brought by the Social Services to the institutions where they remain until the time of adoption.
7. Who selects and proposes the child to be adopted by us?
The matching of children and families is conducted by the Ministry of Justice based on the best interest of the child and the possibilities of the adoptive parents to provide physical, mental and social well-being for the child.
8. What will happen if we refuse the proposal?
The adoptive parent(s) may keep their registration number in the register in the event of refusal due to health problems of the child, for which the adoptive parent(s) haven’t been informed in advance or haven’t explicitly stated that they are ready to accept. In cases of refusals, the International Adoption Council refers the child to other prospective adoptive parents.
9. When should we travel to Bulgaria and how long we need to stay?
Two trips to Bulgaria are necessary. The first trip is after accepting the proposal for adoption and the stay is 5 days long. During this first visit, the adoptive parent(s) meet the child and make contact with it in the populated area of the institution, in which the child is placed. Upon the second trip, the family assumes the custody on the child, and after receiving the passport and the visa, (if necessary) he/she may leave Bulgaria.
10. Shall we have a translator?
Each family receives fully focused services, performed with responsibility and care by the experts working at the New Beginning Association, including an accompanying translator to and from the English language for the entire period of stay of the family. Most of the time the Manager - Mr. Svetoslav Yordanov, personally is taking care about the families.
11. When we go to take the child from the home where he/she is placed, should we bring clothes and shoes for him/her?
Yes, it is advisable. Of course, the child will wear clothes and shoes, but he/she will leave the home with the clothes and shoes that you are going to bring him/her. A few sets of clothes and shoes should be provided to, which the child is going to wear until his/her departure from Bulgaria. It is a good idea to leave the clothes and shoes from the Orphanage for the other children there.
1. Who is able to adopt?
Married couples and singles. There is no requirement regarding the length of marriage or prior divorces.
2. Is it possible for us to undertake actions for adoption directly in Bulgaria?
That is absolutely forbidden (and is a violation of the law)!
3. Length of process?
The waiting time is dynamic and varies. It depends on the number of children and the number of prospective adoptive parents in the register. It also depends on the readiness of the adoptive parent(s) to adopt a child with special needs or older children for whom the wait is shortened significantly.
4. Profile of Children:
While children can be as young as 12 months at the time of referral, the majorities of children that are referred are older and with some special needs.
5. Ethnic background:
Children come with Bulgarian, Turkish and Roma background. The majority of the children are Roma.
6. How children are received into care:
Most of the children are placed into institutions or foster families after being abandoned or relinquished by their parents. The reasons for abandonment are numerous: poverty, unemployment, single parenthood and others. Children are brought by the Social Services to the institutions where they remain until the time of adoption.
7. Who selects and proposes the child to be adopted by us?
The matching of children and families is conducted by the Ministry of Justice based on the best interest of the child and the possibilities of the adoptive parents to provide physical, mental and social well-being for the child.
8. What will happen if we refuse the proposal?
The adoptive parent(s) may keep their registration number in the register in the event of refusal due to health problems of the child, for which the adoptive parent(s) haven’t been informed in advance or haven’t explicitly stated that they are ready to accept. In cases of refusals, the International Adoption Council refers the child to other prospective adoptive parents.
9. When should we travel to Bulgaria and how long we need to stay?
Two trips to Bulgaria are necessary. The first trip is after accepting the proposal for adoption and the stay is 5 days long. During this first visit, the adoptive parent(s) meet the child and make contact with it in the populated area of the institution, in which the child is placed. Upon the second trip, the family assumes the custody on the child, and after receiving the passport and the visa, (if necessary) he/she may leave Bulgaria.
10. Shall we have a translator?
Each family receives fully focused services, performed with responsibility and care by the experts working at the New Beginning Association, including an accompanying translator to and from the English language for the entire period of stay of the family. Most of the time the Manager - Mr. Svetoslav Yordanov, personally is taking care about the families.
11. When we go to take the child from the home where he/she is placed, should we bring clothes and shoes for him/her?
Yes, it is advisable. Of course, the child will wear clothes and shoes, but he/she will leave the home with the clothes and shoes that you are going to bring him/her. A few sets of clothes and shoes should be provided to, which the child is going to wear until his/her departure from Bulgaria. It is a good idea to leave the clothes and shoes from the Orphanage for the other children there.