Thai Adoption Center

The government agency responsible for overseeing all child adoptions in Thailand is the Child Adoption Centre of the Thai Ministry of Social Development and Welfare (DSDW, formerly DPW or Ministry of Public Welfare). The adoption activities of the DSDW are supervised and approved by the Thai Child Adoption Council.

Unlike some international programs, adoption from Thailand involves significant differences. The process varies depending on the adoptive parents' country of origin, the adoption agency used (and the Thai placement officers that agency works with), as well as the age and needs of the child you wish to adopt.

Thai adoptions are conducted in two ways. Adoption agencies can submit the documents directly to the DSDW for review and placement of the child, or they can forward them to one of four non-governmental organizations (NGOs) authorized to facilitate the direct placement of Thai children for international adoption: the Thai Red Cross, the Holt Sahathai Foundation, and the Friends for All Children Foundation (all based in Bangkok), as well as the Pattaya Orphanage in Chonburi. The Pattaya Orphanage—which is both an NGO and an orphanage—has not, in the past, placed children with families in the United States.

The Thai Red Cross runs an orphanage in Bangkok (often also referred to as the Thai Red Cross, but officially known as the Thai Red Cross Children's Home) and places children from there. Holt Sahathai works primarily directly with mothers and is not an orphanage in the strictest sense; the children available for adoption are placed with foster families. FFAC also runs an orphanage in Bangkok and provides foster care, particularly in the Chiang Mai area.

The Child Adoption Bureau and the Ministry of Social Development and Family (DSDW) oversee all adoptions, including those arranged by recognized non-governmental organizations. Private adoptions are legally possible but difficult unless the family speaks Thai and/or lives in Thailand.

The following information generally applies to adoptions by U.S. citizens residing in the U.S., as well as by citizens of other countries. U.S. citizens living in Thailand or elsewhere should contact an adoption agency (preferably several) or the appropriate government agency (if they live in a country where no adoption agencies operate) for accurate program descriptions and requirements, as some of the information below may not apply.

US citizens can contact their embassy regarding the legal aspects of adoption in Thailand.

You can also visit the Siam Legal website about child adoption in Thailand.