Adoption costs

The cost of Thai adoptions varies considerably depending on the agency, but usually ranges between US$10,000 and US$18,000. Travel expenses and US federal fees for visa processing and fingerprinting are not included. Depending on gifts, length of stay, and any donations to an orphanage, the cost can significantly exceed US$18,000. The agency's income from ongoing child welfare programs (if any) and its own adoption processing fees also affect the final price. On-site support provided by the agency can also impact the fees.

There is no set "mandatory donation" to the Thai welfare organization or NGO that cared for your child. However, most families make a voluntary donation. Contact your adoption agency for more information. Many offer subsidies or fee waivers for adopting children who are on the waiting list. Be sure to inquire.

Application for adoption

The vast majority of US families who adopt children from Thailand do so with the assistance of one or more adoption agencies. If no local agency handles Thai adoptions, the local agency can prepare an eligibility assessment for the families and engage a placement agency to conduct Thai adoptions and handle the placement process.

See also the Siam Legal page on Thai child adoption here.

Independent adoption is legally possible, but extremely difficult unless you are an expat family living in Thailand or speak fluent Thai and can expedite the process by contacting the DSDW authorities by phone. The Child Adoption Centre's offices are located at 255 Rajvithi Road, Bangkok 10400, Thailand. Khun Nuanthip currently appears to handle most adoptions for English-speaking families. The phone number is 011-662-354-7509 (fax 357-7511). The email address is [email protected] (although email communication is not very effective). The best time to call is reportedly around 3 pm Thai time.

Prospective adoptive parents must submit various documents, including (but not limited to) an application form, an approved suitability assessment, birth, marriage, and divorce certificates, proof of financial resources, medical certificates, personal references, photographs, and letters from the employer or tax advisor. A letter from your health insurance provider may also be required, stating whether the costs for your child will be covered. Families must also complete the process of applying for an orphan visa (Form I-600 and/or I-600A, depending on whether the family is applying for permission to adopt an identified or unidentified child) with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security/CIS to legally bring the child to the U.S. Alternatively, U.S. families residing long-term in Thailand can bring adopted children who have been in their legal and actual care for at least two years to the U.S. using the Foreign Relatives Application (Form I-130).

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) generally advises families to first file Form I-600A and secure pre-approval for processing before filing Form I-600, even if they already know the identity of the child they wish to adopt.

Most agencies assist families with the necessary document authentications in the U.S. and Thailand and also help with all necessary visa formalities. Since many Thai adoptions take longer than 15 months, you should be prepared to submit your fingerprints twice during the process. Furthermore, the expedited approval for an I-600A application is valid for 18 months. If you apply to adopt an unknown child and do not receive an assignment within this timeframe (and do not file an I-600 application), you will need to file a second I-600A application.

Once the documents have been submitted, reviewed, and accepted by the Thai authorities, the process varies depending on the adoption agency and whether the child has already been pre-identified. Due to these many factors, processing times are difficult to predict. This can cause significant anxiety for families seeking adoption in Thailand. Families frustrated by the slow pace and lack of information should consider adopting from other countries where the process is more predictable.

At the beginning of 2008, only organizations cooperating with the Thai Red Cross (WACAP, New Beginnings, Heartsent) in the USA were still accepting applications for the adoption of young, healthy, and unknown children. The NGOs Holt Sahathai and Friends for All Children temporarily stopped accepting applications for these adoptions due to a backlog.

The timeline depends on both your adoption agency and the NGO it works with. Some agencies assign a child relatively quickly (sometimes within six months), followed by an equally long (or even longer) wait for travel authorization. Other agencies may have a longer waiting period for a child's assignment (12 to 14 months or more, depending on the child's age and gender), but the travel time itself may be shorter (3 to 5 months). For adoptions that proceed smoothly, you should expect a period of one to two years from the submission of the necessary documents in Thailand (not to be confused with your initial adoption application to the agency) until the child is officially welcomed into the adoptive family. Speak with your adoption agency about the standard procedures of the specific NGO they work with.

Regardless of the type of adoption, the documents typically include one or more recent photographs and extensive medical information, as well as details of the child's history and sometimes limited information about the birth family, unless the child was abandoned anonymously. Information on Thai children is considered quite reliable (though not infallible) and is more comprehensive than in some other international adoption programs. HIV and hepatitis B tests are conducted and the results are communicated. Because most children are older than infants at the time of adoption, some medical/psychological problems are easier to detect than in toddlers. Nevertheless, ALL international adoption programs carry the risk of undetected medical, cognitive, or psychological problems.