Adopting a foreign child in Singapore

The adoption process in Singapore involves the MSF, the Family Justice Courts, and registered adoption agencies.

This is an entry about adopting a non-Singaporean child in Singapore.

• For an entry on adopting a Singaporean/ PR child in Singapore, refer here.
• For an entry on adopting a PRC child, refer here.

According to the Family Justice Courts of Singapore, the duration for most adoption applications tend to be lesser 6 months. The following are the adoption agencies that work with the Ministry of Social and Family Development: TOUCH Family Services Ltd (official website), Fei Yue Community Services (official website), Lutheran Community Care Services (official website) and Apkim Centre For Social Services (ACOSS) (official website).

Prerequisites

Before adopting a child, there are a few prerequisites for the parties involved.

Adoptive parents

In order to be able to adopt, potential adoptive parents have to fulfil the following requirements.

Age	Citizenship	Marital status
> 25 years old > 21 years older than the adopted child < 50 years older than the adopted child	At least one person in the couple should be the following: Singapore Citizen Singapore Permanent Resident Employment Pass holder	Singles Married couples Unmarried males cannot adopt a girl

Pre-Adoption Briefing (PAB)

The pre-adoption briefing is the compulsory first-step for potential adoptive parents. Both spouses are encouraged to attend the briefing together.

Location	Duration	Fee (SGD)	Register	Notes
TOUCH Family Services Ltd Fei Yue Community Services	2.5 hours	$50 / person	Online registration	Available in English, Mandarin and Malay. This is a compulsory pre-adoption workshop.

Documents required

Lutheran Community Care Services is one of the registered adoption agencies in Singapore.

The following are the documents needed for adopting a non-Singaporean child (in chronological order).

Letter of Support

For non-Singapore Citizens who want to adopt a foreign child, they must get approval from their home country. The Letter of Support is needed before the Home Study can commence.

Location	Registration	Notes
Respective embassies or High Commissions	Application form	This is compulsory for foreigners who want to adopt a foreign child in Singapore.

Home Study Report (HSR)

Potential adoptive parents must pass their HSR before applying for the Dependant's Pass.

	Fee (SGD)	Register	Notes
Home Study Report	$1,500	TOUCH Family Services Ltd Fei Yue Community Services Lutheran Community Care Services Apkim Centre For Social Services	The HSR is valid for 2 years and can only be used for 1 adopted child.

Dependant's pass

If the child is not a Singapore citizen in any form, the adoptive parents will have to apply for a Dependant's Pass. This should be done after the Home Study Report (HSR).

	Fee(s) (SGD)	Register	Duration
Dependant's pass	$360	Online registration	3 weeks (online registration)

Successful applicants need to put down a S$1,000 - S$2,000 security deposit on the collection day. This will be refunded 2 months after the child is adopted.

Applying to the Family Justice Courts

The Family Justice Courts at Havelock Square in Singapore. Photo from The Straits Times.

Filing documents

Potential adopters can submit an application to the Family Courts personally or through a lawyer. A lawyer can help with the filing of necessary documents. The adoption forms can be assessed on the website (Family Justice Courts website).

GIA (Guardian In Adoption) Report

Potential adopters will then need to apply for the Director of Social Welfare to be their GIA. The GIA will decide if potential adopters are ready to adopt a child.

These are the documents required to receive a GIA:

Documents	Fee(s)	Deliver & deposit	Notes
Date of Pre-Adoption Briefing (PAB) Originating summons of adoption (Form) Adoption statement (Form) Affidavit in support (Form) Consent for adoption by the relevant parties NRIC of the potential adopters Marriage certificate of potential adopters Birth certificate of the child that they want to adopt	$250 per application	Child Welfare, Child Protective Service (10th floor) MSF Drop Box, MSF Building Level 1	The cheque should be made payable to ‘AG/MSF’. The documents have to be sealed in an envelope.

Potential adopters will then be interviewed by a Child Welfare Officer (CWO)(appointed by the GIA) from MSF. There will also be a home visit. The responses collected will be used to prepare an affidavit. The adopters have to submit the affidavit to the Family Courts no later than 2 weeks after receiving it. The Family Courts will assess the adoption application based on these findings.

Adoption Order

It is compulsory for the adopter and/or their lawyer to attend the hearings. If the Family Courts grants the Adoption Order, they will inform the Registry of Births & Deaths and Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) to issue a new birth certificate for the child, which the adopters will be informed to collect.

If the Court dismisses the application, the child will have to be returned to the original family.

Disclosure workshop (Post-adoption)

Adoptive parents can attend a Disclosure Workshop which will guide them in breaking the news to their adopted children. This workshop is available at TOUCH Family Services Ltd and Fei Yue Community Services.

Location	Duration	Fee (SGD)	Register	Notes
TOUCH Family Services Ltd Fei Yue Community Services	2.5 hours	$50 / person	Online registration	This is an optional post-adoption workshop.