How Much Does International Adoption Cost Now?

 

Are you considering adopting a child from another country and you are asking “how much does International adoption cost? Or do you have a friend considering such too?

Welcome and in this post, I will show you what adopting a child from another country will cost you,  and everything that constituted every amount you are paying for international adoption.

The truth is that there are no specific answers to your question “how much does International adoption cost?” and the reason is that there are so many factors that determine the price you’ll pay, which includes.

• The country you are planning to adopt from.
• The type of adoption you choose (private adoption or public adoption).
• The child’s age.
• Health.
• The child’s race or background.
• Ethnicity.
• And sometimes,  the parent’s level of education and income contributes too.

It is not always easy to determine what an international adoption costs, because while yours may cost you cheaper or higher,  other adoptive parents can adopt at a cheaper or higher cost too.

The only thing you can do to have an estimate of the International adoption cost is to have a word with an experienced financial advisor or an adoption counselor.

However, I will like you to have in mind that you’ll need from $25,000- $30,000 for any international adoption. We will break this down in this post.

Here is how:

How Much Does International Adoption Cost Now?

The chief goal of everyone in the adoption process is to have the best and to be free from fraud and regrets after. And the best of it all is that the interest of the child is always well protected.

You and I know that adoption is not just about deciding to adopt a child and setting out to take any child you see.

There have to be screenings, education, paperwork, and other best practices and measures to have a smooth adoption process and shed unnecessary delays.

For that purpose, there are so many things that will be required of you to have a successful International adoption, and almost all of these things I will mention below contributed to all the costs of international adoption.

Let’s Dive In.

Requirements For International Adoption:-

 

If you are a US citizen and want to complete your adoption process and bring your child into America, you must be ready to fulfill all the requirements of the United States Citizenship and Immigration (USCIS), as well as that of the country you wish to adopt from.

Note also that some countries may also want you as adoptive parents to reach a specific financial level, be of a specific marital status, live in your country of resistance for a stipulated time frame, and sometimes your belief.

Also, you will be expected to fulfill other requirements like completing the adoption home study, criminal history checks, medical examination, and fingerprinting.

Ultimately, your best practice should be to find out and follow your home state’s requirements and that of the country you are adopting from.

 

Now that you know all the International Adoption requirements, let’s break down the costs of international adoption, so you are sure of what you are spending.

How Much Does International Adoption Cost Now?

Here, you will see all the reasons why International adoption is expensive.  Let’s dive in.

Before we dive into this, I will like you to note that it is not the child you want to adopt that makes the cost of international adoption to be expensive.

The whole cost of international adoption depends on all the services that are required to have the safety of the child in question.

None of these services are inevitable if you want a safe adoption process, and they are vital services to an ethical, legal International adoption.

The most important of them are the social workers, attorneys, judges, etc

Again, understand that all international adoptions process are strictly regulated by The Hague Convention.

And according to adoption experts, every adoption expense is divided into three areas, namely –

1. Intercounty Fees, which include court costs, attorney fees, and medical checkups from the child’s country (this is usually out of adoptive parents’ control).
2. Agency Fees, for screening, and educating staff members like (adoption facilitators, adoptive families, etc.
3. Out Of Pocket Expenses: This consists of all expenses like air travel, hotels,  visa fees, etc.

All these cost money.

Why International Adoption Is Expensive:-

This section will also answer your question” How much does international adoption cost, as we will break all the costs down to you for transparency.

Adoption Agency Fees:-

The adoption agency is one of the people that provides the most important service during adoption.

The agency fees include fees for accreditation, licensing, insurance, personnel, operations, and communication.

To make the agency fees transparent and ethical to the adoptive parents, The Hague Convention mandated every agency to paste the details of all expected adoption expenses on their website.

Fees- $14,000.

If you check the agency website, you may see the fee split into:-

• Application
• US Agency
• Post-adoption services
• Programs.

Fees For Adoption Home Sturdy:-

Another important fee adoptive parents must pay during the adoption is the home study fee and I know that this is also responsible for your question “How Much Does International Adoption Cost?

Let’s take a look at how the cost of a home study affects the adoption cost.

Home is required by every country when it comes to adoption. This is a process of screening the adoptive parent’s home and family before adoption, to ensure that the adoptee is not going into the wrong home.

During this screening, the adoption professional travels to the adoptive family’s home to verify their lifestyle, personal history, strength, childcare experience, etc.

The placing agency may also organize workshops and training and about 4 training sessions with the applicant.

This is made to safeguard the interest of the child and also protect the family from adopting a child when they are not capable.

The home study fee is about $2500.

Fees For Post-Adoption Reports:-

How much does International adoption cost?

Another thing that influences the cost of international adoption though not significantly is the fee for post-adoption reports. The cost for each report is usually $400 to $500.

And every country and state and agency mandated that the post-adoption reports must be sent once the baby arrives home.

However, the frequency and the number of times the report will be sent depends on the country or state.

Country Fees:- No Specific Amount.

In adoption, the country’s fees depend on the country you are adopting from. These fees are necessary and it covers both government and legal expenses like – personnel, administration, accreditation, and communication.

With these fees, countries can provide proper care for a child before adoption and to make sure that all the children in care a properly taken care of.

The Third Party Fees:-

Other fees you can get away from in international adoption are the fees you pay for translations, notary services, accreditation monitoring, FBI fingerprinting, etc. This will cost you anything from $4,500 – $5000.

Visa, And Other Travel Fees:-

To adopt a child from another country, you must know that you will be traveling from your country to the child’s country, maybe one or two times.

How many times you will travel to the country differ from the country and the duration of your stay also depends on countries too.

The travel cost can be influenced by many things like how many times you traveled, your duration of stay, and the currency exchange rate.

The travel costs will take you from $3,000 to $15,000.

What Do You Think?

You have seen how much International adoption costs and you have equally seen that the prices are inevitable. The question is would you still adopt or give up because of the price?

In Conclusion:-

Now that your question” how much does International adoption cost has been answered,  don’t give up on your plans to build your family and to help a child experience love again.

If you think that the price is too much for you, then check if there are adoption grants you can take to finance the adoption.

You may be lucky to get one. My article on how to get adoption grants can point you in the right direction.