COMPLETING PRE-ADOPTION PAPERWORK

1. Submitting Applications to Orphanages

2. Starting your Home Study

1. Submitting Applications to Orphanages

You can contact Pakistani orphanages and submit your application in parallel with the home study process.

For a list of Pakistan orphanages, click here

Typically you would need to call the orphanages to request their form be sent to you by mail. We have provided some of the most common application forms below.

• Edhi Application Form

• SOS Application Form

To apply, fill out the application form for the orphanage you would like to apply. Attach copies of the following documents with the application form:

• Birth certificates

• CNIC/NICOP Card

• Passports

• Marriage certificate (Nikah Nama)

• several photos of the adoptive parents

• Home Study (optional)

It is a good idea to write a letter explaining your case and give some background information on yourselves. You may include a copy of the home study for this purpose), in addition to the application. If possible, hand deliver the application to the orphanage by your local representative. Do include the name and contact phone numbers of a local contact in your application.

2. Starting your Home Study

A social worker from the Local Authority Fostering and Adoption Team will carry out a home study assessment. This usually involves 6-8 meetings often fortnightly. The process consists of in-depth interviews with you and your spouse and you may be given “homework” to do between meetings. The social worker will also meet family members or friends who will also act as character references. They will discuss your reasons for adopting, if infertility, whether you have reconciled your feeling about it; your child hood; major milestones; family; your professional achievements, plans for the future; religious beliefs and how important they are to you; your culture. For some parts of the home study, you will required to give written information both factual and also personal feelings. The social worker will do a health and safety check of your home to ensure it is safe for a child and to see which room will be for the baby.

The report will include details of the following:

• the family background
• current relationship between husband and wife
• current relationship between the parent(s) and children, if any
• development of previous adopted children, if any
• current relationship between applicants and other family members
• employment status
• health details
• economic status
• accommodation for the child
• school and other facilities near home
• reasons for wanting to adopt a child from Pakistan
• attitude of other family members towards adoption and support network
• anticipated plans for the adopted child
• summary and social worker's recommendation.

The home study is quite detailed and in that time, you will have a number of checks done such as employment, Personal references, Medicals, CRB (criminal) checks.

Adoption preparation workshops comprising of 3 days (one day every fortnight) have to be attended.. The workshops are an opportunity to learn about and discuss the implications involved in adopting from overseas. Some Local Authorities prefer for the workshops to be attended before the home study is started, whilst others allow for it to take place during the home study.
On completion of the Home Study, it will be presented to the Local Authority’s Adoption Panel. You may have to wait some time for a panel date. The panel decide whether they can recommend the applicants as prospective adopters of a child of a certain age range from Pakistan. You will be invited to attend the panel.

If the Adoption Panel makes a positive recommendation, the home study and other documents will be sent to the DfCSF (Dept for Children Schools and Families) who will do further checks and then arrange for you to get all the documents notarised and legalised by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Pakistan High Commission. Once the DfCSF is satisfied with the paperwork, they will issue a Certificate of Eligibility to Adopt. The papers are then sent to the adoption agency in Pakistan. To get to this stage can take 12-30 months.