INTERNATIONAL ADOPTION

SLOVAK REPUBLIC

PLEASE NOTE: Slovakia ratified the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption in October 2001. The Government of Slovakia will approve international adoptions only when the prospective adopting parent(s) reside in countries that have ratified this Convention. Prospective parents who are legal residents of Slovakia may adopt orphans under Slovak law.

The United States has signed but not yet ratified the Adoption Convention. The State Department is preparing the implementing regulations so that the United States can become a full party to the Convention. Please visit our flyer on U.S. efforts to implement the Adoption Convention at http://travel.state.gov/family/adoption_hague.html.

The State Department's Office of Children's Issues recommends that Americans who reside outside the United States and are considering adopting in Slovakia confirm whether the country they reside in is a party to the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption before proceeding. Please see the Web site for the Hague Conference on Private International Law for updates. The information below is for prospective adoptive parents who reside in countries which are party to the Hague Adoption Convention and who wish to adopt in Slovakia.

Immigrant visas for Slovakian citizens, including adopted orphans, are issued by the U.S. Embassy in Prague, Czech Republic. Please visit their Web site at http://www.usembassy.cz/consular/imvisa.htm for more information.

PATTERNS OF IMMIGRATION OF ADOPTED ORPHANS TO THE U.S.: Recent U.S. immigrant visa statistics reflect the following pattern for visa issuance to orphans

ADOPTION AUTHORITY IN Slovakia: The Slovakian government office that is responsible for international adoptions is:

Centrum pre medzinárodnoprávnu ochranu detí a mládeže
(Center for the international legal protection of children and youth)
Špitálska 6
P.O.Box 57
814 99 Bratislava, Slovakia
tel: 011 421 2 5975 2315
fax: 011 421 2 5296 2895
http://www.cipc.sk (information in Slovak and English)

The Center primarily communicates with the partnership centers in other member countries of the Hague Convention. It will respond to private calls only if the caller is a long-term resident of Slovakia.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR ADOPTIVE PARENTS: Slovak law sets no age limits for adoptive parents; the law merely recommends that the age difference between child and adoptive parents be "adequate". Embassy officials have been told that the age difference should be at least 15 years, and at the most, 40 years. Couples and single persons may apply for adoption.

RESIDENTIAL REQUIREMENTS: Prospective adoptive parents must be resident in Slovakia to adopt.

TIME FRAME: Prospective adoptive parents are required to reside with their adoptive child for 6 months to a year before an adoption is finalized. An adoption may take up to two years to complete.

ADOPTION AGENCIES AND ATTORNEYS: There are no government-approved adoption agencies; individual cases are handled directly between the Center and the court that pronounces the adoption.

A local attorney may be of assistance. A list of English speaking attorneys is available at http://www.sak.sk (Slovak Bar Association).

Prospective adopting parents are advised to fully research any adoption agency or facilitator they plan to use for adoption services. For U.S.- based agencies, it is suggested that prospective adopting parents contact the Better Business Bureau and licensing office of the Department of Health and Family Services in the state where the agency is located.

Please see Important Notice Regarding Adoption Agents and Facilitators at our Web site travel.state.gov.

ADOPTION FEES IN Slovakia:

• Court fees: If the case is processed under the Hague Convention, there are no fees. If the case is pursued by prospective parents who are residents of Slovakia, the maximum fee is 5000 Slovak crowns (SK).
• Administrative fees for translation of documents and authentication of documents: Translation of documents such as the birth certificates of the prospective parents, marriage certificate, and divorce decrees (if applicable) is about 300 SK per page. These documents must be authenticated in the U.S. for use in Slovakia; fees vary by state.
• Issuance of Birth Certificate and authentication: 600 SK
• Issuance of passport to minor under 15 years of age: 250 SK; expedited issuance within 24 hours is 1000 SK.
• If an attorney is hired, the fees for provided services are paid to the attorney directly and should be negotiated directly with the attorney.

ADOPTION PROCEDURES:

Slovak orphanages for children up to age 3 are administered by the Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic; orphanages for children of ages 3-18 by the Ministry of Education of the Slovak Republic.

Foreign adoptive parents must, during the whole adoption procedure, have the status of long-term or permanent residents of Slovakia and be physically present in the country.

Slovak family law requires that the child reside from six months to one year with prospective adoptive parents before a court may issue a final adoption decree. During this period the family will be observed by social workers representing the child. Foreign adoptive parents are also required to present a good-conduct statement from their home country, proof of their financial situation and evidence of their own good health. They will also be required to pass psychological tests. Parents must submit these documents before a child is placed in their home. After the fostering period is over, the parents can petition the court to issue the final adoption decree.

DOCUMENTS REQUIRED FOR ADOPTION IN SLOVAKIA: Applications for adoption must be supported by the following basic documents:

• a home study from an accredited social agency
• a good conduct statement (police report from the home country of the adoptive parent)
• proof of financial situation
• good health condition report
• psychological test (can be passed locally as well)

AUTHENTICATING U.S. DOCUMENTS TO BE USED ABROAD:

All U.S. documents submitted to the Slovakian government/court must be authenticated. Slovakia is a party to the Hague Legalization Convention. Generally, U.S. civil records, such as birth, death, and marriage certificates, must bear the seal of the issuing office and an apostille affixed by the state's Secretary of State (an apostille is a special seal applied to a document to certify that a document is a true copy of an original). Documents must be apostilled in the state where they are issued. Tax returns, medical reports and police clearances should likewise be authenticated. Prospective adopting parents should contact the Secretary of State of the state where documents originated from for instructions and fees for authenticating documents.

Documents issued by a federal agency must be authenticated by the U.S. Department of State Authentications Office, 518 23rd St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20520, (202) 647-5002 Fee: $6.00. For additional information, call the Federal Information Center: 1-800-688-9889, and choose option 6 after you press 1 for touch tone phones. Walk-in service is available from 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 am Monday-Friday, except holidays and is limited to 15 documents per person per day (documents can be multiple pages). Processing time for authentication requests sent by mail is 5 working days or less.

Please visit our Web site at travel.state.gov for additional information about authentication procedures.

SLOVAKIA EMBASSY AND CONSULATES IN THE UNITED STATES:

3523 International Court N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20008
Tel: 202-237-1054
Fax: 202-237-6438
Email: info@slovakembassy-us.org
http://www.slovakembassy-us.org/

Consulate General of the Slovak Republic
801 Second Avenue, 12 th Floor
New York, NY 10017
Tel: 212-286-8434
Fax: 212-286-8439
Email: slovakconsulate_ny@verizon.net

U.S. IMMIGRATION REQUIREMENTS

Prospective adopting parents are strongly encouraged to consult U.S. CIS publication M-249, The Immigration of Adopted and Prospective Adopting Children, as well as the Department of State publication, International Adoptions. The U.S. CIS publication is available at the U.S. CIS Web site. The Department of State publication International Adoptions can be found on the Bureau of Consular Affairs Web site, http://travel.state.gov, under “International Adoptions.”

Adoptive parents are strongly encouraged to read the flyer the requirements for filing I-600 petitions for orphans adopted by U.S. citizens before completing an adoption abroad. Please see our flyer How Can Adopted Children Come to the United States at our Web site http://travel.state.gov

APPLYING FOR A VISA FOR YOUR CHILD AT THE U.S. EMBASSY IN PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC: Immigrant visas for Slovakian citizens, including adopted orphans, are issued by the U.S. Embassy in Prague, Czech Republic. Please visit their Web site at http://www.usembassy.cz/consular/imvisa.htm for more information.

U.S. Embassy In Slovakia:

As soon as prospective adopting parents arrive in Slovakia, they should contact the Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy in order to register their presence in Slovakia. The Consulate Section is located at:

Hviezdoslavovo nam. 4
811 02 Bratislava
Slovakia
Tel: 011-421 2-5443 0861
Fax: 011-421 2-5441 8861
Email: cons@usembassy.sk
http://www.usembassy.sk/

NATURALIZATION: Under the Child Citizenship Act of 2000, which became effective on February 27, 2001, orphans adopted by U.S. citizens acquire U.S. citizenship automatically when all of the following requirements have been met:

• at least one parent is a U.S. citizen;
• the child is under 18 years of age;
• there is a full and final adoption of the child; and, the child is admitted to the United States as an immigrant.

A foreign–born adopted orphan who enters the United States on an Immediate Relative (IR) –3 visa becomes a U.S. citizen upon admission. A foreign-born orphan, who enters the United States on an IR-4 visa and is adopted in a U.S. court, will become a U.S. citizen when the adoption is finalized in the United States (the child will be a legal permanent resident until then). For further information, please consult with the consular section at the U.S. Embassy or the nearest office of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service. Additional information is available at http://travel.state.gov/family/childcit.html

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Specific questions about adoption in Slovakia may be addressed to the U.S. Embassy in Slovakia. General questions regarding international adoption may be addressed to the Office of Children's Issues, U.S. Department of State, CA/OCS/CI, SA-29, 4 th Floor, 2201 C Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20520-4818, toll-free Tel: 1-888-404-4747.

Useful information is also available from several other sources:

• Telephone:
  • Call Center – Toll Free Hotline - For information on international adoption of children and international parental child abduction, call Overseas Citizens Services at 1-888-407-4747. This number is available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays). Callers who are unable to use toll-free numbers, such as those calling from overseas, may obtain information and assistance during these hours by calling 1-317-472-2328.
  • U.S. Department of State Visa Office - recorded information concerning immigrant visas for adopting children, (202) 663-1225.
  • DHS Citizenship and Immigration Services - recorded information for requesting immigrant visa application forms, 1-800-870-FORM (3676).
• Internet:
• Adoption Information Flyers: the Consular Affairs web site, at: http://travel.state.gov/ contains international country adoption information flyers like this one and the International Adoptions brochure.
• Consular Information Sheets: The State Department has general information about hiring a foreign attorney and authenticating documents that may supplement the country-specific information provided in this flier. In addition, the State Department publishes Consular Information Sheets (CISes) for every country in the world, providing information such as location of the U.S. Embassy, health conditions, political situations, and crime reports. If the situation in a country poses a specific threat to the safety and security of American citizens that is not addressed in the CIS for that country, the State Department may issue a Public Announcement alerting U.S. citizens to local security situations. If conditions in a country are sufficiently serious, the State Department may issue a Travel Warning recommending that U.S. citizens avoid traveling to that country. These documents are available on the Internet at http://travel.state.gov or by calling the State Department's Office of Overseas Citizen Services at (202) 647-5225. The recordings are updated as new information becomes available, and are also accessible through the automated fax machine and the Internet web site, as above.
• CIS web site - http://uscis.gov/