Foundation “Sunshine for our kids”
Activities
- Category: Fondation Sunshine for our kids
The Foundation “SUNSHINE FOR OUR KIDS” is organized and proceeds to serve candidate adoptive parents who are residents of foreign countries to help them adopt a child - Bulgarian citizen, as follows:
• informs the candidates for adoptive parents about the documents they must prepare and present and the time frame within which they must do it;
• eceiving, keeping, translating and legalizing documents sent by the candidates for adoption, submits them and files them at the Ministry of Justice;
• regularly presents information to the adoption candidates about the progress of their adoption procedure;
• presents a report to the adoption candidates prepared by the Ministry of Justice on the personal details, health condition, social status and any other received information about the child proposed for adoption by them;
• mediates for establishing contact between the adoption candidates and the proposed child and provides them will all kinds of assistance during their stay in Bulgaria;
• if necessary and if the adoption candidates wish so, provide consultations with qualified specialists – doctor, psychologist, pedagogue;
• provides legal representation to the adoption candidates before Sofia City court;
• provides all necessary documents for the child to leave the boundaries of the Republic of Bulgaria: court decision, birth certificate and passport issued by the Bulgarian authorities;
• presents to the Ministry of Justice four post-placement reports regarding the adopted child: one report semiannually during the first two years after the adoption.
About the Adoption
- Category: Fondation Sunshine for our kids
The adoption of a person, who habitually resides in Bulgaria, is allowed in compliance with the Family Code provisions. When the person to be adopted is a Bulgarian citizen, with habitual residence in Bulgaria, the consent of the Minister of Justice must be obtained, and the adoption is performed by the Sofia City Court. .
Only a child habitually residing in Bulgaria and entered in the register of the Ministry of Justice may be adopted by a person habitually residing abroad who has submitted a permission for adoption of a child pursuant to the laws of the country where they habitually reside and entered in the Ministry of Justice register.
REQUIREMENTS TO THE PROSPECTIVE ADOPTIVE PARENTS:
• They shall be eligible to adopt under their national law;
• They shall not suffer from serious chronic, contagious or venereal diseases, tuberculosis, HIV and other life threatening diseases;
• They are not and have not been deprived of their parental rights;
• They were never convicted;
• A single unmarried person or a legally married couple only may adopt;
• They must submit all necessary documents required under the Bulgarian legislation;
• They must be registered in the Ministry of Justice register of prospective adoptive parents habitually residing abroad and wishing to adopt a child under the conditions of full adoption;
• Prospective adoptive parents must be at least 15 years older than the child they apply to adopt. When the child is adopted by a couple at least one of the parents must meet this requirement.
Frequently asked questions
- Category: Fondation Sunshine for our kids
Eligibility criteria?
Married couples and singles. There is no requirement regarding the length of marriage or prior divorces.
Is it possible for us to undertake actions for adoption directly in Bulgaria?
That is absolutely forbidden (and is a violation of the law)!
Length of process?
The waiting time is dynamic and varies. It depends on the number of children and the number of prospective adoptive parents in the register. It also depends on the readiness of the adoptive parent(s) to adopt a child with special needs or older children for whom the wait is shortened significantly.
Who selects and proposes the child to be adopted by us?
The matching of children and families is conducted by the Ministry of Justice based on the best interest of the child and the possibilities of the adoptive parents to provide physical, mental and social well-being for the child.
What will happen if we refuse the proposal?
The adoptive parent(s) may keep their registration number in the register in the event of refusal due to health problems of the child, for which the adoptive parent(s) haven’t been informed in advance or haven’t explicitly stated that they are ready to accept. In cases of refusals, the International Adoption Council refers the child to other prospective adoptive parents.
When should we travel to Bulgaria and how long we need to stay?
Two trips to Bulgaria are necessary. The first trip is after accepting the proposal for adoption and the stay is 5 days long. During this first visit the adoptive parent(s) meet the child and make contact with it in the populated area of the institution, in which the child is placed. Upon the second trip the family assumes the custody on the child, and after receiving the passport and the visa (if necessary) he/she may leave Bulgaria.
Shall we have a translator?
Each family receives fully focused services, performed with responsibility and care by the experts working at the “Sunshine for our kids” Foundation, including an accompanying translator to and from the relevant language for the entire period of stay of the family.
When we go to take the child from the home where he/she is placed, should we bring clothes and shoes for him/her?
Yes, it is advisable. Of course, the child will wear clothes and shoes, but he/she will leave the home with the clothes and shoes that you are going to bring him/her. A few sets of clothes and shoes should be provided for, which the child is going to wear until his/her departure from Bulgaria. It is a good idea to leave the clothes and shoes from the Home for the other children.
Fondation Sunshine for our kids