Chile
February 28, 2007
Children Available:
Although it is very possible to adopt a child from Chile the adoption authority gives first priority to Chilean families. Often, this means that the children available for adoption to non-Chileans are over the age of 4.
Parental Requirements:
Prospective parents must meet the eligibility requirements in order to adopt. For a Chilean child parents must be between the ages of 25 and 60 years old. The guideline is that a both parents must be at least 20 years older than the child they are adopting.
To begin adopting a child from Chile prospective parents need to contact the Servicio Nacional de Menores otherwise known as SENAME. This government organization approves parents who wish to adopt and connect parents with children in need of adoption. Parents may contact the SENAME by mail, phone, or directly through their website.
Servicio Nacional de Menores de Chile (SENAME)
Unidad de Adopción
Huerfanos 587
Santiago, Chile
Telephone: (56)(2) 398-4447
www.sename.cl
Timeline:
From the time that a prospective parent contacts SENAME until the adoption has been fully processed is an estimated two years. This time frame is long due to the child availability to non-Chilean families and the time it takes to acquire a hearing date for various legal processes in the adoption. In Chile, different from many other countries, an attorney can not process a petition to adopt. This must be completed by SENAME and accredited adoption agencies in Chile. Currently, according to the U.S. Department of State there are three agencies in Chile which work with intercountry adoptions.
Fundación Chilena de la Adopción (Telephone: 665-2139; 665-2150)
Fundación San José para la Adopción Familiar Cristiana (Telephone: 399-9600)
Instituto Chileano de Colonias y Campamentos y Hogares de Menores (Telephone:72-541-271)
Prospective parents need to apply through SENAME for intercountry adoptive status. Parents may send a letter or email that includes names, birth dates, contact information, preference of child to adopt and why, if any, the reason for the preference. After SENAME has received this information they will consider the parents for intercountry adoption. SENAME will contact the prospective parents and ask for documentation such as a completed homestudy from an accredited agency, references, proof of income, etc.
Prospective parents should find out this information through their homestudy agency, however, they will need to file forms with their country of citizenship and residence in order to apply for immigration status and a visa for the child they are adopting.
United States citizens are encouraged to read the M-249 document on the immigration of adopted and prospective adopting children. This will be a guide for forms that need to be filed with the government. A child adopted from Chile will enter the United States, for example, with an IR-3 visa.
After all of the documentation has been received by SENAME they will match a child with prospective parents. Parents may decline this referral, however, will need to state why this decision was made and then start the process over again. When prospective parents accept a referral SENAME will obtain a hearing with a judge which often takes from 6 to 12 months. During the hearing, which takes place in Chile, prospective parents and SENAME or a representative from one of the aforementioned approved adoption agencies must be present. After this hearing parents must ask for an extra certified copy of the adoption decree. This document is very difficult to obtain after the hearing and must be requested while present at the hearing.
When the judge approves the adoptive and issues the adoption decree the civil registry will be informed and provide a new birth certificate that included the names of the adoptive parents. This usually takes 15-30 working days. Parents generally remain in Chile with the child while the final document needed to complete the adoption are made available. Prior to traveling to Chile for this
process parents must contact their countries embassy to direction as to what documents are needed for travel home with their new child. When leaving Chile and returning home parents not traveling together must obtain notarized authorization from each other to take the child out of Chile. This notarized form must be done at a Chilean notary which can be found at santiagoimmigration@state.gov
