Required Documents For Adoption

Mr A

This article contains the full procedure involved in adopting a child or baby in Nigeria. Having a child is not entirely by choice. At the end of the day, it is God who makes the final decision whether you would be blessed with a child or not. Right now as you read this article, a lot of women are praying for children while some others are looking for ways to terminate the ones that they have been blessed with. Most of the women in the latter category end up following 'plan B' which is to give birth to the child and then toss him/her in a bin somewhere along the street. Most of these children end up in orphanage homes or motherless babies' homes where they await families who actually need them. If you are a single parent or a couple who have decided to take the adoption route, then you must follow the necessary procedure and provide the necessary documents to avoid unwarranted problems.

Required Documents For Adoption

Birth Certificates: The birth certificates of the adopting couple is a required document. This is to ensure that the individuals meet the age requirements. In Nigeria, the age required for adoption may vary from state to state, but in most states, the adopting parent must be at least 25 years old. this means that if you are a 24 year old father or a 24 year old mother, you are not eligible to adopt a child. Another important age requirement is that the age difference between the adopting parent and the child must be at least 21 years. This means that even if you are 25 years old, you will not be allowed to adopt a 5 year old child.
Marriage Certificates: The marriage certificates of the adopting couple must be presented. If you are a single parent and do not wish to get married, then you must have all the other requirements and you must give a valid reason why you do not wish to get married. This should be explained in the letter you would write to the women affairs ministry in your state.
Divorce Document: If this document is applicable to you, you should provide it while trying to adopt a child. It is important to identify that you are no longer married to a certain someone, to prevent that person from appearing to claim responsibility for the child in future.
Gender Requirement: This is not really a document. In child adoption, it is a rule that single parents would not be allowed to adopt a child of the opposite s3x. Married couples on the other hand can adopt a child of any gender since they would be required to care for the child jointly.
Proof Of Nigerian Citizenship: You would be required to provide a means of identification as proof that you are indeed Nigerian. This could be represented by a National ID card, International passport or a voters card.
Proof Of Income: It would not be fair to give a child off to a family where he/she would suffer from malnutrition. Technically speaking, you would have to prove that you would give the child a better treatment than he/she is currently receiving at the orphanage. You are required to present a financial document identifying your monthly income.
Police Report: A report from the police is required for the adoption process.

The Adoption Process

First, you would need to already have a child in mind. You can visit any orphanage of your choice to make enquiries regarding their requirements and policies for adoption. If you are adopting from a family you already know, then your work is easier.
Next, you would have to write a formal letter to the ministry of women affairs in your state. The letter should be addressed in this manner:

To the Director,
Child Development Department,
Ministry of Women Affairs and Child Development,
Lagos state.

This formal letter should be addressed to the state in which the child resides and should be accompanied with all your other documents.

Another formal letter you may need to write is to the magistrate court in the state where the child resides. This may not be necessary depending on the requirements of the orphanage from which the child is being adopted.

Sir-Phil

May this never be my portion in Jesus name!

Mr Paul

Please, Mr A, check; there is a little miscalculation in the "Age difference between adopting parents and the child to be adopted".
You said it should be at least, 21yrs difference and you said a 25yrs old parents cannot adopt 2yrs old baby; but the age difference is 23yrs.

Sir-Phil

It could be that he meant to write 22years old parent

Mr Paul

Ok; I think so.

Xaviell

Mr Paul:
Ok; I think so.

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