Dear Members of the American Adoption Community Interested in Ukraine:

On March 20, 2007 the Parliament of Ukraine passed bill #2562 On Legislative Amendments to Ukraine's Laws (regarding adoptions). The bill will come into effect after the President's approval and its publication in the official newspaper of Ukraine's Parliament. This process can take at least one week. This bill introduces the following major changes to current Ukrainian legislation:

• The minimum age of prospective adoptive parent must be at least 21 years old
• The maximum age difference between adoptive parents and adopted children cannot exceed 45 years
• Unmarried foreign citizens cannot adopt Ukrainian children.

The final text of this bill will be available after its official publication.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any additional questions.

Sincerely,

Adoption Unit/Immigrant Visa Section
Consular Section
American Embassy
Kyiv, Ukraine
Tel: 38-044-4904422
Fax: 38-044-490-4570
Kyivadoptions@state.gov
http://kyiv.usembassy.gov/amcit_adoptions_eng.html
In accordance with E.O. 12958 this message is not classified.

Dear Members of the American Adoption Community Interested in Ukraine:

We would like to provide some additional information on the bill #2562 On Legislative Amendments to Ukraine's Laws (regarding adoptions), based on the clarification we have received from the State Department for Adoption and Protection of the Rights of the Child.

• The age requirements apply to both parents in the family (if at least one of the adoptive parents does not comply with these requirements, the family cannot be approved for adoption).
• The law is not retroactive. Those adoptive parents, whose dossiers have already been approved and scheduled for appointments, will not be affected by this law and should be able to complete the adoptions until the date this law becomes fully effective.

According to Ukrainian officials, this law will not become effective as soon as was initially expected. Its final text will require additional consideration and approval by the Parliament before it can be submitted for President’s approval. Most likely, the law will not become fully effective until May or June of this year.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any additional questions.

Sincerely,

Adoption Unit/Immigrant Visa Section
Consular Section
American Embassy
Kyiv, Ukraine
Tel: 38-044-4904422
Fax: 38-044-490-4570
Kyivadoptions@state.gov
http://kyiv.usembassy.gov/amcit_adoptions_eng.html
In accordance with E.O. 12958 this message is not classified.

Dear Members of American Adoption Community Interested in Ukraine:

On February 24, 2007 the State Department for Adoption and Protection of the Rights of the Child (SDAPRC) issued the Decree #16. This Decree approves the numbers of the new adoption dossiers from foreign countries, which can be accepted by the SDAPRC during the calendar year 2007. The result of the decree is that the 558 dossier submissions have been allocated to parents from the U.S. for calendar year 2007. This number was arrived at using a complex mathematical formula devised by the SDAPRC. The U.S. remains on top of the list of foreign countries adopting from Ukraine, followed by Italy (494 dossiers) and Spain (380 dossiers).

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any additional questions.

Sincerely,

Adoption Unit/Immigrant Visa Section
Consular Section
American Embassy
Kyiv, Ukraine
Tel: 38-044-4904422
Fax: 38-044-490-4570
Kyivadoptions@state.gov
http://kyiv.usembassy.gov/amcit_adoptions_eng.html
In accordance with E.O. 12958 this message is not classified.