India can offer some prospective adopters the opportunity to adopt a child of the same cultural and ethnic background. In addition the Indian eligibility criteria for prospective adoptive parents includes people who are not of Indian heritage. Our India Special Programme is therefore our most popular and successful programme to date.
The India adoption process is well embedded at Coram IAC we are very familiar with working with our colleagues in India to support adopters through the process. Children come from across the Indian continent and most are usually living in orphanages prior to being placed.
Since 2011 Coram IAC has been enlisted as an authorised Foreign Adoption Agency by the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA), the central authority for adoption in India. India is a country which is a signatory to the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in respect of Intercountry Adoption 1993 and all adoptions from India are regulated through CARA.
CARA require that approved adoptive parents must be registered on line with them and Coram IAC is able to register prospective adoptive parents and support them through the waiting period. CARA will then review the application, and once accepted onto the waiting list two children’s files will be shared with the prospective adoptive parents via Coram IAC. Once in country Coram IAC is able to support prospective adopters through the India process through regular contact with the institution where the child is living.
In line with many countries overseas India has many children living in institutions who would benefit from family life. As a Hague Convention country children are placed within families living in India (domestic adopters) as a first option. CARA regulations state that non-resident Indians (NRIs) living overseas are treated on a par with domestic adopters, and that those holding Overseas Citizenship of India status or who are Foreigners may also apply. However, all prospective adopters of any status who are resident in the UK must progress their adoption applications through the Hague procedures. Thus far Coram IAC has not become aware of any differences in the way NRI cases are processed compared to adopters with other statuses.
Coram IAC would therefore encourage prospective adoptive parents to be flexible as far as possible regarding the age range of the child/ren they would be willing to consider, as many children needing homes are not babies but toddlers or older.
Please see the Information Pack for details of further eligibility criteria.
Coram IAC is able to register any eligible family with CARA provided that the prospective adopter is:
*If you are already in the process of adopting an identified child from India, or wish to, please speak to the Advice Line for information about the process.
Although it is possible for the Department for Education to register any approved adopter seeking to adopt from India with CARA, Coram IAC registers any prospective adopter approved directly by the agency. This ensures that Coram IAC is able to liaise directly with both CARA and the Specialised Adoption Agencies in India about your case and about the child matches proposed.
There is a charge for this service and further details concerning the service and the costs can be found in the Information for Prospective Adopters: India Special Programme.
For further information about the special programme please contact the Coram IAC Advice Line.