Bulgaria

Children to be adopted

  • Children of all ages starting from 1½ years of age, more boys than girls.
  • Often children belong to some of the minority groups in Bulgaria.
  • Sibling desire is possible.
  • Two programs; Regular-program for children living mainly in orphanages/foster families, and Special Needs Program for children, who have special needs and need special support.

Waiting Period

  • The waiting period is estimated 3 – 6 years, depending on the content of the adoption application and the expectations regarding the child proposal.
  • Most adoptions take place within a waiting period of 4 to 5 years.
  • The adoption process for a child with special needs is usually faster, but it requires applicants to be prepared to adopt a child with special needs.

Conditions for applicants

  • Married heterosexual couples and single applicants.
  • Applicants who have received an adoption permit in Finland generally also meet the criteria set for Bulgarian applicants. There are no specific restrictions on the age of the applicants, the duration of the marriage or the number of children already in the family.
  • Good health, doctor’s (specialist) opinion on possible diagnoses.

Adoption contact

  • Our partner in Bulgaria is Anido Association, the leading adoption agency in Bulgaria.
  • All applications are submitted via ANIDO to the Bulgarian Ministry of Justice.
  • ANIDO liaises with the Ministry of Justice and monitors the progress of the adoption process.
  • An ANIDO representative is traveling with the applicants when dealing with various agencies and visiting the orphanage etc.

Adoption process in Bulgaria

  1. Application phase
  • The adoption service will send applicants document instructions after the adoption permit has been issued in Finland.
  • Applicants collect the necessary documents and submit them apostilized to the adoption service.
  • The documents will be translated into Bulgarian by ANIDO and submitted to the Ministry of Justice.
  • An application for adoption is usually registered with the Ministry within 1 to 2 months.
  1. Child proposal and visiting the child for the first time
  • The waiting period for registering an application and obtaining a child proposal is about 3 to 5 years.
  • The child proposal is prepared by the Intercountry Adoption Council of the Ministry of Justice of Bulgaria.
  • Child proposals are made in chronological order of registration of applications.
  • Applicants will normally receive comprehensive information on the child’s background, state of health and development, as well as a photograph.
  • The child proposal will be evaluated by a Finnish pediatrician.

Departure for the first travel to meet the child takes place within two months of receiving the child proposal and usually takes a week.

  1. Adoption decision, confirmation in court and adoption trip
  • The child proposal must be approved or rejected in writing within two months of receiving the child proposal.
  • Adoption is confirmed by the Sofia City Court, where the applicants are represented by an ANIDO lawyer.
  • It takes an average of 4 to 6 months from the approval of a child proposal to the actual adoption trip, which usually lasts from a week to 10 days.
  1. Follow-up reporting after coming to Finland
  • The Bulgarian adoption authorities monitor the child’s adjustment to Finland and in the family for two years.
  • Four progress reports are sent every six months to the Ministry of Justice.

More information

Mrs. Sirpa Mäenpää
Adoption Coordinator (Thailand and Bulgaria)
Tel. 010 843 5036; 050 433 1292
firstname.lastname@pelastakaalapset.fi