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Intercountry Adoption > Country Information > Mozambique Intercountry Adoption Information
Reissued with obsolete COVID-19 page links removed.
Exercise increased caution in Mozambique due to health issues, crime and terrorism. Some areas have greater risk. Read the entire Travel Advisory.
Do Not Travel To:
Reconsider Travel To:
Country Summary: Violent crime, such as mugging, is common.
Terrorist groups in northern Mozambique continue to be active. Public areas may be attacked with little or no warning.
Mozambique’s health infrastructure is limited: there are only three doctors per 100,000 people, frontline health providers are often poorly trained, and medicine shortages are common. More than 1.2 million people in Mozambique have HIV/AIDS, representing a sizable population with compromised immune systems. In the event of a public health emergency, access to an ICU and ventilator support is highly unlikely.
Read the country information page for additional information on travel to Mozambique.
If you decide to travel to Mozambique:
Certain districts in Cabo Delgado Province – Level 4: Do Not Travel
Terrorists continue to conduct and plot attacks on government forces, villages, and key supply routes in the districts of Ancuabe, Chuire, Ibo, Macomia, Meluco, Metuge, Mocimboa da Praia, Mueda, Muidumbe, Nangade, Palma, and Quissanga in the northern province of Cabo Delgado.
Pemba, Capital of Cabo Delgado Province – Level 3: Reconsider Travel
Terrorist attacks in multiple districts in Cabo Delgado Province present the possibility that the provincial capital of Pemba is vulnerable to attack due to the proximity of violent extremist forces and their increasing sophistication.
Visit our website for Travel to High-Risk Areas.
While domestic adoption by U.S. citizens living in Mozambique is possible, intercountry adoption (taking the child to reside in a foreign country while still a minor) is not possible. Under Mozambique’s laws, the adopted child must reside with the parents in Mozambique until reaching 18 years of age.
Mozambique is not a party to the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (Hague Adoption Convention or Convention).
U.S. citizens living in Mozambique interested in adopting children from Mozambique should contact the adoption authority of Mozambique to inquire about applicable laws and procedures. U.S. citizen prospective adoptive parents living in Mozambique who would like to adopt a child from the United States or from a third country should also contact Mozambique’s adoption authority. See contact information below.
Caution: Prospective adoptive parents should be aware that not all children in orphanages or children’s homes are eligible for adoption. In many countries, birth parents place their child(ren) temporarily in an orphanage or children’s home due to financial or other hardship, intending the child return home when possible. In such cases, the birth parent(s) have rarely relinquished their parental rights or consented to the adoption of their child(ren).
Please visit the Department of State’s country page for more information on travelling to Mozambique and the U.S. Embassy Maputo’s website for information on consular services.
Mozambique’s Adoption Authority
Adoption information may be requested from this office by postal mail, international courier, or phone using the following contact information:
Direcção Nacional de Acção Social
Departamento da Crianca (Social Services National Directorate, Children’s Department)
Av. Ahmed Sékou Touré 908, Maputo
Tel: +258 21 350300/301 064
Ms. Francisca Sales is the Director of the Social Services National Directorate at the federal level.
Internet: Ministério do Género, Criança e Acção Social
Embassy of Mozambique
Embassy of the Republic of Mozambique
1525 New Hampshire Avenue, N.W.
Suite 570
Washington, D.C. 20036
Tel: (202) 293-7146
Fax: (202) 835-0245
Email: embamoc@aol.com
Internet: https://usa.embamoc.gov.mz/?lang=en
U.S. Embassy in Mozambique
Consular Section
Avenida Kenneth Kaunda 193
Maputo, Mozambique
Tel: + (258) 21 49 2797
Fax: + (258) 21 49 0448
Email: ConsularMaputo@state.gov
Internet: mz.usembassy.gov
Office of Children’s Issues
U.S. Department of State
CA/OCS/CI
SA-17, 9th Floor
Washington, D.C. 20522-1709
Tel: 1-888-407-4747
Email: Adoption@state.gov
Internet: adoption.state.gov
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
For questions about filing a Form I-600A application or a Form I-600 petition with the
USCIS National Benefits Center (NBC):
Tel: 1-877-424-8374 (toll free); 1-913-275-5480 (local); Fax:1- 913-214-5808
Email: NBC.Adoptions@uscis.dhs.gov
For questions about filing a Form I-600A application or a Form I-600 petition with a USCIS international field office:
Please visit uscis.gov/about-us/find-uscis-office/international-immigration-offices and select the appropriate office.
For general questions about immigration procedures:
USCIS Contact Center
Tel: 1-800-375-5283 (TTY 1-800-767-1833)
Internet: uscis.gov
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