On December 15, 2017, the new Civil Code of Ukraine came into effect, increasing the appeal period of all civil codes from 10 days to 30 calendar days. This change affects adoption decrees. After an adoption decree is approved by a Ukrainian civil court, the decree will not go into effect until 30 calendar days have passed to allow for an appeal to be filed. After this period, adoptive parents may be given physical custody of the child and they may then apply for a new birth certificate and passport, and finalize the adoption process. 

Before you travel to finalize your child’s adoption in Ukraine, you should consider these new timelines in your travel plans.                                                               

Please continue to monitor adoption.state.gov for updated information on intercountry adoption in Ukraine. For questions about this notice, please contact the Office of Children’s Issues at Adoption@state.gov.