INTERCOUNTRY ADOPTION


ITALY, HOLY SEE (VATICAN CITY) AND SAN MARINO

April 2006

Disclaimer: The following is intended as a very general guide to assist U.S. citizens who plan to adopt a child from a foreign country and apply for an immigrant visa for the child to come to the United States . Two sets of laws are particularly relevant: 1) the laws of the child’s country of birth govern all activity in that country including the adoptability of individual children as well as the adoption of children in country in general; and 2) U.S. Federal immigration law governs the immigration of the child to the United States .

The information in this flyer relating to the legal requirements of specific foreign countries is based on public sources and our current understanding. It does not necessarily reflect the actual state of the laws of a child’s country of birth and is provided for general information only. Moreover, U.S. immigration law, including regulations and interpretation, changes from time to time. This flyer reflects our current understanding of the law as of this date and is not legally authoritative. Questions involving foreign and U.S. immigration laws and legal interpretation should be addressed respectively to qualified foreign or U.S. legal counsel.

Prospective adoptive parents are advised to fully research any adoption agency or facilitator they plan to use for adoption services.  For U.S.-based agencies, it is suggested that prospective adoptive parents contact the Better Business Bureau and/or the licensing office of the appropriate state government agency in the U.S. state where the agency is located or licensed. 

IMPORTANT NOTE:  Prospective adoptive parents must legally reside in Italy .

PATTERNS OF IMMIGRATION OF ADOPTED ORPHANS TO THE UNITED STATES:  U.S. immigrant visa statistics show that no Italian children have received adoption immigrant visas in the past five years.

Adoption Authority in ITALY :  City juvenile courts oversee the handling of adoption cases.  For a complete listing of these courts, prospective adoptive parents should visit the following web site:http://www.leradicieleali.com/html/tribunali.html.

Eligibility Requirements for adoptive Parents:  Adoptive parents must be at least eighteen years old and no more than forty-five years over the age of the adoptee.  Only married couples may adopt.  The couple must have been married for at least three years and must reside in Italy .

ResidenCY Requirements:  Prospective adoptive parents must legally reside in Italy .

Time Frame: An adoption in Italy can take up to three years from the time the application is filed with the juvenile court until the child is in the new family’s home and the adoption is finalized.

Adoption AgencieS and attorneys:  A list of Italian adoption agencies is located at: http://www.dirittoefamiglia.it/redazion/problemi/adozioni/associazioniadozione.htm.  A list of attorneys is available via the U.S. Embassy web site at http://www.italy.usembassy.gov.  Persons considering adopting in Italy or any other country should also review the Important Notice Regarding Adoption Agents and Facilitators at the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs web site, http://travel.state.gov.

Adoption Fees in italy :  Approximately 5,000 euros.

Adoption Procedures:   Prospective adoptive parents start the adoption procedure by submitting a request called “Dicharazione alla Disponabilità per l’Adozione” (Declaration of Willingness to Adopt) to the Juvenile Court having jurisdiction over the place of residence of the prospective adoptive parents. 

Based on the information provided by the prospective adoptive parents, the Juvenile Court selects the child that better matches the prospective adoptive parents.  There are no further details on how the child is selected by the Juvenile Court.

There is a fostering period of one year.  During that period, the local Juvenile Court monitors and provides support to the prospective adoptive parents. At the end of the fostering year, the Juvenile Court either confirms or revokes the adoption.

The Court will request the intervention of the local social services agency to assist and evaluate the couple, prepare a home study, and report the findings to the Court. 

The appointed local social services agency will then conduct a study on the prospective adoptive parents in order to evaluate their capacity to bring up the minor, their personal economic situation, their personal health conditions, the family environment and the motivation of their request.  

The Juvenile Court can also appoint a judge and/or a team of specialists, who will hold meetings with the prospective adoptive parents in order to evaluate them and/or to provide additional information.

Documents Required for Adoption in italy :  The Declaration of Willingness to Adopt should be accompanied by the following documents:

  • Birth Certificates of the prospective adoptive parents;
  • Registry Office certificate (“Stato di Famiglia”) ;
  • Declaration of consent to adopt by the prospective adoptive parents’ parents, given in the form of an affidavit or, should they be deceased, death certificate(s) of adopting parents’ parents;
  • Medical certificate issued by family doctor ;
  • Evidence of economic means (i.e. tax returns; pay stubs) ;
  • Criminal record of adopting parents;
  • Notarial act, or equivalent declaration, attesting that there is neither legal nor de facto separation between the adopting couple.

No documentation about the child/ren is required.

AUTHENTICATING U.S. DOCUMENTS TO BE USED ABROAD:  The language describing the process of authenticating U.S. documents to be used abroad is currently under review. Please click on the following link for more information until the new language is finalized: http://www.state.gov/m/a/auth/.

ITALIAN embassy and consulates in the United States:

Embassy of Italy
3000 Whitehaven Street, NW
Washington, DC 20008
Tel.: (202) 612-4400
Fax: (202) 518-2151

http://www.ambwashingtondc.esteri.it/ambasciata_washington

Italy has Consulates in Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco .

U.S. Immigration Requirements:  Prospective adoptive parents are strongly encouraged to consult USCIS publication M-249, The Immigration of Adopted and Prospective Adopting Children, as well as the Department of State publication, International Adoptions. The USCIS publication is available at the USCIS Web site. The Department of State publication International Adoption can be found on the Bureau of Consular Affairs Web site, travel.state.gov, under “International Adoption.”

Before completing an adoption abroad, prospective adoptive parents are strongly encouraged to read the requirements for filing Form I-600 Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative.  Please see the flyer “How Can Adopted Children Come to the United States” at the Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs web site travel.state.gov.

U.S. EMBASSY/Consulate in I taly : Americans living or traveling abroad are encouraged to register with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate through the State Department’s travel registration website, https://travelregistration.state.gov/, and to obtain updated information on travel and security within the country of travel.  Americans without Internet access may register directly with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate.  By registering, American citizens make it easier for the Embassy or Consulate to contact them in case of emergency.  The Consular Section at the U.S. Embassy in Rome is located at:

Via Vittorio Veneto 121 - 00187 ROMA
website: rome.usembassy.gov
Telephone (switchboard): (+39) 06.46741
fax: (+39) 06.4674.2244
e-mail: uscitizensrome@state.gov

The United States also has Consulates General in Florence, Milan and Naples .  See http://naples.usconsulate.gov/mission/ for contact information.

APPLYING FOR A VISA FOR AN ITALIAN ADOPTED CHILD:  Immigrant visas for Italian citizens are issued at the U.S. Consulate General in Naples .  Immigrant visa applications are handled by appointment only.  For additional information, e-mail questions to IVNaples@State.gov; fax the Consulate General at (39) 081-583-8394; or write: Consolato Generale Americano, Piazza della Repubblica, 80122 Napoli, Italy .

Note: Visa issuance after the final interview generally takes 24 hours and it will not normally be possible to provide the visa to the adoptive parents and children on the day of the interview. 

ACQUIRING U.S. CITIZENSHIP: The language describing the acquisition of U.S. citizenship for adopted children is currently under review. Until the new language is finalized, please click on the following link for further information: http://travel.state.gov/family/adoption/info/info_457.html.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Specific questions about intercountry adoption in Italy may be addressed to the U.S. Consulate in Naples .   General questions regarding intercountry adoption may be addressed to the Office of Children’s Issues, U.S. Department of State, CA/OCS/CI, SA-29, 4th Floor, 2201 C Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20520-4818 , toll-free Tel: 1-888-407-4747.

Useful information is also available from several other sources:

Telephone:

  • Toll Free - For information on intercountry adoption and international parental child abduction, call Overseas Citizens Services at 1-888-407-4747. This number is available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays). Callers who are unable to use toll-free numbers, such as those calling from overseas, may obtain information and assistance during these hours by calling 1-202-501-4444.
  • U.S. Department of State Visa Office - recorded information concerning immigrant visas for adopting children, (202) 663-1225.
  • U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services - recorded information for requesting immigrant visa application forms, 1-800-870-FORM (3676).

Internet :

  • Adoption Information Flyers: The U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs web site at: http://travel.state.gov/ contains intercountry adoption information flyers like this one and the International Adoptions brochure.
  • Country Specific Information: The State Department has general information about hiring a foreign attorney and authenticating documents that may supplement the country-specific information provided in this flyer. In addition, the State Department publishes Country Specific Information for every country in the world, providing information such as location of the U.S. Embassy, health conditions, political situations, and crime reports. If the situation in a country poses a specific threat to the safety and security of American citizens that is not addressed in the CSI for that country, the State Department may issue a Travel Alert alerting U.S. citizens to local security situations. If conditions in a country are sufficiently serious, the State Department may issue a Travel Warning recommending that U.S. citizens avoid traveling to that country. These documents are available on the Internet at: http://travel.state.gov/ or by calling the State Department's Office of Overseas Citizen Services Toll Free at 1-888-407-4747. This number is available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays). Callers who are unable to use toll-free numbers, such as those calling from overseas, may obtain information and assistance during these hours by calling 1-202-501-4444.
  • USCIS web site - http://uscis.gov/.