INTERCOUNTRY ADOPTION


SLOVAK REPUBLIC

 

August 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. 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.

PLEASE NOTE:  Intercountry adoption in Slovakia can only take place if the adoptive parents’ home country has ratified the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption. The United States has signed but not yet ratified this Convention. The Department of State and Department of Homeland Security are preparing the implementing regulations so that the United States can ratify the Convention in 2007. For additional information, please visit the flyer on U.S. efforts to implement the Adoption Convention at http://travel.state.gov/hagueinfo2004.html.

In the absence of the Hague Convention, only American prospective adoptive parents who are legal residents of Slovakia may adopt orphans under Slovak law.

Immigrant visas for Slovak citizens, including adopted orphans, are issued by the U.S. Embassy in Prague, Czech Republic. (See: http://www.usembassy.cz/consular/imvisa.htm for more information.)


PATTERNS OF IMMIGRATION OF ADOPTED ORPHANS TO THE U.S.: Recent U.S. immigrant visa statistics reflect the following pattern for visa issuance to Slovak orphans:

Fiscal Year       Number of Immigrant Visas Issued
FY 2005                                     1
FY 2004                                     1
FY 2003                                     1
FY 2002                                     19
FY 2001                                     24


ADOPTION AUTHORITY IN SLOVAKIA:

Centrum Pre Medzinárodnoprávnu Ochranu Detí a Mládeže
(Center for the International Legal Protection of Children and Youth)
Župné nám. č. 6
P. O. Box 57
814 99 Bratislava

Tel: +4212/59330501
Tel 2: +4212/59330502
Fax: +4212/5933 0698
Open for walk-in public: 8:00 do 16:00, Wednesdays only
E-mail: cipc@employment.gov.sk

The Center for the International Legal Protection of Children and Youth (“the Center”) primarily communicates with the partnership centers in other member countries of the Hague Convention. It will respond to private calls only if the caller is a long-term resident of Slovakia.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR ADOPTIVE PARENTS: Slovak law sets no age limits for adoptive parents.  The law does recommend, however, that the age difference between child and adoptive parents be "adequate.”  U.S. Embassy officials have been told that the age difference should be at least 15 years, and no more than 40 years.  Both couples and single persons may apply to adopt Slovak children.

RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS:  Prospective adoptive parents (PAPs) must, during the whole adoption procedure, have the status of long-term or permanent residents of Slovakia or another country that is party to the Hague Convention, and must be physically present in that country. 

TIME FRAME: Prospective adoptive parents are required to reside with their adoptive child for 6 months to a year before an adoption is finalized.  An adoption may take up to two years to complete.

ADOPTION AGENCIES AND ATTORNEYS: There are no government-approved adoption agencies; individual cases are handled directly by the Center and by the court. This means that an adoption cannot be mediated by any adoption agency. An application from a PAP residing in another Hague country must be filed directly with the Center or, if the PAP resides in Slovakia, with the local Office of Employment, Social Affairs and Family in the PAP’s district  of residence.

A local attorney may be of assistance. A list of English speaking attorneys is available at
www.sak.sk  Right-click on the link and select open hyperlink. (Note:  If the website opens in Slovak or German, you can change the language to English by clicking the small “EN” in the upper right corner.)

Prospective adopting 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 adopting parents contact the Better Business Bureau and licensing office of the Department of Health and Family Services in the state where the agency is located. 

Please see Important Notice Regarding Adoption Agents and Facilitators at our Web site travel.state.gov .

ADOPTION FEES IN SLOVAKIA:

  • Court fees: If the case is processed under the Hague Convention, there are no fees.  If the case is pursued by prospective parents who are residents of Slovakia, the maximum fee is 5000 Slovak crowns (SK). [Note: At the current exchange rate, USD one equals SK 29.4];
  • Administrative fees for translation of documents and authentication of documents can be charged, usually about $15 per page.  Issuance of Birth Certificate and authentication: 600 SK;


Issuance of passport to minor under 5 years of age: 250 SK; minor under 15 years of age: 400 SK; expedited issuance within 24 hours is 2000 SK.
If an attorney is hired, the fees for provided services are paid to the attorney directly and should be negotiated directly with the attorney.

ADOPTION PROCEDURES: Slovak orphanages for children up to age 3 are administered by the Slovak Ministry of Health; orphanages for children of ages 3-18 are administered by the Ministry of Education.

Slovak law requires that the child reside from six months to one year with the prospective adoptive parents (PAP) before a court may issue a final adoption decree. The child would live with the PAP in a pre-adoption foster care situation.  During this period the family would be observed by social workers representing the child.  In Hague Convention adoptions, all documents should be prepared in accordance with requirements of the Central Authority of the PAP’s country of residence. PAPs residing in Slovakia should contact the Office of the Social Affairs, Employment and Family having jurisdiction over their place of residence.  In their case, all documents must be from Slovakia.  They will need proof of a sound financial situation as well as good physical and mental health. They will be required to obtain a home study and a psychological assessment.  PAPs who are not citizens of Slovakia will also be required to present a good-conduct statement from their country of origin, 

DOCUMENTS REQUIRED FOR ADOPTION IN SLOVAKIA: Applications for adoption must be supported by the following basic documents:

  • Home study from an accredited social agency in Slovakia
  • Good conduct statement (police report from the country of the adoptive parent)
  • Proof of financial situation
  • Good health condition report
  • Psychological assessment test (The PAPs may select a suitable physician to perform this test, but should first obtain instructions and forms from their local Office of the Social Affairs, Employment and Family.)


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.travel.state.gov/law/info/judicial/judicial_701.html


SLOVAK EMBASSY AND CONSULATE GENERAL IN THE UNITED STATES:

3523 International Court N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20008
Tel: 202-237-1054
Fax: 202-237-6438
Email: info@slovakembassy-us.org
http://www.slovakembassy-us.org/

Consulate General of the Slovak Republic
801 Second Avenue, 12th Floor
New York, NY 10017
Tel:  212-286-8434
Fax: 212-286-8439
Email: slovakconsulate_ny@verizon.net


                    U.S. IMMIGRATION REQUIREMENTS: 

Prospective adopting parents are strongly encouraged to consult USCIS publication M-249, The Immigration of Adopted and Prospective Adoptive 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 Adoptions, can be found on the Bureau of Consular Affairs Web site, http://travel.state.gov, under “International Adoptions.”

Adoptive parents are strongly encouraged to read the flyer on the requirements for filing I-600 petitions for orphans adopted by U.S. citizens before completing an adoption abroad. Please see the flyer How Can Adopted Children Come to the United States at the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs web site http://travel.state.gov.

APPLYING FOR A VISA AT THE U.S. EMBASSY IN PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC:  Immigrant visas for Slovak citizens, including adopted orphans, are issued by the U.S. Embassy in Prague, Czech Republic.  Please visit that embassy’s web site at http://www.usembassy.cz/consular/imvisa.htm for more information.

U.S. EMBASSY IN SLOVAKIA: 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 is located at:

Hviezdoslavovo nam. 4
811 02 Bratislava
Slovakia
Tel: 011-421 2-5443 0861
Fax: 011-421 2-5441 8861
Email: cons@usembassy.sk
http://www.usembassy.sk/


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 adoption in Slovakia may be addressed to the U.S. Embassy in Bratislava.  Questions concerning the U.S. immigrant visa process for Slovak children should be directed to the U.S. Embassy in Prague, Czech Republic, via the web site provided above.  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/.