Cyprus is a party to the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (Hague Adoption Convention or Convention). Intercountry adoption processing in Convention countries must be done in accordance with the requirements of the Hague Adoption Convention; the U.S. implementing legislation, the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 (IAA); the IAA’s implementing regulations and U.S. adoption-related immigration policies; as well as the implementing legislation and regulations of Cyprus.
U.S. citizens interested in adopting children from Cyprus should contact the Central Authority of Cyprus to inquire about applicable laws and procedures. U.S. citizen prospective adoptive parents living in Cyprus who would like to adopt a child from the United States or from a third country should also contact Cyprus’s Central Authority. See contact information below.
General Adoption Steps
If you receive permission from the Central Authority of Cyprus to pursue a Hague intercountry adoption, below is the limited adoption information the Department has obtained from the adoption authority of Cyprus.
Before adopting or obtaining legal custody of a child in country Cyprus, you must first receive approval of your Form I-800A, Application for Determination of Suitability to Adopt a Child from a Convention Country, and provisional approval of your Form I-800, Petition to Classify Convention Adoptee as an Immediate Relative, filed on behalf of the child you intend to adopt. Please see the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website for additional information about the Hague Process.
The consular officer will then send a letter (referred to as an “Article 5/17 Letter”) to Cyprus’s Central Authority in any intercountry adoption involving U.S. citizen adoptive parents and a child from Cyprus if all Convention requirements are met and the child appears eligible to immigrate to the United States. This letter will inform the Cyprus’s Central Authority that the parents are suitable and eligible to adopt, that the child appears eligible to enter and reside permanently in the United States, and that the U.S. Central Authority agrees that the adoption may proceed.
Warning: Do not attempt to adopt or obtain custody of a child in Cyprus before USCIS has provisionally approved your Form I-800 petition AND a U.S. consular officer issues the “Article 5/17 Letter” for your adoption case. The consular officer will make a final decision about a child’s eligibility for an immigrant visa later in the adoption process.
Caution: Although U.S. citizens generally must follow the Hague Convention process to adopt a child from a Hague Convention country, the Family-Based Petition Process (Form I-130) may be an option for U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents to petition for their adopted child. However, U.S. citizens may file a Form I-130 for a child from a Hague Convention country only if they can establish the Convention does not apply to the adoption. There are significant differences between the Hague and the Family-Based Petition Process. For more information about specific Form I-130 requirements for adopted children, see the USCIS website and the USCIS Policy Manual, Vol. 5.
Cyprus is not considered a country of origin for intercountry adoption at this time. While adoption is legally possible, children from Cyprus are not generally placed for intercountry adoption. No child from Cyprus has received a U.S. immigrant visa based on an intercountry adoption in the past five fiscal years. The information provided is intended primarily to assist in extremely rare adoption cases from Cyprus, including adoptions of children from Cyprus by relatives in the United States, as well as adoptions from third countries by U.S. citizens living in Cyprus.
Prospective adoptive parents who are stationed overseas on U.S. military orders, posted overseas on U.S. government orders, or are private citizens living abroad are cautioned that the Convention may apply to an adoption completed in the United States, in the host country, and/or involving a child from a third country. We also strongly encourage such prospective adoptive parents to consult with the Central Authority of the country where they are physically residing, and/or where the child is residing, to determine whether the Convention applies to a proposed adoption.
Please visit the Department of State’s country page for more information on traveling to Cyprus and U.S. Embassy Nicosia’s website for information on consular services.
Please see our section on Adoptions from the United States for more information on the process for adopting a child from the United States. We urge prospective adoptive parents residing abroad who are considering adoption of a child from the United States to consult with the Cyprus’s Central Authority, [NAME OF CA], for its determination as to whether it considers your adoption to be subject to the Convention.
