Slovenia 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 Slovenia.
U.S. citizens interested in adopting children from Slovenia should contact the Central Authority of Slovenia to inquire about applicable laws and procedures. U.S. citizen prospective adoptive parents living in Slovenia who would like to adopt a child from the United States or from a third country should also contact Slovenia’s Central Authority. See contact information below.
General Adoption Steps
If you receive permission from the Central Authority of Slovenia to pursue a Hague intercountry adoption, below is the limited adoption information the Department has obtained from the adoption authority of Slovenia.
Before adopting or obtaining legal custody of a child in country Slovenia, 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 Slovenia’s Central Authority in any intercountry adoption involving U.S. citizen adoptive parents and a child from Slovenia if all Convention requirements are met and the child appears eligible to immigrate to the United States. This letter will inform the Slovenia’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 a child in Slovenia 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.
Slovenia is not considered a country of origin for intercountry adoption at this time. While adoption is legally possible, children from Slovenia are not generally placed for intercountry adoption. No child from Slovenia 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 Slovenia, including adoptions of children from Slovenia by relatives in the United States, as well as adoptions from third countries by U.S. citizens living in Slovenia.
The Slovenian Family Code (Official Gazette RS, no. 15/17, 21/18-ZNOrg, 22/19 and 67/19- ZMatR-C) permits foreign nationals to adopt a Slovenian child when the adopting parent is the spouse of the child’s parent or is a relative of the Slovenian child. A foreign national may also adopt a Slovene orphan in the exceptional case that the Slovene Central Authority is unable to find a permanent domestic placement for the child among citizens of Slovenia. Such an exception would need to be approved by the Minister of Labor, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities. At this time, Slovenia’s Central Authority receives more adoption applications from Slovene nationals than there are children eligible for adoption. Therefore, intercountry adoptions of Slovene children are not occurring at this time.
