This week brought significant news in the world of international adoption: The Chinese government has halted foreign adoptions, with the exception of blood relatives adopting a child or stepparents adopting a stepchild.
If you are considering adoption or in the process of beginning an international adoption, you can learn more about adoption options here. Read on to learn more about recent changes in China’s international adoption policy and how you can move forward with adoption.
While we have done our best to summarize the latest updates here, anyone impacted by this news should reach out to their adoption agency and attorney to understand what the latest changes in China’s policies mean for them.
Updates on Adoption from China in 2024
As of September 2024, intercountry adoptions will be limited only to blood relatives and stepparents of children within China.
According to Beijing officials, this includes adoptions that are currently in process, unless the adoption is covered in an exception clause. It is unclear if these restrictions will be temporary or permanent. U.S. officials are working to provide clarity to families who may be affected by these changes.
Adopting from China in 2020-2024
In 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic, adoptions were temporarily halted, and very few intercountry adoptions have been completed between 2020 and 2024. Between 2020-2023, at least 16 adoptions were completed as the Chinese government eased some restrictions to allow pending adoptions to be completed, but restrictions have remained in place since then. It is unclear if more adoptions have been completed.
Adoption in China Prior to 2020
Historically, many U.S. citizens have adopted children from China in past decades, but numbers decreased from the early 2000s until 2020.
Can You Still Adopt a Baby From China?
Since intercountry adoption from China is halted, you will not be able to adopt a baby from China unless you are the child’s blood relative or you are the child’s stepparent.
What are My Adoption Options?
If you are beginning research on international adoption or beginning the process of international adoption, you still have options, even if you are unable to adopt from China.
International Adoption Outside of China
Adoption in China as a U.S. citizen may not be possible right now, but if you feel strongly about international adoption, there are licensed agencies like Heart Sent who can provide you with the information and resources to begin the process from a different country.
Domestic Infant Adoption
If you want to adopt a baby, the most reliable way to adopt is through a licensed adoption agency that specializes in adoptions for babies and infants. This means you can adopt a baby within the U.S. through our domestic infant adoption agency.
In this process, you can get approved and create a profile, and then our adoption agency will share your profile with pregnant women and new mothers who are considering adoption.
When you connect with a birth mother, you can become a parent and make a lifelong connection.
Some families prefer domestic adoption over international adoption because:
- International adoption changes like the intercountry adoption ban in China won’t affect your family
- You can receive social and medical information about your child and their family
- You can begin bonding with your child from birth—in many international adoptions, adoptees are older
- You can share your child’s full adoption story and maintain a connection with their biological family through open adoption, which can help your child’s development in the future
Our adoption specialists can connect you with all of the information and help you need when you fill out our online form.
FAQs about International Adoption
International adoption can be a complicated subject to understand. Here are a few of the most commonly asked questions about the process:
Does China still allow adoption?
Since 2020, when intercountry adoptions were halted in China due to the Covid-19 pandemic, very few international adoptions have been completed. As of 2024, intercountry adoptions from China have been suspended.
What is the easiest country to adopt from?
International adoption is a complex process that usually lasts multiple years, and intercountry adoption procedures are generally determined by international laws that can vary from country to country. So, no country is necessarily “easy” to adopt from. That being said, in 2023, more U.S. citizens adopted from India and Columbia than from any other countries.
China adoption update?
In recent years, few intercountry adoptions have been completed from China, and as of 2024, adoptions are halted.
