International Adoption

Start with the central adoption authority—not a private match, orphanage, friend or travel booking.

1. 01

   Contact the central adoption authority in your province or territory. A Canadian living abroad contacts the local authority; a former Québec resident abroad should follow SASIE instructions.

2. 02

   Confirm whether a licensed agency is required, whether the country currently permits adoption with your province and whether Hague Convention procedures apply.

3. 03

   Complete the home study, approvals, matching, child-availability and consent process through authorized channels.

4. 04

   Do not book return travel until both the adoption authority and IRCC process confirm the child can travel to Canada.

5. 05

   Complete post-adoption progress reports required by the country of origin.

Some Canadian parents can choose. The two routes have different medical, nationality, descent and future-child consequences.

1. 01

   After the adoption is in progress and the province/territory issues a Letter of Agreement, No Objection or No Involvement, submit the sponsorship under current Guide 5196.

2. 02

   A sponsor may sometimes start before a child is matched and leave the child’s name blank, if the authority permits.

3. 03

   Submit a separate application for each child, including siblings.

4. 04

   The adoption must be legal in both places, create a genuine parent-child relationship, be in the child’s best interests and not primarily obtain status.

5. 05

   The child completes immigration medical and admissibility processing. The undertaking generally lasts 10 years or until age 25, whichever comes first.

6. 06

   Québec sponsors complete the provincial adoption/sponsorship requirements.

1. 01

   At least one adoptive parent must meet the Canadian-citizenship-at-adoption and transmission rules.

2. 02

   For adopted people in the second generation or later on/after December 15, 2025, the Canadian parent born/adopted abroad generally needs 1,095 days in Canada before the adoption.

3. 03

   IRCC verifies the legality and permanence of the adoption, informed consent, best interests, genuine parent-child relationship and that status was not the primary purpose.

4. 04

   After approval, obtain the citizenship certificate and then the child’s Canadian passport. A certificate alone is not a travel document.

5. 05

   The direct-grant route can affect transmission of citizenship to the adopted person’s future children differently from naturalization after PR.

1. 01

   IRCC’s current list says Iran, Iraq, Pakistan and several other countries do not allow adoption under their laws; guardianship is not automatically an adoption because it may not create a permanent legal parent-child relationship.

2. 02

   Canada-wide or province-specific suspensions apply to several countries, and other states restrict adopter nationality, relationship, marital status or other characteristics.

3. 03

   Do not start an adoption during war or disaster: family tracing and reunification take priority, and it may be impossible to establish that a child is legally adoptable.

4. 04

   Rules change. Confirm the country and province combination with the central authority immediately before any commitment or payment.

1. 01

   Do not use an unlicensed intermediary or accept a private hospital/orphanage match outside the authority process.

2. 02

   Do not confuse Kafala or guardianship with adoption; obtain an opinion from the responsible authority on the available immigration category.

3. 03

   Do not submit poor translations, contradictory identity records or unexplained gaps in how the child became available.

4. 04

   Do not expect a visa in days after travelling. Some cases take years, excluding the adoption process itself.

5. 05

   Report suspected fraud or trafficking and keep receipts, communications and the full chain of official approvals.