Belarus Program

Belarus is one of the republics of the former Soviet Union, now an independent country. It is located in the heart of Europe, in the crossroads of trade routes from West to East and from North to South. The Republic of Belarus borders on Lithuania and Latvia in the North, on Ukraine in the South, on the Russian Federation in the East, and on Poland in the West. The position of the county is of strategic importance for communication between the West and the East, the North and the South. The population of the Republic is 10.2 million citizens. About one fifth of the population lives in the city of Minsk - the capital of Belarus. Belarusian and Russian are official state languages. The most widely spread languages of business contacts are Russian, English and German.

Happy Families International Center, Inc. is currently in the process of opening a program in Belarus. If our program is not open in time for our families, we will insure that their adoption will be completed through another program with the best interest for the family and child. Married couples and single parents are eligible to adopt from Belarus. There are no specific age criteria for Belarus, the authorities there believe in most cases it is in the best interest of a child to have parents that are no more than 45 years older than the child. The separation of sibling groups of children living in the same institution is usually not permitted, unless it is in the best interest of the children. Biological parents do not participate in the process of adoption.

According to the adoption laws of Belarus, all children have to be entered into the Federal data bank for six months. During that time orphans are only available for domestic adoption by Belarusian citizens. After six months they become available for international adoption. Children available for adoption from Belarus are usually over nine months old. There are many children living in the Belarusian orphanages in need of loving families. The orphanages are providing care to the children as best as they can, while trying to improve the conditions of their institutions. There are many healthy infants and children, many with correctable handicaps who require homes where their needs can be met. Many of these children have found loving homes in America, and are thriving and adjusting very well.

We have been able to help many children with special needs find families here in the United States through our other programs. Many have minor correctable problems, but some have serious conditions. We provide medical visas for such children to get them the medical care they require. HFIC has helped to place many children in caring homes. We work in contract with professional & experienced social workers, therapists, adoption coordinators, facilitators and assistants throughout the United States and we look forward to the opportunity to begin placing children from Belarus soon.

The overall paperwork preparation for Belarus takes on the average 6 – 9 months. It includes the Home Study, INS approval, and the international adoption dossier preparation. After its completion, the dossier will be sent to Adoption Center in Minsk and registered. After the registration, the family will be provided with the information on a child available for adoption matching family’s request. Families should consult an International Adoption Specialists and review the provided translation of the medical information and the photo with the doctor in order to make the right decision about the referred child. In case of rejection of the referral by adoptive parents, they will be provided with the information on another available child. If they would like, adoptive parents may invite a doctor to the orphanage to perform a full evaluation of the child before making their final decision. After acceptance of the referral, the adoptive parents fill out the form of the Adoption Application, which will be legalized and submitted to the Adoption Center. 1 to 2 weeks after that, the completed dossier will be forwarded to the Court. The court date will be scheduled within 15 days.

The adoptive families will be given a 2 to 3 week notice prior to travel. The official invitation for the Belarusian visa will be provided. A travel preparation seminar will be done, and the adoption coordinator will advise the traveling families on many issues related to travel for adoption in Belarus. The trip should last for approximately 10 days. Upon arrival, the coordinators will help you to complete your child’s adoption. Translators, host families and hotel accommodations are available for adoptive parents. As always, Happy Families International Center, Inc. will do it’s best to assure that all the adoptive family’s needs are met. The child’s birth certificate, adoption certificate and child’s passport will be received. The child will be examined at the American Medical Center in Minsk. Finally, the child’s visa will be issued at the American Embassy. After that final step the adoptive parents leave Belarus with their new child.

After the adoption is complete, the adoptive family is responsible to provide post placement information about their child to the social worker in order to provide post placement reports to the adoption center in Belarus. Belarusian law requires 2 reports per year for 3 three years from date of adoption.

As it always has been, our mission is to find a loving family for each and every orphan, providing them with the attention and care that we believe each and every child is entitled to. Happy Families International Center, Inc. believes that our program is mutually beneficial for the orphans and their adoptive parents.

Belarus Adoption Dossier

• Home study and the valid home study agency license
• Adoption Application
• Certified copy of each parent’s passport
• Certified copy of the marriage license (if applicable)
• Certified copy of the Birth Certificate (for single parents)
• Medical reports for each applicant
• Employment letter for each applicant
• Police clearances for each applicant
• Real estate information
• INS approval for Belarus issued by the local INS office

Every document of the dossier should be notarized and certified. We will guide you throughout the process of the dossier preparation and authentication.