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Children
Adoption
The decision to adopt a child is one of the most important decisions a person can
make in their life.
Adopting a child and being united with her or him in Canada is a complicated process.
CIC will only permit the sponsorship of a child who has been legally adopted in
the child’s country of residence. This is usually straight-forward, except for children who live in countries where there is no legal adoption, only guardianship, like
Morocco.
There, the process is a bit more complicated. After having selected an orphanage
or adoption agency abroad, you must be approved as an adoptive parent in your province
of residence. For this, you will undergo a home study so that the provincial government
can rest assured that the adopted child is in good hands.
Once that is done, you will start the immigration process. Just like you have to
sponsor your parents or spouse to bring them to Canada, you must sponsor your adoptive
child. The first step involves you being approved as a sponsor. You will need to
satisfy the numerous criteria that CIC imposes on Canadians and Permanent Resident
who want to sponsor a family member. Thankfully, recent changes have made it possible
to sponsor a child with a physical or mental disability, as well as sponsoring while being unemployed (but not on social assistance).
The second step involves having your adoptive child apply for permanent residence in her or his home country, at a Canadian visa office. There the child will apply
as any other applicant, submitting forms and documents to the visa office. The child
will also have to undergo a medical exam. When all is completed, the adoptive child
will be issued a Permanent Resident visa in their passport, allowing them to come
to Canada and live with her or his adoptive parents.
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