New China Adoption Rules

CCAA has published new and very restrictive rules for prospective adoptive parents.

The U.S. Department of State acknowledged that CCAA, the Chinese Government China Center for Adoptions Affairs, has provided new guidelines on the widely reported restrictions that are being applied to adoption from China.

The U.S. Embassy in China has posted the new requirements through the U.S. State Department.

The restrictions will be applied on all adoptions in process from China after May 1, 2007.

Prospective parents will now need to have been married for at least 2 years. CCAA is defining marriage as only between one man and one woman. If either of the prospective parents has been divorced, they must be married for at least 5 years.

Prospective parents in the Chinese Adoption process must be between 30 and 50. There is a slight exception for special needs children allowing people up to 55 adopt.

In addition to being “physically and mentally fit”, Husband and wife cannot have AIDS, an infections disease, mental disability, blind in one or both eyes, hearing loss and a number of other physical and mental ailments. Prospective parents can also not have a BMI of 40 or more.

The Center for Disease Control offers a Body Mass Index calculator.

Additionally, either of the prospective parents must have stable employment. They must be able to provide at least $10,000 in income for each member of the household – including the child to be adopted. The family must have assets of over $80,000. The parents also must have high school diplomas.

These restrictive rules for China Adoption are very concerning to many in the U.S. and throughout the world. Many prospective parents fear that these restrictions are only the first step in China’s limiting of foreign adoptions.

CCAA limits adoptions from China.