Who have the responsibility to find substitute families for children in Vietnam?

Who are allowed to be adopted? 

Pursuant to the provisions of Article 8 of the Law on Adoption 2010, the persons allowed to be adopted include:

- Children under 16 years.

- Persons aged between full 16 years and under 18 years falling into either of the following cases:

+ To be adopted by the step father or step mother;

+ To be adopted by a natural aunt or uncle.

- A person may be adopted by only one single
person or two persons being husband and wife.

- The State encourages adoption of orphans, abandoned children and children in other disadvantaged circumstances.

Who have the responsibility to find substitute families for children in Vietnam? (Internet image)

Who have the responsibility to find substitute families for children in Vietnam?

Pursuant to the provisions of Article 15 of the Law on Adoption 2010, the responsibility to find substitute families for children in Vietnam is as follows:

- In case a child cannot be nurtured in the origin family environment, a concerned agency, organization or individual shall find a substitute family for the child.

- The finding of a substitute family for a child is stipulated as follows:

+ For an abandoned child, the People's Committee of the commune in which the child is found shall find a person or an organization to temporarily nurture the child:

If a person seeks to adopt the child, the People's Committee of the commune in which the child is found shall consider and settle the adoption under law; if nobody seeks to adopt the child, the commune-level People's Committee shall compile a dossier for sending him/her to a nurturing center;

+ For an orphan who has no caretaker or a child who has natural parents and relatives who, however, are incapable of nurturing the child, the guardian, natural parents or relatives shall report this to the commune-level People's Committee of the place in which the child permanently resides for finding a substitute family for the child.

The concerned commune-level People's Committee shall support the child's nurturing and post up at its head office for 60 days an announcement to find a person to adopt the child; if a person in the country seeks to adopt the child, the commune-level People's Committee shall consider and settle the adoption.

Past the time limit of posting up the announcement, if nobody in the country seeks to adopt the child, the commune-level People's Committee shall compile a dossier for sending him/her to a nurturing center;

+ In case a nurturing center has children in need of a substitute family, it shall make a list thereof and send it to the provincial-level Justice Department, which shall announce it for 3 consecutive times in the province's print newspaper or other mass media.

Within 60 days from the date of announcement, if a person in the country seeks to adopt the child, he/she shall contact the commune-level People's Committee of the place in which the child permanently resides for consideration and settlement:

Once the adoption has been completed, the commune-level People's Committee shall report it to the provincial-level Justice Department for deletion of the name of the child in the list of children in need of substitute families.

Past 60 days from the date of announcement, if nobody in the country seeks to adopt the child, the provincial-level Justice Department shall send the list of children in need of substitute families to the Ministry of Justice;

+ The Ministry of Justice shall announce the finding of persons in the country seeking to adopt children on its website.

Within 60 days from the date of announcement, if a person in the country seeks to adopt a child, he/she shall contact the commune-level People's Committee of the place in which the child permanently resides for consideration and settlement; once the adoption has been completed, the commune-level People's Committee shall report it to the Ministry of Justice for deletion of the name of the child in the list of children in need of substitute families.

Past 60 days from the date of announcement, if nobody in the country seeks to adopt the child, the Ministry of Justice shall notify such to the provincial-level Justice Department.

Mai Thanh Loi

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