Norway
А. LEGAL SPECIFICS AND REQUIREMENTS
On 20th May 1996 Norway signed the Hague Convention for Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption, ratified it on 25th September 1997 and the Convention became effective on 1st January 1998.
Pursuant to art. 6 of the Hague Convention, Central Authority for Norway is the Main Directorate for Children, Youth and Family Affairs (the so called Bufdir) at the Ministry of Children, Equality and Social Inclusion.
International adoption by Norwegian citizens could be done only if persons with permanent residence in Norway use the services of Norwegian mediation agencies. Exceptions could be made only after receiving the agreement of the Central authority. These organizations should be non-profit legal bodies which have received a mediation permit from the Central Authority.
At the time of submitting the application to adopt internationally, the prospective adoptive parent should be at least 25 years old. An exception could be made and a person who is 20 could be permitted to adopt. A child can be adopted by an individual as well as by a family, which should have had their marriage concluded at least 2 years before filing the application to adopt. There are no requirements with respect to the age difference between the prospective adoptive parent and the adoptee, but it is required that the parent is under 45 years old at the time of submitting the application to adopt.
The home study of the applicants is carried out by the Child care office at the regional municipal social service. A specialist from this service must visit the home of the applicant after which a social report should be written in two parts: a summary of the prospective adoptive parent’s background, everyday life, work, interests and motives for wanting to adopt, while the second part presents a description of the social worker’s impressions and assessment of the applicants. At the end of the report a recommendation is made as to whether the applicant should receive approval to adopt or not. The time necessary for the development of this report ranges between 3 and 6 months. When receiving the ready report, the applicant should turn to Bufdir for approval (the so called advance approval to adopt). The refusal to issue the requested approval can be appealed.
Having received the social report and the advance approval, the Norwegian prospective adoptive parent should turn to a Norwegian adoption mediation agency accredited for Bulgaria. The agency prepares all necessary documents and maintains contact between the client – the applicant – and the Bulgarian adoption mediation agency.
Adoption finalized abroad is fully recognized and by virtue of the Bulgarian court judgement the child acquires Norwegian citizenship. The blood relations with the birth family are interrupted and with the new family new relations and rights are acquired as in the case of blood relationship.